The Association “Traditia Militara” (ATM) from Romania has climbed the Carpathian mountains twice this year, in order to reach the Hero’s Cross. This monument, nominated in the Guinness Book of Records for being the highest metal monument at the highest altitude, was raised with huge efforts in 1928, to honor all those who sacrificed their lives in World War I.
The inauguration day was chosen on the Christian celebration of the Elevation of the Holy Cross: September 14. This is why the first expedition this year was on September 14, 2020 – the path led by the Carpathian Sphynx.
The second march was made on November 30, 2020, on St.Andrew’s day, for the re-consecration of the Hero’s Cross, after its restoration. The winter march, in full campaign gear of the Romanian Army of World War I was very evocative for those who more than a hundred years before had participated in the Great War. Temperatures were below – 15°C. Mountain troops from all over Romania represented their units at the military and religious ceremony, attended by the Minister for Defense, the Secretary General of the General Staff of the Romanian Army and the Metropolitan Archbishop delegated by the Patriarch. The members of Traditia Militara, as they do every year after the official ceremony, have commemorated also their fallen former enemies, by singing “Der Gute Kamerad” and saying a prayer in Hungarian. The highest authorities present commended the reenactors for their very good performance.
