Legionary train replica sets off on annual tour of Czech towns and cities
Legiovlak created by the Czechoslovak Legionary Community, is a faithful replica of a legionary train from WWI, when the Czechoslovak Legions were engaged in war operations on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia. Over the past ten years, it has attracted over one million visitors.
Best described as a travelling exhibition about Czechoslovak Legionaries in World War I, Legiovlak annually hits the rails in April making stops at towns and cities around the country. It made its first appearance in 2015 and thanks to continuing public interest and support from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Transport it is still on the go.
This week it hit the rails again and its first stop was Týnište nad Orlicí where it will be on display to the public, free of charge, until April 6th. The travelling museum is hugely popular and every year it attracts new visitors as well as old fans.
In each of the train carriages (decommissioned historic railway carriages from that era) there is an exhibition of panels and authentic objects that document the living conditions, combat activities and customs of the Czechoslovak legionaries on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Visitors can view original weapons, documents and objects of the legionaries' everyday life. Selected exhibits can be touched, including some of the weapons on display. Many of the items are donations made by visitors who bring family possessions and artefacts preserved from their ancestors who fought in World War I. Jan Steidler of the Czechoslovak Legions Museum says the exhibits grow with the number of visitors, as does the information available about individual Czechoslovak legionaries.
"Here we have materials relating to legionary Alois Adam, who later served as a butler for President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk at Prague Castle in the years of the First Republic. We have quite a few interesting things about his life. Thanks to the many photographs, found, donated or otherwise acquired, more than 20,000 Czechoslovak legionnaires now have a face. We know what they looked like. And if we don't know that, then at least we have a photo of their grave. But it's not just photographs. We are also interested in the fate of our legionaries after the war."
Visitors to Legiovlak not only gain great insight into their ancestors’ lives or enrich the collection of artefacts on display, some of them surprisingly find out more about their own family history. Jan Steidler says that they are happy to share whatever information they can glean about former legionaries.
“A lady visited our train, and said that one of her ancestors was a legionary but then he disappeared after the war and his family never heard of him again. It was thought that he had found a new life elsewhere and he was considered the black sheep of the family. So we asked the lady for some details and found that he had died in France in the war. We even found his name listed on a French war memorial. When we showed her the photo the lady burst into tears. "
Visitors to the travelling exhibition can buy commemorative items and books about the life of Czechoslovak legionaries. And they are taken around by guides wearing replicas of legionary uniforms.
For more info go to: https://www.csol.cz/projekty/legiovlak/
