Liberation80: Historian Bolerazsky to Deliver Lecture on Piestany's Liberation

Piestany, April 9 (TASR) - A lecture titled 'Piestany and the End of the War/Crossing the Front and the Liberation of Piestany on April 4, 1945' will take place in the main exhibition room of the Imrich Winter Balneological Museum at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday (April 10) to mark the 80th anniversary of the town's liberation, TASR has learnt from historian and curator of the museum's history collection Andrej Bolerazsky. The lecture will present facts regarding victims and material damage, along with several pieces of information unpublished until now. Bolerazsky said that he'll try to present interesting things to the public, not only about the military units that liberated the town, but also about when and how they got there. He'll also mention what damage was caused to the town by which armies. Photographs will also be presented in connection with major damage that was caused to the infrastructure of Piestany, with both bridges blown up by the retreating German army, for example. "A well-known and architectural gem, the Colonnade Bridge, was very seriously damaged and was only repaired 11 years later," said the historian. The barracks and the airport in Piestany were also destroyed. The airport was set on fire and all its hangars blown up. According to Bolerazsky, it's still not completely clear to the public whether Piestany was liberated by the Romanian or the Red Army, and he plans to explain this in his lecture. Although no battles took place directly in Piestany, the town residents were affected by the war. There were casualties not only among soldiers, but also among the civilian population as a result of artillery fire. ko/df