Czech Republic celebrates Independence Day

BELGRADE - Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Belgrade Ivana Hlavsova hosted a reception on Tuesday to mark the Independence Day of her country and the event was attended by Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic.

Addressing the guests, the Czech ambassador said that this year's celebration comes at a moment when the world recollects the sufferings in World War I in which Serbia experienced enormous losses.

Hlavsova also pointed to the close relations which the former Czechoslovak Republic maintained with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in the early 20th century.

She said that the building of the Czech Embassy in Belgrade serves as a testimony of the two countries' close relations, and recalled that the facility was built at the plot of land delivered to the Embassy as a gift by king Aleksandar I Karadjordjevic.

The lavish building at the Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra street was designed by famous architect Alois Mezera and it was recently refurbished, so the celebration of the Independence Day offered a chance for the guests to see the new building exterior for the first time.

The reception was attended by Serbian president's advisor Oliver Antic, Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport, a number of members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of the cultural and public scene in Serbia.

The Czech Republic celebrates October 28 as its Independence Day in honour of the independence the country achieved back in 1918 after the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire upon the conclusion of World War I.