The group is due to be welcomed by Deputy Mayor Ana Zavrtanik Ugrin as they arrive by train in Nova Gorica on Monday, the head of the local tourist board, Dejana Baša, told the STA earlier.

The visit is marking the centenary of WWI, which claimed lives of more than 660,000 Hungarian soldiers, many of whom perished on the front along the Soča river in today's western Slovenia and north-eastern Italy.

The visitors, including historians, professors and students, will over the next two days visit WWI sites in the area of Doberdo on the Italian side of the border and the Posočje in Slovenia.

Before returning home, the visitors will attend a commemoration in Štanjel on Thursday, along with officials from the Hungarian Defence Ministry, the Embassy in Ljubljana and communities that most of the fallen soldiers came from.

Doberdo and the Soča are still vivid in the memories of many descendants of Hungarian soldiers who fought there.

The visit is organised by the Hungarian travel agency MAV Nosztalgia Kft in cooperation with the local tourism board and the Kobarid foundation managing the Walk of Peace and organising guided tours of the sites.

Representatives from the Hungarian travel agency have announced a similar visit for next year.