was captured by Charles XII of Sweden, but the end of the war saw the city in Polish possession. In 1710 an epidemic of plague killed about a third of the population of Liep?ja. In 1780 the first Freemasonry lodge "Libanons" was set up in the port of Liep?ja by Provincial Grandmaster Ivan Yelagin on behalf of the Provincial Lodge of Russia and was registered with a number 524 in the Grand Lodge of England.
Russian Empire
Courland passed to the control of the Russian Empire in 1795 during the third Partition of Poland and became the Courland Governorate of Russia. Growth during the nineteenth century was rapid. During the Crimean War when the Royal Navy was blockading Russian Baltic ports, the busy yet still unfortified port of Liep?ja was briefly captured on 17 May 1854 without a shot being fired, by a landing party of 110 men from HMS Conflict and HMS Amphion. In 1857 the engineer Jan Heidatel developed a project to reconstruct the port of Liep?ja. In 1861�1868 the project was realized � including the building of a lighthouse and breakwaters. Between 1877�1882 the political and literary weekly newspaper Liep?jas Pastnieks was published � the first Latvian language newspaper in Liep?ja. In the 1870s the rapid development of Russian railways, the 1871 opening of the Libava-Kaunas and the 1876 Liep?ja-Romny railways ensured that a large proportion of central Russian trade passed through Liep?ja. By 1900, 7% of Russian exports were passing through Liep?ja. The city became a major port of the Russian Empire on the Baltic Sea, as well as a popular resort. On the orders of Alexander III Liep?ja was fortified against possible German attacks. The Libava fortress was subsequently built around the city, and in the early 20th century a major military base was established on the northern edge, including formidable coastal fortifications and extensive quarters for military personnel. As part of the military development a separate military port was excavated
