Romania will observe Armed Forces Day on 25 October 2025 with a wide program of military and religious ceremonies across the country and at Romanian representations abroad, commemorating the liberation of the last territories in Northern Transylvania on 25 October 1944.
The national holiday, instituted by Decree No. 381 of 1 October 1959, marks the date when units of the Romanian 4th Army, in cooperation with Soviet formations, recaptured Carei and Satu Mare — the final localities on Romanian soil then under German and Hungarian occupation. That offensive completed the campaign to restore Romania’s western borders after the territory lost under the Vienna Award of 1940 was retaken following the August 1944 overthrow of the Axis alignment.
Official events in Bucharest on 25 October 2025 include a 10:00 military and religious wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Carol I Park, followed by the changing of the guard and an Air Force flyover. Additional commemorations are scheduled at the Monument to the Heroes of the Fatherland (in front of the National Defence University “Carol I”) and at the Monument to the Fallen in Theatres of Operations and on the Territory of Romania (in front of the National Children’s Palace).
A public programme at AFI Cotroceni will run from 10:00 to 16:00 featuring a display of military equipment and technology, career information stands, interactive VR workshops, performances by military bands, sports demonstrations by CSA Steaua, presentation of sporting trophies, and — for the first time in this format — an escape-room zone. The Representative Military Band will perform in Cișmigiu Park at 17:00. At 19:00 a traditional torchlight retreat will proceed along a central route from the National Military Circle through central Bucharest to the headquarters of the 30th Guards Brigade “Mihai Viteazul.”
Regional ceremonies are scheduled in major garrisons and cities: wreath-laying at the “Glory to the Romanian Soldier” monument in Cluj-Napoca (10:00); military and religious services at the 15th Mechanized Brigade “Podu Înalt” in Iași with an evening torchlight march through the city (10:00 and 19:00); commemorations at the Monument of the Romanian Soldier in Satu Mare (10:00); a noon ceremony at the Heroes’ Monument in Păuliș (12:30); and events at the Carei memorial complex, which will also mark the arrival of the Invictus Veterans’ Relay (13:00). Comparable observances will take place in garrisons nationwide and at Romanian military and diplomatic posts abroad.
The Romanian Naval Forces will hold ceremonies on the same day in Bucharest, Constanța, Brăila, Mangalia, Tulcea and Babadag, honoring naval personnel and remembering those who fell in defense of the country. Across the country, military units and commands will stage open days, exhibitions, cultural and sporting activities, symposiums, film screenings, and volunteer initiatives to maintain war graves and monuments.
As part of the commemorations, the National Military Museum “King Ferdinand I” will host a photo-documentary exhibition titled “Heroism and Faith: Memorials of the Romanian Nation” from 23 October to 23 November 2025 in the Ferdinand I Hall.
The historical context of the date underscores its significance: following King Michael I’s 23 August 1944 proclamation that Romania was breaking with the Axis, Romanian forces engaged in a rapid offensive campaign, and between early September and 25 October 1944 troops conducted successive operations that culminated in the liberation of Northern Transylvania. The actions of Romanian formations during that autumn offensive contributed to wider Allied advances in the Balkans and Central Europe. Romania’s wartime operations continued beyond the country’s borders in 1944–1945 alongside Allied forces, and the period remains a defining chapter in the nation’s 20th-century history.