Havel’s Place in Helsinki
On May 8, 2025, the ceremonial unveiling of the Václav Havel’s Place took place in Helsinki.
This event, attended by Finland’s Minister for European Affairs Joakim Strand, the Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen, and Czech Ambassador Adam Vojtěch, was a dignified tribute to the legacy of President Václav Havel, whose memory is preserved by the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation VIZE 97.
The Václav Havel Bench is located in Makasiinipuisto Park in front of Helsinki’s central library, Oodi—at the crossroads of the Finnish Parliament building, representing Václav Havel as a statesman; the Oodi library, symbolizing Václav Havel as a writer; and Finlandia Hall, where the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference was signed.
This document later laid the foundation for the declaration by Czechoslovak citizens, particularly dissidents, of Charter 77, which called on Czechoslovakia’s communist authorities to uphold international human rights conventions, which they had committed to when signing the Final Act.
