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Summary for: March to Václav Havel’s ‘existential home’ marks his 90th birthdayDozens of people walked from Trutnov to Hrádeček on Saturday to commemorate what would have been the 90th birthday of former Czechoslovak and Czech President Václav Havel.
Around 40 participants began the approximately 10-kilometer march, while others followed their own routes or traveled separately. About 60 people eventually gathered near Havel’s cottage before 2 p.m., making this year’s turnout one of the largest in the event’s seven-year history.
Havel was born Oct. 5, 1936. A playwright, dissident and human rights advocate, he became the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the independent Czech Republic following the fall of communism.
Route traces Havel’s life in Trutnov
The march began at Havel’s memorial plaque outside Trutnov’s Vesmír cinema. Participants lit candles, laid flowers and read his quotations beneath a banner bearing the message “Do Not Give In to Evil.”
“The president was not indifferent. This is a challenge for the entire society that wants a functioning democracy,” co-organizer Lucie Javůrková told ČTK. “Václav Havel was also a strong voice on the international stage, a defender of human rights values.”
The route passed the Krakonoš Brewery, where Havel worked during the 1970s while facing persecution from the communist authorities. His experience there inspired his play Audience, whose protagonist Ferdinand Vaněk served as a literary alter ego for the author.
The brewery chimney now bears Havel’s distinctive red heart and Vaněk’s name. Marchers stopped outside to listen to archival recordings of Havel broadcast by Czech Radio.
Candles and anthem at Hrádeček
Participants lit candles and sang the Czech national anthem after reaching a memorial site near Havel’s cottage. They also listened to an excerpt from a speech he delivered during the 1989 Velvet Revolution.
Havel bought the Hrádeček cottage in the second half of the 1960s and later described it as his “existential home.” He died there on Dec. 18, 2011, at age 75.
Ahead of Saturday’s march, Václav Poláček from Jaroměř attached a roughly one-meter red heart to the cottage fence. Decorated with photographs of Havel, the number 90 and the words “We miss you,” it is expected to remain there for about 10 days.
“For his 90th birthday, I made a large heart to honor the man who brought us freedom,” Poláček told ČTK. “Society is losing sight of the fact that we must cherish freedom and defend it.”
Events marking Havel’s anniversary will continue Monday in Hradec Králové, Pardubice and at Václav Havel Airport Prague. Prague’s Signal Festival will also commemorate him through installations and a panel discussion from Oct. 15–18.
