Žilina, January 28, 2021. In October of this year, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the last Romanian King Michael I (25 October 1921 – 5 December 2017) will be commemorated. The Slovak non-governmental association Servare et Manere, which implements the international project Tree of Peace, decided to honour his memory in accordance with the main goal of the Tree of Peace – memories and memorials of those who laid down their lives in senseless military conflicts. At the end of WW2, the Romanian Royal Army was also involved in the liberation struggles in Slovakia.

The Romanian Royal Army left a significant footprint and heritage on Slovakia. Approximately 240 000 to 260 000 Romanians took part in the liberation of Slovakia, consisting of personnel from 16 divisions, an air corps, a brigade of the railway army, a tank regiment, as well as other units. Particularly significant was their participation in the Bratislava-Brno operation (March 25 to May 5, 1945), in which, in addition to 266 000 Soviet soldiers, 86 000 Romanian soldiers also participated. 10 435 Romanian army soldiers are buried in Slovakia. Of these, 10 384 are buried in the Central Military Cemetery of the Romanian Royal Army in Zvolen, 36 soldiers found their final resting place in the cemetery in Stará Turá and 15 in Trenčianska Teplá.

Servare et Manere plans to organize a memorial event in October 2021 called Centenary of the birth of King Michael I of Romania. During the planned event, we will visit all 25 sacred and memorial places in Slovakia dedicated to the memory of Romanian royal soldiers. At each monument or cemetery, we place a symbolic wreath as a gesture of gratitude. The event will be held under the auspices of the Royal Family of Romania.