Havel’s Places

The ceremonial unveiling took place in the presence of Dagmar Havlová, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda, Tomáš Řehák, Director of the Municipal Library of Prague, and other guests from among Václav Havel's friends and colleagues.

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) in Iowa unveiled a new Havel's Place on its premises, the third in the United States, in the presence of Consul General Jakub Utěšený. The event commemorated what would have been Václav Havel's 90th birthday.

The placement of Havel's Place was initiated by Jiří Šternberg, owner of Jemniště Castle, symbolically in the year of the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel's birth and the 15th anniversary of his death. He ceremonially unveiled the bench together with Petra Pecková, Governor of the Central Bohemian Region, and Pavel Rychetský, former President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.

Havel's Place was unveiled in the presence of Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic; Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an; and other representatives of the Czech and Taiwanese sides.

On November 22, Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled at the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the meeting between Václav Havel and Friedrich Dürrenmatt in Switzerland and Dürrenmatt's famous speech “Switzerland - A Prison”. The inauguration was attended by Czech Ambassador Tomáš Jan Podivinský, Slovak Ambassador Soňa Budayová and Michael Žantovský, former Director of the 1st Presidential Library.

On November 17, the Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, Havel's Place was unveiled in Lovosice. Mayor of Lovosice Vojtěch Krejčí also spoke about the importance of the values of dialogue and understanding that the bench commemorates. The bench is located between the town hall and the Pfannschmidt Villa.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of President Václav Havel's visit to Krnov, another Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled. The unveiling was accompanied by a discussion with municipal architect Marek Juránek and the photographic exhibition “30 Years Since Václav Havel's Visit to Krnov”.

The ceremonial unveiling of Havel's Place in Seoul on May 26 was attended by Ivan Jančárek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea, and Jun Sung-soo, Mayor of Seocho District. The bench was unveiled on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and South Korea, which continued after the Czech and Slovak republics became independent.

Germany's first Havel's Place was unveiled in Würzburg on May 23 by Martin Heilig, Mayor of Würzburg; Jiří Čistecký, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Germany; and the Consul General of the Czech Republic in Munich.

On May 8, 2025, Havel's Place was unveiled in Helsinki, making it the first city in the Nordic countries to have one. The ceremonial inauguration was attended by Finnish Minister for European Affairs Joakim Strand, Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen and Adam Vojtěch, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Finland.

On June 1, another Havel's Place was unveiled in Budislav. The ceremonial inauguration was attended by Petr Pithart, Czech politician, dissident and Charter 77 signatory.

The ceremonial unveiling of a new Havel's Place at Monaco's Pavillon Bosio was attended by Prince Albert II, Minister of the Interior Patrice Cellario, Minister of Foreign Affairs Isabelle Berro-Amadei and Ambassador Michael Fleischmann.

In December 2023, Dagmar Havlová, President Petr Pavel, First Lady Eva Pavlová and Ambassador Michal Fleischmann unveiled Havel's Place in front of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Paris.

On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, a new Havel's Place was unveiled on Bucharova Street in Prague's Stodůlky district. The ceremonial unveiling was accompanied by the exhibition “Fragments of the Revolution”, which describes and visualises the events of the Velvet Revolution.

On February 13th, a new Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled on the campus of the University of Ostrava. The inauguration included speeches by the university's rector Jan Lata, dramaturge Petr Oslzlý, and the governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region Ivo Vondrák.

Havel's Place is a memorial site dedicated to Václav Havel. It consists of two armchairs connected by a round table with a tree growing through its centre. The creation of Havel's Places is a worldwide project initiated by Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, together with architect and designer Bořek Šípek. The aim of the project is to create a network of places in public space that can contribute to encounters and genuine dialogue - places where people can discuss and reflect in the spirit of Václav Havel's ideals and attitudes to life.

Havel's Place is a memorial site dedicated to Václav Havel. It consists of two armchairs connected by a round table with a tree growing through its centre. The creation of Havel's Places is a worldwide project initiated by Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, together with architect and designer Bořek Šípek. The aim of the project is to create a network of places in public space that can contribute to encounters and genuine dialogue - places where people can discuss and reflect in the spirit of Václav Havel's ideals and attitudes to life.

Havel's Place is a memorial site dedicated to Václav Havel. It consists of two armchairs connected by a round table with a tree growing through its centre. The creation of Havel's Places is a worldwide project initiated by Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, together with architect and designer Bořek Šípek. The aim of the project is to create a network of places in public space that can contribute to encounters and genuine dialogue - places where people can discuss and reflect in the spirit of Václav Havel's ideals and attitudes to life.

In the year marking the 550th anniversary of Poděbrady being granted town status, the 46th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled on August 11, 2022, in the central spa park by the Tree of the Republic near Eliška Spring. Havel studied in Poděbrady from 1947 to 1950 at the State Real Gymnasium / King George College, has been an honorary citizen of the town since 1990, and in 2012 the first primary school in the Czech Republic to bear his name was named after him.

The first Havel's Place in France was ceremonially unveiled in the village of Bazoches-sur-Guyonne near Paris. The bench is located by the home of Jean Monnet, one of the founders of the European Union. The inauguration was attended by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; Dita Charanzová, Czech Vice-President of the European Parliament; Michael Fleischmann, Czech Ambassador to France; and Michael Žantovský, Director of the 1st Presidential Library.

On Friday, December 10, the town of Jičín unveiled Havel's Place in the castle park by Wallenstein Castle. It is the 44th installation of the bench in the world and the second in the Hradec Králové Region. By establishing the bench, the town commemorated President Havel, that year's 85th anniversary of his birth and the tenth anniversary of his death. The unveiling in Jičín was attended by Senator Tomáš Czernin, Mayor Jan Malý, Deputy Mayor Petr Hamáček and Councillor Josef Novotný. Pupils from Jičín's second primary school also came to the gathering, and the musical accompaniment was provided by teachers from the J. B. Foerster Elementary Art School in Jičín.

The unveiling of the bench followed that October's 85th anniversary of Václav Havel's birth as well as the 10th anniversary of the news of his death reaching the world. Those attending the ceremonial unveiling included Martin Tomčo, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Japan; Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture; Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima; Hideki Uyama, Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Masao Hayashi, President of Shudo Gakuen; and Takanori Mikami, President of Hiroshima Shudo University. As part of the ceremonial unveiling, two lectures on Václav Havel were held, prepared especially for the occasion. The speakers were the respected Japanologist Daniela Ryugo and prominent Bohemist Taku Shinohara, both of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

Since November 9, 2021, the Greek capital has had its own Havel's Place. Its installation was initiated and organised by the Czech Centre Athens in cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens and the City of Athens' Athens Culture Net. The 41st Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in the presence of Czech Centre Athens Director Lucie Kuligová; Jakub Karfík, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Greece; Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens; and Dagmar Havlová.

The jubilee 40th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in Leopold Park near the main building of the European Parliament. The ceremonial unveiling took place on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - the ribbon was cut by Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Brussels Philippe Close and Pavel Klucký, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of Belgium. Guests included representatives and employees of European institutions, members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of foreign regions and members of the Czech expatriate community.

Havel's Place is a memorial site dedicated to Václav Havel. It consists of two armchairs connected by a round table with a tree growing through its centre. The creation of Havel's Places is a worldwide project initiated by Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, together with architect and designer Bořek Šípek. The aim of the project is to create a network of places in public space that can contribute to encounters and genuine dialogue - places where people can discuss and reflect in the spirit of Václav Havel's ideals and attitudes to life.

The first Havel's Place in Latin America was ceremonially unveiled on September 15, 2021, in Parque del Libro in the Miraflores district of Lima on the Pacific coast. The inauguration took place in the presence of Dagmar Havlová, wife of the Czech president, who flew in from Prague; Michal Sedláček, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Peru; and Luis Molina, Mayor of Miraflores. The unveiling of the memorial launched Václav Havel Week in Lima, a series of cultural and social events organised by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Peru and based on Václav Havel's work.

On Friday afternoon, August 21, Mayor Karolína Koubová unveiled a new Havel's Place in front of the Dukla Cinema. Following a performance by the A/Quartet saxophone quartet, the film Havel was screened at the Dukla Cinema. Video from the ceremonial unveiling here.

On Monday, July 27, 2020, the 37th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled by Špalíček, a complex of historic houses in King George of Poděbrady Square in Cheb's historic centre.

On Sunday, July 5, Havel's Place was unveiled on Vajanského Embankment in Bratislava, near the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, founder of Czechoslovakia. It is the second in Slovakia. July 5 was not chosen by chance. On that day, thirty years earlier, Václav Havel was elected President of Czechoslovakia.

On Sunday, November 17, 2019, the 34th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in front of the Ivan Olbracht municipal office building in Brandýs nad Labem.

On Sunday, November 17, 2019, the day of the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, which brought the previously persecuted playwright and writer Václav Havel to the office of president of the republic, the 33rd Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in the garden of the Na Rozcestí restaurant in Čeladná. Symbolically, it is located by a linden tree planted in 2018 in honour of the republic's centenary and by a restaurant built in 1908 at the crossroads of the salt route from Hungary, the road from Frýdek and the road to Hukvaldy.

On Sunday, November 17, 2019, the 35th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in the park below the church in Tišnov.

On Thursday, November 14, 2019, the 32nd Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled on Gahura Avenue in T. G. Masaryk Square in Zlín. In doing so, the organisers commemorated the approaching 30th anniversary of the events of November 17, 1989, the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, which brought the previously persecuted playwright and writer to the office of president of the common state of Czechs and Slovaks. This was also why former Slovak President Andrej Kiska joined Michael Žantovský, Director of the 1st Presidential Library, at the ceremonial opening.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the 31st Havel's Place was ceremonially inaugurated in the Legnaia courtyard of the University of Milan's Statale. It took place on the occasion of the approaching thirtieth anniversary of the events of November 17, 1989, the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, which culminated in the election of Václav Havel as President of Czechoslovakia. Following the official opening in the university's representative rooms, a ribbon in the national colours was ceremonially cut in its 14th-century courtyard and the bench was introduced into university life. The guests of honour at the event were Dagmar Havlová and Alena Šeredová.

Since Saturday, October 5, Havel's Place has been part of the first Capuchin terrace below Brno's Petrov Cathedral. On the day Václav Havel would have celebrated his eighty-third birthday, it was unveiled by Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková together with Petr Oslzlý, Rector of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts (JAMU) and a close friend of Havel. The location of the bench was proposed by Rector Oslzlý, who previously worked as a dramaturge and director at the Husa na provázku Theatre. “This place is very closely connected with Václav Havel. Not only because Václav Havel Alley links it with the Husa na provázku Theatre. The space also has a strong genius loci; it is a spiritual place, and Václav Havel liked to come here during his visits to Brno,” Oslzlý said.

On Friday, November 16, 2018, the 29th Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in a park on the shore of Lake Geneva, in the immediate vicinity of the Beau-Rivage Hotel. This took place on the eve of the Czech Republic's public holiday, the Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the Prague Spring and the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Shortly before the declaration of an independent Czechoslovak Republic in October 1918, representatives of the domestic anti-Habsburg opposition, led by future Prime Minister Karel Kramář, first met at the Beau-Rivage Hotel with representatives of the resistance abroad, represented by future Foreign Minister Edvard Beneš. The bench, which stands not only close to the hotel but also near the Olga Havel Tree planted in the spring of the same year, was donated to the City of Geneva by the Swiss branch of the Olga Havel Committee of Good Will (L’Association Olga Havel, branche helvétique).

Around 120 people, including Charter 77 signatories, attended the unveiling of the bench designed by architect Bořek Šípek.

The bench was unveiled by Professor Petr Sklenička, Rector of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. It is located in the area between the Rectorate and the Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources. The university thus became one of the memorial sites dedicated to Václav Havel.

The first Havel's Place in Slovakia was unveiled in Košice in the east of the country. “Just as people will sit at this bench, Havel and I often sat together and talked about the struggle for freedom in our countries,” recalled Lech Wałęsa, the former leader of the anti-communist Solidarity movement and former President of Poland, who attended the unveiling of the bench. Former Slovak President Rudolf Schuster and Karel Schwarzenberg, former Czech foreign minister and Havel's friend and chancellor, also spoke at the ceremony.

Following a number of Czech cities and world capitals, Ljubljana is another place commemorating the Czech president, dissident and playwright.

Preparations for placing the bench began a year earlier, when Boleslav decided to dedicate that autumn to the memory of Václav Havel. “I believe the people of Boleslav will make the bench their own and that it will be widely used precisely for contemplation, reflection and remembrance. That anyone passing by will sit down on it, or simply that there will be many questions from the younger generation about who Havel was and why this bench is here,” said Mladá Boleslav Mayor Daniel Marek.

On Thursday, June 22, Havel's Place was ceremonially inaugurated in a Lisbon park in the presence of Karel Schwarzenberg, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The installation of the bench was made possible by a joint initiative of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Lisbon and Lisbon City Hall. The commemorative plaque is dedicated to Václav Havel's relationship with Portugal and also to the personal friendship that connected him with František Jorge Listopad, a Portuguese writer of Czech origin.

The 22nd Havel's Place is located in the courtyard of the former Theresian Artillery Armoury, which houses the university library, publishing house and archive. In May 1990, the University of Olomouc awarded Václav Havel an honorary doctorate in philosophy and was the very first university in the former Czechoslovakia to honour him in this way.

Horní Počernice is connected to Václav Havel and his work through the world premiere of The Beggar's Opera, staged here in 1975. The fortieth anniversary of this event was commemorated by the Horní Počernice Theatre with a revival premiere performed by Divadlo na tahu. On this occasion, the 1st Presidential Library published a collection of memories, letters, reviews and studies entitled Gauneři z Horních Počernic. A commemorative plaque is installed on the former U Čelikovských restaurant, where the premiere took place, although the theatre hall no longer exists. Its role has been taken over by our theatre, which continues to cooperate with Divadlo na tahu and director Andrej Krob and stages one of Havel's plays for students every year. Placing Havel's Place in front of the Horní Počernice Theatre is a logical expression and confirmation of our relationship to the person and work of the first Czech president, said Hana Čížková, councillor for Šance pro Počernice.

“We would like this to serve as a permanent reminder of Václav Havel's legacy, not only as president but as one of the most important figures of the 20th century,” said Michaela Hrubá, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, who initiated the placement of the bench. “The bench is also a gift for the tenth anniversary of the Faculty of Arts,” Hrubá added at the ceremonial unveiling.

On Sunday, September 25, 2016, Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled at Centrum Vráž in Černošice. Its initiator and investor was Michael Pánek. Speakers at the ceremony included Minister of Culture Daniel Herman; Senator Jiří Oberfalzer, former Director of the Press Department of the Office of the President of the Republic; František Šedivý, Vice-Chairman of the Confederation of Political Prisoners; and Michael Pánek, Deputy Mayor of Dobřichovice. The ceremony was accompanied by an exhibition of photographs of Václav Havel, co-organised by the 1st Presidential Library.

Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in Kroměříž's Great Square on September 14. It is the first bench in Moravia.

Michael Žantovský, Director of the Václav Havel Library, welcomed the ceremonial unveiling of Havel's Place in Liberec with the words: “I am convinced that Havel would have been pleased to see that his memory is not honoured by a monumental memorial, but by this modest, intimate place intended for conversation.”

Havel's Place was unveiled on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The 1st Presidential Library was represented at the ceremony by former Presidential Chancellor Ivo Mathé. The aim of the worldwide project is to create a network of places in public space that can contribute to encounters and genuine dialogue - places where people can discuss and reflect in the spirit of Václav Havel's ideals and attitudes to life.

Havel's Place was officially opened in the newly opened campus of the University of Pardubice. “This form of memorial aptly symbolises the essence of Václav Havel's personality: he had the rare gift of listening to others and creating a pleasant atmosphere for meetings, debate and reflection,” said Anna Freimanová of the 1st Presidential Library.

Havel's Place on the campus of Tel Aviv University was presented, alongside a Czech delegation led by Minister of Culture Daniel Herman, by architect Bořek Šípek, the creator of the design of this unconventional memorial site. The event was part of the programme marking that year's 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Israel.

Havel's Place was unveiled on the occasion of the 50th International Film Festival. It was unveiled by Dagmar Havlová, Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) and Marta Smolíková, Director of the 1st Presidential Library, together with Mayor Petr Kulhánek (KOA).

Karel Schwarzenberg, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and an honorary guest of the university, together with Petr Gandalovič, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States, unveiled Havel's Place by the Fir Acres Theatre on the campus of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Havel's Place was presented at the opening of a reconstructed part of the square on the day marking the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. In addition to the general public, those present included representatives of the town of Nový Bor, the Liberec Region, the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and direct participants in the events of November 1989. Bořek Šípek, the creator of the Havel's Place project, also accepted the invitation.

Havel's Place was unveiled in the presence of architect Bořek Šípek, Mayor of The Hague Jozias van Aartsen and JUDr. Jaroslav Horák, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Netherlands. The unveiling was preceded by a short commemorative event at the Old City Hall in The Hague. The bench was placed in a park in The Hague's arts district, on the street in front of the Diligentia theatre.

The University of Oxford commemorated the events of November 1989 in Czechoslovakia with Velvet Day, held at Harris Manchester College. As part of the event, Havel's Place was unveiled and the doors of the new Sekyra House student centre, named after the Czech businessman who financed its construction, were also opened. The centre also includes a lecture hall named after the priest Tomáš Halík.

“Havel's Place can become an imaginary Greek agora, a place where the private becomes public, a place where we clarify who we are, what we want and where we want to go, but also a place where we can simply rest or meet another person. May people debate or argue here in the sense already mentioned; I think Václav Havel would be pleased!” said Plzeň Mayor Martin Baxa at the unveiling of the bench in Šafaříkovy Gardens, where he later sat down with its author Bořek Šípek and KnVH Director Marta Smolíková.

On Saturday, October 4, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in front of the café of the Municipal Library in Hradec Králové.

The Havel's Place project in Venice was made possible above all by Giorgio Boatto, Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Venice; Bill Shipsey, the Irish founder of Art for Amnesty; and Michaela Jorgensen, in cooperation with Venice International University on San Servolo, the 1st Presidential Library and the Czech Embassy in Rome. Among those attending the inauguration in Venice were Petr Buriánek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Italy, together with Giorgio Boatto, Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Venice.

On Wednesday, June 11, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled on the campus of the University of South Bohemia. České Budějovice thus became the fifth city in the world, and the University of South Bohemia the second university site (after Georgetown University in Washington), where this object - a pair of armchairs connected by a round table with a linden tree growing through its centre - would commemorate the life and work of Václav Havel. Despite the tropical weather, the ceremony attracted the attention of several hundred people, especially academics, students, colleagues and friends of Václav Havel.

The first Havel's Place in the Czech Republic was installed in Maltese Square in Prague on May 1, 2014, the day of the 10th anniversary of the Czech Republic's accession to the EU. The ceremony, which took place in a very friendly and informal atmosphere, was attended by the following guests of honour: Dagmar Havlová, Marta Smolíková, Director of the 1st Presidential Library, Mayor Tomáš Hudeček and Karel Schwarzenberg.

Havel's Place, located in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament of Catalonia in Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella, was ceremonially unveiled on Saturday, February 15, 2014. In addition to Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias, the ceremony was attended by Karel Schwarzenberg, founder of the 1st Presidential Library and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; Jan Macháček, Chairman of the Board of the 1st Presidential Library; Marta Smolíková, Executive Director of the 1st Presidential Library; and Tomáš Hudeček, Mayor of Prague.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled in St Patrick's Park in Dublin. The ceremony was attended by Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn and Tomáš Kafka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ireland, in the presence of representatives of the 1st Presidential Library, Marta Smolíková and Jan Macháček.

The first Havel's Place was ceremonially unveiled on Wednesday, October 2, 2013, on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington, with Dagmar Havlová, Madeleine Albright and Tomáš Halík in attendance.