Liepaja is a city in Latvia, an important ice-free port on the Baltic Sea. Manufactures include steel, machinery, wood products, and processed food. Unfortunately, much of the historical city centre fell victim to the destruction of the Second World War. Liepaja became a major naval port for Soviet submarines during the cold war which turned into a graveyard of rusting communist ideology after independence. Change is, however, in the air and the city and port are experiencing a revival without the help of Russian petrodollars which have become the saving grace of its wealthy neighbour to the north, Ventspils. Long known as a city where art and new ideas have flourished, Liepaja was the cradle of the independence movement in the 1980s and has always been fertile ground for musicians from classical pianists to heavy metal rock groups. Take a walk on the beach, catch a show at a music club and discover why Liepaja has been named an International City of Change by the World Bank and the German Bertelsman Fund.