Presidents of Czech Republic and Slovakia to visit Cedar Rapids
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library the presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are visiting the City of Five Seasons.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) -The Czech Village will be crowded as a motorcade, carrying President Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic and President Peter Pellegrini of Slovakia, comes through town. The two presidents are in Iowa to celebrate 50 years of the national Czech and Slovak Museum and Library.
WATCH HERE:
The museum has been a staple of the Czech village for decades and serves to celebrate the work of immigrants, not only in Cedar Rapids, but around the world; museum curators expect the two presidents to echo that message.
”They’re going to talk about the importance that immigrants had in building the state of Iowa and in building this great country,” Dr. Cecilia Rokusek, president of the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, said.
Another highlight, the newly finished clock tower. Both presidents will be presenting the finished tower. The multimillion dollar build was designed after the astronomical clock in Prague.
“The one in Prague has apostles that go through it. we have immigrants,” Rokusek said, referring to the models that will be displayed through a window on the tower. “These early immigrants came here, they worked hard, they built churches, they built fraternal groups because they didn’t have insurance when they came here.”
The motorcade is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
WATCH coverage from October 21, 1995, when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, Czech President Vaclav Havel and Slovak President Michal Kovac visited Cedar Rapids to dedicate the new National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library:
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