Dukla Lookout Tower reopens to public after refurbishment, also restored are tanks in Death Valley

To mark the 77th anniversary of the Battle of the Dukla Pass, the newly refurbished Dukla Lookout Tower has reopened its doors to the public following a vital refurbishment project. The opening ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď. The refurbishment works to the Dukla Lookout Tower were funded by the MOD in an effort to keep up the interest of the public and that of young people in Slovak military history.

Speaking on the occasion, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “We at the Ministry of Defence care sincerely about history, which we demonstrate by supporting the establishments under our authority as they look after individual sites, exhibits and objects, including the Dukla Lookout Tower, a firm favourite with visitors. As well as this, through the MOD Grant Scheme, we put meaningful NGO projects on Slovak history to good purpose. Preserving our heritage sites is our obligation towards the future generations and our mark of respect for the past ones.”

Of work on improving the site's attractiveness, accessibility and visitor comfort, Col Miloslav Čaplovič, Director of the Institute of Military History (VHÚ), said: “The first of the two planned refurbishment phases saw all windows replaced and the exhibition gallery fully refurbished, including the installation of floor heating and a surface water drainage system around the tower. After its complex refurbishment the tower is a wheelchair-friendly zone. We hope our visitors will appreciate these improvements and will keep returning to the tower to enjoy Dukla's history.”

To mark the Battle of the Dukla Pass Heroes Day today, the key role of 32 soldiers of the 1944 Slovak National Uprising in the fight against the Nazis was recognised by Defence Minister Naď with the posthumous award of the SVK Minister of Defence Memorial Medal.

An award was also presented to the Institute of Military History Bratislava by the Defence Minister as a thank you for offering its enormous military history research expertise, maintaining national heritage sites, monuments, memorials, graves and cemeteries, and raising awareness of military history and traditions.

The memorial medals were also received by two servicemen and two employees of the Institute of Military History for conducting long-time research on military history, developing historical traditions, and overseeing the maintenance of war and service graves within the remit of VHÚ.

On the same day, a separate handover ceremony was held for military hardware exhibits – T-34/85 tanks, which, as VHÚ loan objects, are set up in and around the villages of Kapišová, Kružlová and Nižná Písaná in the so-called “Death Valley”. The tanks were restored by the Death Valley Micro Region Civic Association in cooperation with and following the VHÚ guidance.

This project to protect the historical and cultural heritage sites with focus on military history was financially supported by the Ministry of Defence under the MOD Grant Scheme. For the visitors to the Death Valley, the restored tanks stand as testimony to the reality of the tank battles that were fought there between 25 and 27 October 1944.