Mass for veterans opens Plzeň Freedom Festival

A mass for war veterans at St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral in Plzeň on Friday marked the opening day of the city’s annual Freedom Festival. The mass was attended among others by foreign guests and relatives of American and Belgian veterans.

Members of military history clubs also set up authentic period camps in the city’s park belt and in the park behind the Plaza shopping centre, which will be there throughout the week-long celebrations.

Visitors will be able to see 70 pieces of historic military equipment, among them a M36 Jackson tank destroyer, the iconic M4A4 Sherman bearing the name of veteran and long-time festival guest George Thomson, and an M24 Chaffee tank.

The week-long event will culminate with the festival’s main attraction, the Convoy of Liberty.