Slovakia to celebrate centenary of Štefánik’s death

Top state representatives started national celebrations of the centenary of the death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, a Slovak-born general of the French army, astronomer and co-founder of Czechoslovakia. On Thursday, a special ceremony was held in Ivanka pri Dunaji, south western Slovakia, where he died in an air crash on 4^th May, 1919. Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (Slovak National Party/SNS) marked Štefánik's merits in the battle for Czechoslovakia's statehood with the locals, as well as representatives of the local church and foreign Slovaks. "No nation has ever enjoyed lasting freedom without fighting it out for itself and sanctifying it with great sacrifices of life and loss of property," Gajdoš said at the end of his speech, quoting Stefanik. On Saturday, a special ceremony will also be held in Brezová pod Bradlom where the tomb of Milan Rastislav Štefánik was built in 1928 according to the project by the internationally acclaimed architect Dušan Jurkovič.