Outstanding Relations between the Czech and the Hungarian Military Secondary Schools

During the week the Kratochvil students learned about the education system of the Czech military secondary school in Moravska Trebova, and attended several joint training sessions together with the Czech cadets.

On the first day of the visit the Hungarian students held a commemoration in the Austerlitz battlefield, at the headboards erected in memory of the Székely border guards killed there. Then the students went to Prague, where – thanks to their hosts – they could view the Royal Crypt in the St. Vitus Cathedral, the resting place of the greatest Czech kings, which is otherwise closed to visitors. After visiting the Prague castle and the changing of the guards, they could have lunch together with Major General Ivo Strecha, the Commander of the Czech Land Forces.

The students were hosted at the Embassy of Hungary in Prague by H.E. Dr. Miklós Boros, the Ambassador and Colonel Zsolt Annus, Defence, Military and Air Attaché. The students were shortly informed about the ambassador’s and the military attaché’s work. Following the meeting, the Ambassador and Gábor Berkecz, the school’s headmaster laid wreaths at the memorial plaque of II. Rákóczi Ferenc, in Malá Strana of Prague, then they ended the tour with viewing the Charles Bridge, the Old Town and the Wenceslaus Square.

During the week, the students could also see the town of Olmütz, which is of utmost importance both in respect of the Czech and the Hungarian history. Matthias Hunyadi (Corvin) was crowned as Czech King in 1469 here, in the St. Wenceslaus Cathedral, and Wenceslaus III rests here, too, who had been the elected King of Hungary from 1301 to 1305. The Olmütz excursion ended with a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial plaque of Bolyai János.

Evaluating the visit to the Czech Republic, Gábor Berkecz noted that an outstanding relationship has been established between the leaderships of the two schools in recent years. After making contacts in 2016, it has already been the second time that the Hungarian students could visit the Czech Republic. “The close professional relationship between the two institutions dramatically strengthens the effectiveness of both the Czech and the Hungarian secondary schools, as we can take over good training and practical pedagogical processes from each other. But the most important thing is that the Czech and the Hungarian students can learn about the history, the army of the other country at their high school age, and when they grow up to be soldiers, a strong emotional bond will tie them together during their later career path, which had emerged here when they were students" – pointed out the director.