Thousands Join Ljubljana Hike
As many as 30,000 people took part in a 35-long hike around Ljubljana on Saturday to remember the liberation of the capital 63 years ago. The hike follows the track of the barbed wire which enclosed the city during World War II.
The event ended with a ceremony in Preseren Square in the centre of Ljubljana. In his address, Mayor Zoran Jankovic, said the annual hike stood for a healthy life-style and respect for history.
He paid tribute to everyone merited for "the happiest day of Ljubljana's history", 9 May 1945, when Ljubljana was liberated from Nazism and Fascism.
As is tradition, hikers embarked on the 52nd hike from various points around the city. The fittest among them ran in threes on 12- or 28-kilometre tracks. Organisers say some 4,000 people registered for both races.
Ljubljana was occupied by Italian forces in April 1941, when a very strict regime was introduced, and then fenced in February 1942. During the war, the 34-km wire cut the city off its surroundings, turning it into a kind of concentration camp.
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