WWI legion train begins journey across Slovakia

WWI legion train begins journey across Slovakia

The so-called Legiontrain, a replica of a train that was used to transport the Czechoslovak Legion across Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway during the First World War, began a two-month journey across Slovakia in Žilina on Tuesday, TASR learnt on the same day. "I'm convinced that the history of our own nation should be respected. Partly in this way we want to raise awareness among citizens of the Slovak Republic about the history of the First World War," said Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš when presenting the Legiontrain in Žilina.

"Next year, we'll celebrate the 100th anniversary of the setting up of the independent Czechoslovak Republic, a state of Czechs and Slovaks. And at this point I'd also like to highlight the role of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, which is indelible, and connected with the history of the Czechoslovak state and the Legiontrain," added Gajdoš.

The train is a project from the Czechoslovak Legionnaires Alliance (Československá obec legionářská). According to its chairman Pavel Budinský, the association is a connection between the past, present and future. "And it wants to be a bearer of Masaryk's [first Czechoslovak president] and Štefánik's ideas about democracy and the freedom of one nation, then the Czechoslovak nation, and now the two fraternal nations of Czechs and Slovaks," said Budinský. Legiontrain forms part of the Legion 100 project, which in 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Czechoslovak Legion's struggle for an independent state.

The train, which has 13 carriages, will remain in Žilina until August 6. It will then move on to Dolný Kubín in the Žilina region (August 7-9), followed by Poprad (August 11-13), then Medzilaborce (August 15-16) and Humenné (August 18-20) both in the Prešov region, Košice (August 22-September 3), Zvolen in the Banská Bystrica region (September 5-10), Nitra (September 12-17), and finally Bratislava (September 19-28).

Gavin Shoebridge, Photo: TASR

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