News

The Vaclav Havel Library wishes its fans and friends all the best in 2012. We are looking forward to meeting you at some of our events in January.

A collection of well-known and lesser-known photographs of Václav Havel from the Library Archive can be viewed here.

The second edition of Martin C. Putna's sold-out monograph, Václav Havel. Spiritual Portrait Within the Framework Of the Czech Culture of the 20th Century (Václav Havel. Duchovní portrét rámu české kultury 20. století) will reach bookstores on January 6, 2012. However, you can order the book at a reduced price – 280 CZK – from us today at: info@vaclavhavel-library.org.

What we have long feared has come to pass. On the fourth Advent Sunday of 2011, Václav Havel has left us forever, and his life story has come to a close. We experience sadness from this loss and we are with his loved ones in spirit. At the same time, we recognize the importance of the task that we face as an institution whose mission is to preserve his work for future generations, and which does not want to be a mere store for all Havel-related documents, but also a lively meeting place for all those who have been or in future will be affected by his thoughts and actions, who will share his obsessive sense of responsibility for the world, who will be motivated in their actions not just by private interests but by the public benefit and the need for mutual understanding, who will have solidarity with the oppressed, and be ready to defend human rights. Václav Havel's death has hit us at a time of culminating preparations for the Christmas holidays, when Christians around the world commemorate the birth of the Son of God – the good news that present darkness hides the possibility of a new beginning, that in the midst of the chaos and uncertainties of the world, a source of human hope also arises. When in the coming days we say our goodbyes to him, not only will we have tears in our eyes, but we will remember him at the end of his film "Leaving", once again uttering that famous statement that was later so often misinterpreted and caricatured: It is "truth and love" that "must win over lies and hatred". Martin Palouš, Director of the Václav Havel Library

On Thursday, December 22, the winners of VHL Best Student Essay Competition will receive their prizes at Prague’s Montmartre Gallery. The theme of the third year of the competition was: Freedom of speech and modern communication technologies – two sides of the same coin? Admission is free. Looking forward to seeing you!

You can see the photographs from the Monday festive launch of the book of Karel Hvížďala's interviews with Jiří Gruša, "Gruša's Guard on the Rhine" here.

You are cordially invited to the meting with Omar Rodriguez Saludez, a dissident and independent journalist from Cuba, which will take place already this Thursday from 18:00 in MeetFactory. The evening called "Ruling only oneself" will also include the projection of Petr Jančárek's documentary film from 2001, "Voices from the island of freedom" and the exhibition of Pavel Hroch's photographs.

Admission free

It is possible to watch the international symposium, The Epoch-making Power of Freedom of Speech, which takes place in the premises of Archa Theatre, online here.

The Digital Archive was enriched with sixteen letters written by Václav Havel to Alfréd Radok. The letters were mostly written in the period after 1968 when Alfréd Radok lived (till his death) in exile in Sweden. The list of all letters is available here. Also one of Alfréd Radok's letters to Václav Havel was preserved - available here. You can read these letters after previous arrangement with us, best via e-mail.

Dear friends, accept our invitation to the evening program of the international Symposium which will take place in the premises of Archa Theatre on Friday, 9th December 2011. The Evening of Solidarity (19:00 - 22:00) will be opened with a panel discussion where, among others, also political prisoners from Cuba and Myanmar will participate. The performance of the legendary band, The Plastic People of the Universe, will follow. The very end of the evening will be devoted to the open debate and a symbolic refreshment.

Due to the limited capacity of the Hall, we hereby ask you to reserve your seat through email: info@vaclavhavel-library.org

We are looking forward to see you there!

Visitors to the permanent exposition of Václav Havel Library have the uniqe opportunity to see Lukáš Houdek's photographic exposition, "Lachho lar sar maro" (A kind word is like bread), which depicts the faces of contemporary Romany authors and authoresses, till the middle of January.

In his post published on lidovky.cz portal on the last day of November, Jiří Peňás very vividly describes the atmosphere of the evening of author's reading, Na vakerav me - miro jilo vakerel (Not me, but my heart is speaking), which was held on Thursday, 24th November 2011. You can read the entire Czech text here.

The association of CUFA history students in cooperation with Václav Havel Library invite you to the lecture of the director of CUFA Department of Political Science, PhDr. Radek Buben, on the theme of Totalitarianisms and Authoritarianisms (or "an intelligent non-politologist's companion into the world of strange concepts").

We obtained the famous recording of Václav Havel reading his play, Temptation. It is available in the Digital Archive - here.

We opened a section devoted to the international symposium The Epoch-making Power of Freedom of Speech which will be held on Friday, 9th December 2011 in the premises of Archa Theatre. We will update the information about the Symposium program here; you will learn more about individual participants and later will also be able to read the annotations of contributions to the discussion.

You can see the yesterday's launch of Václav Havel's book, Motomorphoses, connected with the scenic reading of sketch Ela, Hela and Stop on Ondřej Němec's photographs.

Within the Czechoslovak Samizdat and its Legacy symposium organized by the Czech Center NY in collaboration with New York University Prague, one of the discussion panels will newly be devoted to the personality and creation of Ivan Martin Jirous. Martin Palouš and Jáchym Topol will represent the Václav Havel Library there.

Today at 2 p.m. in the premises of Gallery of Photography Louvre, the former President of the Czech Republic, Mr. Václav Havel, presented the White Lily (Bílá lilie) anti-corruption award to Mr. Oldřich Kužílek for his efforts to combat corruption in public life and promote greater openness. You will find the photographs from the festive afternoon here.

Čajovna (Tea Room) radio broadcasting program, scheduled by ČRo 3 - Vltava on 17th November 2011, will feature Mr. Martin Palouš, the present director of Václav Havel Library. You will find a brief summary of the program here.

The premiere of Václav Havel's one-act play, Mountain Hotel, performed by the Buchty a loutky (Cakes and Puppets) theatre, was extremely successful. The crowded hall of the permanent exhibition of the Library in the Montmatre Gallery watched the intertwining fates of hotel guests and staff breathlessly. The audience was alternately favouring this or that character, gushing about the beauty of Náměšť nad Oslavou, disappearing with a local train blinking into the darkness of a tunnel... You don’t believe it? Photos taken by Ondřej Němec will certainly convince you...

Next week on Thursday, 10th November, the Archive and the Library will be open from 9:00 to 17:00. It remains valid that you can send your research and other enquiries to this e-mail.

(Jáchym Topol's interview with the member of Buchty a loutky ensemble, Vít Brukner)

I met Vít Brukner with colleagues from Buchty a loutky (Cakes and Puppets) in the middle of the rehearsal of Mountain Hotel. Because it is this Václav Havel’s play what the Theatre chose for its unique and unrepeatable performance. The "Cakes" will perform the play in Montmartre Gallery in Prague’s Řetězová street this Friday, that is, on 4th November.

Dear friends, we are happy to invite you to the festival "hurricane" of Buchty a loutky (Cakes & Puppets) Theatre in Václav Havel Library, whose epicentre will be the premiere of one-act play, Mountain Hotel, written by Václav Havel in 1976.

Dear friends, we would like to use this opportunity to invite you to a discussion evening devoted to O divadle (About the theatre) samizdat magazine which will be held in Kolowrat Theatre (6 Ovocný trh, Prague 1) on Monday 31st October 2011 from 18:00.

Recently, Babylon magazine published an interview with Martin Palouš, director of Václav Havel Library. Those who wish to learn more about our work and direction can read it also here.

The week-long celebrations of Torst publishing house in Václav Havel Library culminated with pure joy on Thursday evening. The photographs of Ondřej Němec are quite telling about this.

You can see Ondřej Němec's photographs from the yesterday's author's reading performed by Petra Hůlová and Markéta Pilátová here.

On Thursday, the week-long celebrations of the TORST anniversary in the premises of the permanent exposition of Václav Havel Library (Montmartre Gallery, 7 Řetězová Street, Prague 1) will be crowned with the launch of book "20 years of TORST publishing house" and opening of the exhibition of photographs taken by Viktor Stoilov. All of you are cordially invited!

The celebration of the TORST publishing house anniversary will continue tomorrow. Two most distinctive voices of current Czech prose, Petra Hůlová and Markéta Pilátová will be heard in the premises of permanent exposition of Václav Havel Library (Montmartre Gallery, 7 Řetězová Street, Prague 1). The evening titled "A novel is the report from a far away land" starts at 19:00.

Materials from Otta Bednářová, Karel Trinkewitz, Václav Marhoul and Zbyněk Benýšek newly enriched our Archive. Big thanks to all!

All participants in the author's reading of Zbyněk Hejda and Ivan Martin Jirous were virtually captivated. Verses filled with fragility and humility, resistance and strength, as well as sentences ringing with cleansing laughter, were heard in the silence of the crammed hall in Montmartre Gallery. Ondřej Němec took pictures of the atmosphere of this unrepeatable evening - available here.

Starting at 19:00 today, two most significant poets of the 2nd half of the 20th century, Ivan Martin Jirous and Zbyněk Hejda, will read from their collections in the permanent exposition of Václav Havel Library in Montmartre Gallery (7 Řetězová Street, Prague 1 - Old Town). You are cordially invited!

One of the guests of ČT 24 TV publicistic program, Václav Havel 75, which profiled the personality of the jubileeing Václav Havel from different points of view, was also director of the Václav Havel Library, Mr. Martin Palouš. You can watch the recording of this show here.

We invite you to the launch of a book by Adéla Gjuričová, Michal Kopeček, Petr Roubal, Jiří Suk and Tomáš Zahradníček, Divided by the Past. The formation of political identities in the Czech Republic after 1989. Martin Palouš, the director of Václav Havel Library, will give an introductory speech.

Refreshment will be prepared for the participants.

You can see the exhibition held on the occassion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Documentation Centre for the Promotion of Independent Czechoslovak Literature in Kampa Museum from 21st October to 6th November.

Recently, we gained various Havel-related materials from the archives of Theodor Pištěk, Anna Fárová and Elzbieta Ledererová. They will be available in the digital archive soon...

Already tomorow you can meet Andrej Krob, a screenwriter, director and the creator of the Original Videojournal and last but not least also the ringmaster of the legendary Theatre on the Rounds (Divadlo na tahu). The event will be held in the premises of permanent exposition of Václav Havel Library in Montmartre Gallery (7 Řetězová Street, Prague 1).

A comprehensive interview of Jiří Kubík with Václav Havel was published today: about illness, politicians, Leaving movie, Blanka tunnel, and other topics. Available for reading here.

Written probably in 1959, this text was later published under the title On Laterna magika. You can read the original version here.

The review was published in Svět a divadlo magazine No. 2011/3. You can read it also here.

Today, Lidové noviny published a comprehensive interview of Jiří Peňás with Jáchym Topol - the writer and now also a collaborator of Václav Havel Library. It is possible to read the interview also here.

In the last July broadcast of Týden v kultuře (A week in culture) program on Czech Radio 1, Jana Klusáková hosted a literary historian and the former director of Václav Havel Library, Mr. Martin C. Putna. You can hear the recorded interview here.

One of the pivotal genres of Václav Havel's work is the genre of essay – on literary, art, social, political as well as spiritual themes. Václav Havel's essays, such as The Power of the Powerless and A Word about Words, became the classic texts of Czech literature; they were translated to dozens of languages and belong to the few world-renowned works of Czech culture. This is also why it is necessary to keep the genre of essay in Czech language – not in the meaning of imitating Václav Havel's writing but in the meaning of Havel-type courage to name unpleasant problems and to seek their unconventional solution.

We discovered an unknown text written by Václav Havel in the humouristic "occasional periodical" Trn from 1968 (No. 2). Its mysterious title is Kavyl gutropach juchor?. We welcome help of translators from the Ptydepe language...

Gradually we digitize approximately 80 boxes with materials covering Václav Havel's period from 2003 to 2008, that is, after he left the Prague Caste. The archive contains various written, audio as well as picture materials - consequently we will publish these materials in digital format on our website.

Martin C. Putna's book, Václav Havel. A spirital portrait within the frame of Czech culture of the 20th century, is one of the most popular titles. You can find its latest review here.

The current issue of the Architekt magazine contains a detailed report about the new base of the Václav Havel Library in the building of U Drahomířna sloupu at Loretánské Square - the article is available in electronic form here.

Materials from the "castle period" keep enriching our digital archive. Gradually, we acquire various interesting materials from former president's complices (so far for example Ladislav Špaček, Miroslav Sklenář and Jaroslava Dutková).

Two big reviews of Martin C. Putna's book, Václav Havel. A spiritual portrait within the frame of Czech culture of the 20th century, were published in Czech language the past two weeks: Spojenec v táboře nepřítele by Matěj Stropnický and S klapkou na levém oku by Erazim Kohák.

On Wednesday, 24th August 2011, Václav Havel's play Prase, or Václav Havel´s Hunt for a Pig, directed in Husa na provázku Theatre in Brno by Vladimír Morávek, took place within the 7th Forest Festival of the Řevnice Theatre.

In 1968 in Liberec, Václav Havel created for the Czechoslovak Radio an audio collage in which, among others, the speeches of our politicians of that time mingle with the digestive sounds of a dining Czechoslovak citizen. Available for download here.

It is possible to read the review of Martin C. Putna's book, Václav Havel. A spiritual portrait within the frame of the Czech culture of the 20th century, published on the denikreferendum.cz website, also here.

We obtained a recording from 1960s from the Czech Radio. Available for download here.

From Helena Medková we obtained Václav Havel's letters sent in the eighties to Ivan Medek, at that time the Viennese co-worker of the Voice of America. You can see their list here.

The 4th volume of the Václav Havel Library Edition – Divided by the Past – was published today. This collective monograph of five renowned historians reflects the crystallisation of the political and cultural climate of the Czech society after 1989.

Announcement to researchers: The Library and Archive (18 Kateřinská Street) will be closed next on 20th September. The exhibition in Řetězová street remains open as usual.

The name is Pět tet (Five Aunts) - it is a short sequel to Vernisáž (Unveiling) in modern coulisses. The premiere of the play took place at Divadelní svět v Brně (Theatre World Brno) in June last year. PDF here.

The already mentioned photographs of Václav Havel taken by Tomki Němec in the first year after the November 1989 events are available in the Digital Archive. Direct link is here.

It is possible to read Jiří Peňás's review of Václav Havel. A spiritual portrait within the frame of the Czech culture of the 20th century, published in Lidové noviny today, also here.

It is generally known that Václav Havel’s grandfather, Vácslav Havel (1861–1921), was an entrepreneur in the building industry and supporter of Czech culture. However, it is almost unknown that in his declining years he came one step closer to the role of a creator: He became the author of a book dealing in a very peculiar way with themes at the borderline of religion, science and philosophy. But this author-thinker extension of his personality remained unrevealed until now because he published the work under a pseudonym.

"I see Martin Putna’s book, Václav Havel. Spiritual portrait within the framework of Czech culture as an extremely pivotal work about an extremely important personality of the Czech history. This is not a usual biography, a factual description of events. Putna unfolds to the reader his cultivated interpretation of the meaning of the cultural environment in which Václav Havel rose and lived. Putna offers an inside view of a direct participant while using a detached view of a historian in the narration. He built his work on his exceptionally careful study of available sources. In addition, Putna writes quite readably and with elegance. In my opinion, this book is a cardinal achievement in so far mostly superficial and often biased thinking about Václav Havel. It sets a new and high standard."

Erazim Kohák.

Martin C. Putna's book describing Václav Havel's personality and work in a broader cultural and literarily-historical context was launched today.

We have obtained over 30 hours of recorded materials from Czech Television. These include various documentary films from the Velvet Revolution, Presidential Speeches as well as not much known records from the 1960s. It is possible to see them all in the study room of the Václav Havel Library (on Tuesdays, 9:00-17:00) - 18 Kateřinská Street, Prague 2.

The 14 lessons of Nina Rutova's book, intended primarily for teachers and students, describes in detail one personality and all eras. The concept of the text is based on the author's lecturing experience in the Vaclav Havel Library where she has been preparing seminars for secondary school students for several years now.

"Critical thinking" methods outline the themes of the book, e.g. dissent, conscience, legacy of the past and democratic discussion.

Dear friends, hereby we would like to invite you to the launch of Michal Pullman’s book, The End of Experiment. Reconstruction and Fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia which will take place in Montmartre Gallery on Tuesday, 3rd May from 19:30.

The photographs taken at the festive launch of Nina Rutová's Havel in a Nutshell, 14 lessons on one personality and all times for teachers and students can be found here.

Dear friends, you are cordially invited to the festive launch of Havel in a Nutshell for teachers and students (Havel v kostce pro učitele a studenty) which will take place in Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová 7, Praha 1) on Tuesday, 26th April from 18:00.

We obtained and are digitizing the archive materials of the President's former spokesman, Mr. Ladislav Špaček. Among others, the documents include Havel's instructions to co-workers, notes on important meetings, correspondence, etc.

This composed evening is devoted to essays Word by Otokar Březina and A Word about Words by Václav Havel. It is organised by Otokar Březina Association and František Bílek Association in cooperation with Václav Havel Library.

If Vokolek’s poems were a direct artistic response to the Communist Putsch – Václav Černý’s book was an intellectual one.

We discovered three letters from 1989 written by Olga Havlová to her imprisoned husband. You can find more about these documents in the Digital Archive here.

The National Museum, in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library, opened in the premises of the National Monument on Vítkov Hill the "I simply cannot live diferently" exhibition about the history of the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted (VONS). The exhibition will last till 15th May 2011. 

Development and Crimes of Pan-Slavism, essay written by Václav Černý who with extraordinary insight devotes to the myth of so-called Slavic unity, was sent to the printing house today.

We obtained over 200 photographs of Václav Havel taken by Karel Cudlín during the presidential period. Here you can find some of them:

Otokar Březina Society in cooperation with Václav Havel Library organises another evening devoted to Anna Pammrová (1860-1945).

We have discovered a speech from 1968 which Václav Havel planned to deliver to New York PEN Club. It primarily describes the events around Tvář magazine.

All those who missed the reading of poems February and Requiem for Jan Masaryk held in Montmartre Gallery in Chain ("Řetězová") street on Friday, 25th February 2011, or on Czech Radio 3 - Vltava broadcast, can get the feel of the evening's atmosphere here.

The poet and kunsthistorian Věra Jirousová belonged to the regular visitors of Montmartre Gallery. Her opinions and insights, unconventionally exuberant and yet very specific and penetrating, were a great inspiration for us.

The article about the year 2000 was written in 1940s. Václav Havel envisages himself in the role of a fifty-year-old millionaire and describes the establishment of the "Factory of Goodness" - Dobrovka.

Poems on Communist Putsch written 1948–1950

In all probability the first immediate poetic reflection of the Communist Putsch and the consequent life in lies.

We offer several pictures of the small Václav Havel when visiting Zlín city (1940s).

Courtesy of the family archive of Ivan M. Havel.

Czech Radio reporter, long-time “confessor” of Václav Havel in Talks from Lány, recalls these meetings in the following interview.

The obit of Mojmír Horyna, a prominent kunsthistorian, outstanding pedagogue and especially a man of extraordinary moral qualities took place in St. Jilji Church in Prague’s Old Town at 11 a.m. today. We are honoured that one of the last events he has visited was the opening of Vojmír Vokolek's exhibition.

We digitalised the tape recording of the Long-Distance Interrogation from 1985 which we obtained as a gift from historian Prof. Vilém Prečan.

You can see the family life of the Havels in photographs and drawings from the period of the First Republic, Second Republic and Protectorate here and here.

*1. 1. 1913 Pardubice, † 23. 7. 1988 Ústí nad Labem

The Thursday opening of exhibition of Vojmír Vokolek's works was extraordinarily successful: many interesting guests, interviews, meetings... Pictures published in the newest photogallery at least partially show the atmosphere of this event.

"In the last two decades of his life the painter and sculptor Vojmír Vokolek approached formally the most recent trends of art. Minimalism, arte povera, conceptual art. However, the rapprochement was only apparent. The work of Vojmír Vokolek always differed - from socialist realism as well as the subdued modern art or later avant-garde – in one aspect: it always contained a clear, predetermined spiritual message. “There is a content in it, and even religious!” shrieked out a horrified theorist of avant-garde in the seventies. He got rightfully scared and so should we today: Work of Vojmír Vokolek really has a very timeless, spiritual content, that is why it offends the very history of the Czech art."

Excerpt from text by Václav Vokolek

Originally published in the O divadle (About Theatre) samizdat magazine, the interviews were scanned and now are available here and here.

Starting today, you can buy the History of Kampademie (in Czech language) written by Daniel Kroupa for only 99 CZK in our e-shop . It is the first comprehensive summary of the history of intellectual fellowship of Kampademie – the renewed platonic academy at Kampa - formed, among others, by Zdeněk Neubauer, Radim Palouš, Pavel Bratinka, Daniel Kroupa and also Václav Havel. The publication includes also contemporary photographs from Hrádeček and transcript of a recorded kampademic discussion.

The preparation of the festive opening of exhibition from works of Vojmír Vokolek, Czech lands to the saint, hermitages to the brave (and compliments to celebrities) in the Montmartre Gallery reach its peak. Don't forget to note down Thursday, 20th January at 19:00...

You can buy the new publication of the Library either via email sent to info@vaclavhavel-library.org or when visiting our exhibition Havel in a Nutshell (Řetězová street 7, Prague 1 - Tue-Sun 12.00-18.00). In both cases you will get the book at discounted price (319 CZK).

The first comprehensive summary of the history of intellectual fellowship of Kampademie – the renewed platonic academy at Kampa - whose members were, among others, Zdeněk Neubauer, Radim Palouš, Pavel Bratinka, Daniel Kroupa and also Václav Havel. The publication includes also contemporary photographs from Hrádeček and transcript of one of recorded kampademic discussions.

Letters to Olga, written by Václav Havel from prison, is a world-famous work of Czech literature. Now Letters from Olga - the real answers to his philosophical letters - come to light.

We invite you to the literary evening organized at the occasion of 150th anniversary of Anna Pammrová’s birthday - Anna Pammrová, her life, work and friendship with Otokar Březina.

What is Bratislava’s Central European Forum? The little brother of the Prague Forum 2000: Younger, slighter, and better looking. He shares his strengths with his older brother: the intention to seduce intellectuals across countries and sectors to debate in discussions open to the public of the host city, under the auspices of Václav Havel. He does not share the weaknesses of his older brother: themes which are too abstract, too much emphasis on mildly attractive celebrities, a form too opulent and ostentatious.

The correspondence of Václav Havel addressed to Jan Zábrana is available in our Digital Archive now. We got the letters as a gift from the widow, Marie Zábranová. You can read them here.

Perhaps the most characteristic phenomenon of the Czech political stage today is the “reallocation of power”, creation of new alliances and new opinion forces on the Left, as well as on the Right. In some views, the Czech “new Left” or, on the contrary, “new Right” might seem as touching the extreme, in other views as deepening and renewing their left-wing, or right-wing, identity.

This international conference where Zygmunt Bauman, Karel Schwarzenberg, Adam Michnik and other significant guests will debate in four panels titled Labyrinth of Lies, Twilight of Politics, Roots of Wrath and Central Europe in the Global Future, addresses current social problems. The conference days are 5-6th November from 14:00 to 21:00; detailed program of the Central European Forum can be found at www.ceeforum.eu.

Within the Kampademic Colloquium, Martin Palouš (Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN in New York) talked about what Kampademia meant to him. Available for download here.

Fausting is the first publication of the collection of texts compiled by Václav Havel's friends in 1986 at the occassion of his 50th birthday. The texts reacted to Havel's play Temptation: from platonic dialogues through Devil's monologue up to the mysterious Faust's mistress. It is accompanied with contemporary transcription of interview with Václav Havel. It is published as the first issue of the Václav Havel Library book series.

The Czech-English notebook contains an essay on the Letters to Olga written by Zdeněk Neubauer on wish of then imprisoned author. The publication also includes a contemporary interview with the author about a midsummer trip, Kampademia, letters from prison and letters to prison, about Consolatio philosophiae, Hrádeček, and also about Catholicism, magic mushrooms as well as Tolkien...

You can download a small memory in mp3 format here - part of recording of Martin Putna interviewing Zdeňek Neubauer. Their talk is included in the new VHL Notebook which contains also Neubauer's foreword to the Leters to Olga, "Consolatio Philosophiae Hodierna".

We invite you for the first public sitting of intellectual fellowship of Kampademie ("Academy at Kampa") - a philosophical association whose members included Pavel Bratinka, Tomáš Halík, Ivan M. Havel, Zdeněk Neubauer, Daniel Kroupa, Martin Palouš, Radim Palouš, Helena Webrová a Zdeněk Kratochvíl.

On the 1st September 2010, Mr. Petr Hájek, Václav Klaus's vice-chancellor, at a demonstration of the D.O.S.T. Initiative, in presence of Jana Bobošíková and other comparably significant and popular personalities of our public life, touched on our work:

The Václav Havel Library announces the second year of the competition for secondary school students: Award for the Best Student Essay.

We gradually digitize newly discovered archive materials of Zdeněk Urbánek. The materials include many letters written by Václav Havel and many Urbánek's comments on Mr President's speeches given in early 1990s when Zdeněk Urbánek worked as one of his advisers.

Dagmar Hochová as one of few took pictures of Václav Havel in 1960s. The collection, among others, include unique photographs from the IV. Congress of the Association of Czechoslovak Writers. All photographs can be found here.

Havel-related materials from the Czechoslovak Documentation Centre will gradually enrich our digital archive.

Scanned originals of famous Letters to Olga are available in our Digital Archive.

On 17th June 2010 the Václav Havel Library organised a discussion meeting, Amálie, this time on theme "Green Phoenix".

The complete audio records of Talks from Lány are available in the Digital Archive now. The program in which Václav Havel as a president commented regularly on topical events in the country was broadcasted by Czechoslovakian and later Czech Radio in years 1990 to 2000.

Several insights from the former director of Czech Radio who was directly involved in Talks from Lány.

We selected three audio records from the Literary Evening with Václav Havel, during which the author recited his verses personally.

The book is composed of works of the 36ers published in Samizdat magazines Interviews with the 36ers and Silver Wind. Among others, it contains Havel’s unknown texts from his earliest period, uncovered in the depths of Hrádeček.

The literary evening of Václav Havel took place in the premises of the Montmartre Gallery on Wednesday 2nd June 2010 from 18:00 within the Václav Havel Library project Spring with 36ers.

The video recording of Václav Havel's pre-election statement is available here.

All Talks from Lány with Václav Havel broadcasted by Czechoslovakian and later Czech Radio in years 1990-2000 will soon be available in the digital archive.

The agreement on cooperation with the Nation's Memory Institute was signed in Bratislava on 4th May 2010. The Václav Havel Library on its grounds extended its resources with many publications mapping the epoch-making events of Slovakian history in the 20th century.

On 23rd April 2010 Václav Havel published his article what the election programme of an imaginary political party might look like, if written by a younger Václav Havel.

We publish selected parts of the interview conducted by Martin C. Putna with Věra Linhartová in Paris.

Literary Evening of Poetess Věra Linhartová will take place in premises of the Montmarte Galery within the Vaclav Havel Library project, Spring with 36ers, on Wednesday 21st April 2010 from 18:00.

Tens of personalities who decided to vote the Green Party met in the Václav Havel Library on Tuesday 16th March 2010.

You are heartily invited to a literary evening of Josef Topol (the name means “poplar” in English), the third of the cycle of five evenings within the Spring with 36ers which will be held on Wednesday, 31st March 2010 from 6 p.m. in the Montmartre Gallery, Řetězová 7, Prague 1.

You are heartily invited to the literary evening of Viola Fischerová, the second from the cycle of five evenings within the Spring with 36ers which will be held on Wednesday, 24th February 2010 from 6 p.m. in the Montmartre Gallery, Řetězová 7, Prague 1

Author's reading from Jiří Kuběna's work in Zdeněk Janál's dramaturgy performed by actor Jiří Suchý z Tábora and with Martin Putna's commentary

The first volume of the second year of the Vaclav Havel Library Notebooks is a catalogue to the art exhibition of Jiří Kuběna bearing the same name.

The Vaclav Havel Library invites you to a literary evening of Jiří Kuběna. The first from the cycle of five evenings within the Spring with 36ers will to be held on 2nd February 2010 from 6 p.m. in the Montmartre Gallery, Řetězová 7, Prague 1.

Here you can find the profile of the Václav Havel Library on the Facebook - and perhaps become our fan...

We invite you to talk with a journalist and dissident Petruška Šustrová about the activity of women in dissent. It will take place on Wednesday, 27th January at 17:30 in the Marcus Gallery Café, Úvoz 24, Brno.

The Šestatřicátníci (“those born in 1936, or 36ers”) association was the first literary and artistic group which Václav Havel put together at the beginning of his career, in the years 1953-1954, as a seventeen year old man - and the association shaped his own creative beginnings. From the group, besides Václav Havel, came many writers and journalists, among them especially four authors, extremely important for the history of Czech culture - Jiří Kuběna, Josef Topol, Věra Linhartová and Viola Fischerová.

Accept our invitation to the first event of this season in the Vaclav Havel Library. The season bears motto Havel’s first gang or Spring with 36ers and will recall the first artistic association which Havel created around himself in the middle of 1950s.

The Václav Havel Library, Office of Václav Havel and Association Civic Belarus invite you to Belarus Day on 8th December 2008 in Prague’s Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová 7). Belarus Day starts at 3 p.m. with a panel discussion: “Theatre in lack of freedom”, during which Belarusian and Czech theatre in dissent will be discussed - their similarities and differences.

Spirituality of Václav Havel, the new study of Martin C. Putna, which searches for the sources of Havel’s philosophical texts, which almost no one have noticed yet.

In connection with the publication of the work of Václav Havel in our archive, we lower the price of Havel’s seven-volume Writings (Torst 1999) to CZK 888. You can buy the “green box” in the Montmartre Gallery where you will also find exhibition Havel in a Nutshell.

Vaclav Havel Library invites you to the opening of an exhibition of photographs made by Luboš Kotka: Absurdistan – years of non-freedom. Set of photographs of everydayness of normalisation revealing many absurd, unintentionally comic situations and scenes, hidden behind the gray surface of Husák’s time.

Set of critical reflections on Havel’s intellectual work from the pen of a leading Czech philosopher. Many texts are published in a book for the very first time.

The work of Václav Havel is freely accessible in the digital archive from 12th October. Gradually, it will present also other materials that are somehow related to the life of our first Czech President - photographs, documents, audio recordings, but also videos.

We invite you to the radio documentary on the trial with six members of the VONS at the Municipal Court in Prague on 22nd – 23rd October 1979.

We invite you to launching Notebooks 2009/3. On Thursday 15th October from 18:00 at the Montmartre Gallery (7 Řetězová Street, Prague 1).

Since October 2009 we open library and archive to the public - every Tuesday from 9:00 to 17:00. Here you can find the basic Havel-related literature (from Havel and about Havel), as well as literature on Havel-related context (history, politics, law, etc.).

We invite you to the opening of the exhibition about the Committee for Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted. Library, Institute for Contemporary History AS CR and Libri prohibiti organised it at the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the trial with members of the VONS. The opening takes place on Tuesday, 22nd September from 18:00. From 15:00 a colloquium of historians will be held, followed by the debate with the still living, then convicted members of the VONS.

Here you can see a detailed program of the Library for the next two months: September and October.

In November 2004, a book of the dispatches sent from the American Embassy in Prague to the American diplomatic headquarters from the revolutionary days of 1989 was published under the name of “Prague – Washington – Prague”. Prof. Vilém Prečan prepared the Czech-English version for publishing from unique archive materials which the American State Department released for this purpose.

In three parts, this publication offers three ways of remembering the totalitarian everyday life.

We invite you to a satirical performance by the Puppet Theatre Czechoslovakia. It will take place in the Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová Street 7, Prague 1) on the 12th June at 19:00.

The second issue of the Václav Havel Library Notebooks entitled “Instigation and Punishment” (“Podněcování a trest”) was published on 2nd June 2009. “Instigation and Punishment” is a unique and absurd text. It is the actual court trial record of Václav Havel from February 1989, converted into the form of a theatrical drama – “almost another play by Václav Havel”.

The second issue of the Václav Havel Library Notebooks entitled “Instigation and Punishment” (“Podněcování a trest”) has been published. The first release of the Notebooks will take place in the Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová 7, Prague 1) on 9th June from 18:00.

The Václav Havel Library announces the first annual Literary Competition for students of Secondary Schools, competing for the Václav Havel Library Award for Student Essay.

Once more, after some time, we would like to invite you to a theatrical performance - “Jeans Generation” -  by the Belarus Free Theatre.

The Václav Havel Library and Fórum 50 % would like to invite you to the Women’s Housing Seminar on the forms of feminine resistance during normalisation, which will take place in the Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová 7, Praha 1 - Old Town) on Wednesday, 29th April 2009 at 18:30.

The Václav Havel Library, Respect and Opona, o.p.s. warmly extends its invitation to you for the launch of this book which is part of the Cirkus totality (Circus of Totalitarianism) project: VĚČNÉ ČASY (Eternal Times)

The song. “Havel in a Nutshell”,  was composed for the occasion of the opening of the  old-new exposition: "Václav Havel - Czech Myth”, the new subtitle of which is just “Havel in a Nutshell”.

The exposition on Václav Havel - Czech Myth or Havel in a Nutshell - is open in the Montmartre Gallery (Řetězová 7, Praha 1). You can view it from Tuesdays to Sundays between 12:00 and 18:00.

The first issue of the Václav Havel Library Notebooks quarterly was published on 11th March 2009.