Knihovna Václava Havla

Club / News / Program

Economist, philosopher and writer Tomáš Sedláček takes over as head of Václav Havel Library 03/03/25

“I’m proud that I have been given the trust to develop and cultivate the legacy of Václav Havel and that I can join the Library’s great team. I intend to put all my energies into building a world-class platform that will face forward and be attractive to the new generation of people who care about the spirit of Europe. I would like to bring Havel-style optimism and values back to the public sphere. That is desperately needed right now, and that too is why I regard my new role as a major commitment,” Tomáš Sedláček said in connection with his appointment as director of the Vaclav Havel Library today. More

Change in Library leadership 23/10/24

Today, Wednesday 23 October 2024, Milan Babík decided to resign from the post of director of the Václav Havel Library for personal reasons. The Board of Trustees have accepted his explanation with understanding: “Milan Babík has done a great deal of work. Since June, when he took over, he has succeeded in enriching the Library’s activities, including the launch of projects that should culminate in 2026 in connection with the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth,” said the chairman of the Board of Trustees, Gabriel Eichler. Until a successor to Milan Babík is chosen, the Board of Trustees, as the statutory body, will assume some of his responsibilities, working closely with the Václav Havel Library team.

Truth and love never rust 03/10/24

On the occasion of its 20th birthday, the Václav Havel Library is launching a new fundraising campaign. It aims to commemorate an important milestone in the VHL’s existence and to address new donors. The author of the communication concept TRUTH AND LOVE NEVER RUST is idea maker Martin Halaxa, while art director Jan Lesák is behind the graphic design. The campaign primarily draws on materials from the Library’s archive, which currently holds over 80,000 items. It is based on relatively little-known video footage of Václav Havel in various situations in his life, as well as images by photographers closely associated with him: Tomki Němec, Oldřich Škácha and Přemysl Fialka. The actor David Prachař has given his voice to the campaign, with musical accompaniment coming from the famous underground band Psí vojáci. More

Why Should We Care? 02/10/24

The conference in honour of the laureate of the Václav Havel Prize for 2024, provocatively entitled "What's it to us?", starts at two o'clock! The programme can be found HERE. We look forward to seeing you there!

Where and when?

Program for March 2023<>

entry-free

02. March

Blood Transfusion at
Prague Castle

07. March

Debate N: What Will the
Green Deal Mean for CR?

08. March

Václav Havel’s
One-Act Plays

09. March

Czechoslovaks in the Gulag:
KGB Archives in Ukraine

16. March

A Partnership With No
Limits: China and Russia

21. March

Debate with
Respekt

22. March

Magnesia Litera
I

23. March

Big Book Thursday Gathering
and Signing Session

28. March

Echo from
the Library

29. March

Magnesia Litera
II

Blood Transfusion at Prague Castle

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 2, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

In a number of respects, the new presidential administration of Petr Pavel is likely to more resemble the presidential era of Václav Havel than those of his direct predecessors in a substantial way. Just like Václav Havel, Petr Pavel will enter the position as a citizen candidate without major political experience, with all the advantages and disadvantages that entails. Like Havel’s initial team, his presidential team will likely be characterised by its civic pedigree – both determined to differentiate themselves from their predecessors’ rhetoric, style of work and approach. Similarly to Václav Havel, Petr Pavel wishes to emphasise openness, including the physical openness of the seat of the president itself. Just like the first Czech president, the new head of state wants to maintain a constant, open dialogue with both the media and the general public.

These similarities, as well as the unavoidable differences between the present and the days of 30 years ago, will be discussed by the designated head of the Office of the President, Jana Vohralíková, the designated presidential spokesperson, Markéta Řeháková, and architect Josef Pleskot, who should oversee the transformation of Prague Castle into the open and welcoming head of state’s residence, for all Prague residents, Czech citizens and visitors from abroad.This will be followed by recollections from Karel Schwarzenberg, who was Václav Havel’s head of office in 1990–1992, Havel’s first press spokesman, Michael Žantovský, and architect Miroslav Masák, who advised Havel on issues linked to the transformation of Prague Castle.

Debate N: What Will the Green Deal Mean for CR?

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 7, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

The collocation Green Deal really inflames passions. What will it mean in real terms for the Czech economy? And does the energy crisis mean it will be necessary to compromise on some of its stated ambitions?

Guests: Kateřina Bohuslavová, director of the ESG department at ČEZ Group; Kateřina Davidová, Centre for Transport and Energy; and Ladislav Miko, advisor to the minister of the Environment

The discussion will be moderated by Deník N economics editor Jan Úšela.

Václav Havel’s One-Act Plays

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 8, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

The theatre company Motýlí divadelní společnost presents one-act plays by Václav Havel, directed by Hana Hlinková. Havel’s first play An Evening with the Family, the more well-known Unveiling and its epilogue Five Aunts, from Havel’s later period, reflect the changing and at the same time constant banality of human life and interpersonal relationships. Václav Havel’s plays are part of the permanent repertoire of the amateur theatre company MDS, as time does not diminish the urgency or humour of their message.

Czechoslovaks in the Gulag: KGB Archives in Ukraine

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 9, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

What can the former KGB archives in Ukraine reveal about Czechoslovakia and the ethnic Czechs persecuted in the USSR? What have historians from the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, in cooperation with Ukrainian partners, succeeded in discovering? How do historians and archivists work in Ukraine against the backdrop of Russian aggression? These questions will be answered by those working on the project Czechoslovaks in the Gulag – Adam Hradilek, Jan Dvořák, Anna Chlebina and Jaroslav Formánek – but also their Ukrainian partners: the director of the Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine, Andriy Kohut, and the director of the State Archival Service of Ukraine, Anatolii Khromov.

The evening will also include the official launch of the Digital Archive of NKVD/KGB Documents on Czechoslovak History, introduced by the aforementioned along with colleagues from the Department of Cybernetics at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

The event will be interpreted into Ukrainian.

A Partnership With No Limits: China and Russia

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 16, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

A partnership with no limits. That is what Beijing and Moscow call their ever closer mutual relations. It is clear that one of the pair gains more from the relationship, especially since the beginning of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and the war. Who that is, and why, will be discussed by sinologist and director of the Sinopsis project, Martin Hála, and the radio editor and Russia expert Libor Dvořák.

Kateřina Procházková of Sinopsis will moderate.

Organised by Sinopsis in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.

Debate with Respekt

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 21, 2023, 19:00 – 20:30

Discussion between editors of the weekly Respekt and their guests. For more information and the names of guests visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.

Magnesia Litera I

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 22, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

Writers nominated in the literature categories of the Magnesia Litera awards will read from their books. A cross-section of the Litera for prose, Litera for poetry, Litera for journalism and DILIA Litera for debut of the year organised by the Literaassociation and moderated by Pavel Mandys.

Big Book Thursday Gathering and Signing Session

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 23, 2023, 17:00 – 19:00

We cordially invite you to a gathering and signing session with writers from the 23rd edition of Big Book Thursday. Taking part will be writers Petra Hůlová, Michael Žantovský, Martin Jonáš, Pavel Pawluscha Novotný, Roman Kulich, Petra Klabouchová and Eva Kubátová as well as translators Tomáš Havel and Michal Prokop. Some of the authors will send short video greetings from overseas. Czech Television arts presenter Jiří Svoboda will moderate.

Echo from the Library

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 28, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

Debate series with editors from the weekly Týdeník Echo and their guests in cooperation with the Václav Havel Library. Lenka Zlámalová will chair the discussion. For the theme and the names of guests, visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.

Magnesia Litera II

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: March 29, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

More news | More calendar events

Havel Channel

Havel Channel je audiovizuální projekt Knihovny Václava Havla, jehož cílem je šířit myšlenkový, literární a politický odkaz Václava Havla, bez ohledu na vzdálenost, zeměpisné hranice či nouzové stavy. Jeho páteř tvoří debaty, vzdělávací projekty a rozhovory. Velký prostor je věnován též konferencím, autorským čtením, záznamům divadelních inscenací a koncertům. Audiovizuální projekt Knihovny Václava Havla Havel Channel se uskutečňuje díky laskavé podpoře Karel Komárek Family Foundation.

In Conversation With… Semyon Bychkov

In Conversation With… Marcus Mucha

Salome Zourabichvili: The Fragility of Democracy

35 Years Together - the 35th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel

Publications / E-shop

The central focus of the Library’s publishing programme is the life and work of Václav Havel, his family and close collaborators and friends. For clarity, the programme is divided into six series: Václav Havel Library Notebooks, Václav Havel Library Editions, Student Line, Talks from Lány, Václav Havel Documents, Works of Pavel Juráček and Václav Havel Library Conferences. Titles that cannot be incorporated into any of the given series but which are nonetheless important for the Library’s publishing activities are issued independently, outside the series framework.

Show all publications

Conferences & prizes

Václav Havel European Dialogues

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is an international project that aims to initiate and stimulate a discussion about issues determining the direction of contemporary Europe while referring to the European spiritual legacy of Václav Havel. This idea takes its main inspiration from Václav Havel’s essay “Power of the Powerless”. More than other similarly focused projects, the Václav Havel European Dialogues aims to offer the “powerless” a platform to express themselves and in so doing to boost their position within Europe.

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is planned as a long-term project and involves cooperation with other organisations in various European cities. Individual meetings, which take the form of a conference, are targeted primarily at secondary and third-level students, as well as specialists and members of the public interested in European issues.

Prague 2022 Olomouc Prague 2023 Prague Mnichov 2020 Brussels 2020 Prague 2019 Brussels 2019 Prague 2018 Brussels 2018 Europe at the Crossroads (e-book)Prague 2017 Brussels 2017 Prague 2016 Brussels 2016 Prague 2015 Brussels 2015 Brussels 2014 Berlin 2014 Prague 2014 - J. Gauck Bruges 2014 Prague 2014

Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation to reward outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond.

12th Year of the Prize (2024)11th Year of the Prize (2023)10th Year of the Prize (2022)9th Year of the Prize (2021)8th Year of the Prize (2020)7th Year of the Prize (2019)6th Year of the Prize (2018)5th Year of the Prize (2017)4th Year of the Prize (2016)3rd Year of the Prize (2015)2nd Year of the Prize (2014)1st Year of the Prize (2013)History of the prize

Havel - Albright Transatlantic Dialogues

Since the first Václav Havel Transatlantic Dialogues at GLOBSEC and FORUM 2000 conferences last year, we have lost another stalwart advocate of the transatlantic bond and of the need to face threats to democracy and international order together on both sides of the Atlantic, the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In view of the close bond between Václav Havel and Madeleine Albright and, after Havel's death, between the Secretary and the Library, the Václav Havel Library, with the approval of Madeleine Albright's family, renamed and rebranded the program as The Havel-Albright Transatlantic Dialogues (HATD), after the two major figures with roots in Central Europe who have personified the bond. Together, Václav Havel and Madeleine Albright symbolize the transatlantic relationship and the fundamental values underpinning it perhaps better than any other two people in recent history. The upcoming Dialogues “The Indispensable Woman: The Legacy of Madeleine K. Albright”, at the FORUM 2000 conference on September 1, and at the “Havel and our Crisis” conference at Colby College, ME, on September 28, will thus become venues for a well-deserved tribute to the pair we all respected and admired.

Transatlantic Dialogues 2021 Transatlantic Dialogues 2022 HATD 2022 Prague

Václav Havel

1936

Václav Havel grew up
in a well-known, wealthy entrepreneurial
and intellectual family.

1951

Václav Havel completed primary schooling. Because
of his "bourgeois" background, options for
higher education were limited.

1951

Václav Havel worked as a chemical laboratory technician
while attending evening classes at a high school
from which he graduated in 1954.

1955

Václav Havel studied at the
Economics Faculty of the Czech
Technical University in Prague.

1960

Václav Havel began working at Prague's Theatre on
the Balustrade, first as a stagehand and later as
an assistant director and literary manager.

1963

Havel´s first play The Garden
Party was staged at Prague's
Theatre on the Balustrade.

1964

Václav Havel
married Olga
Splichalova.

1966

VH finished studies at at the
Theatre Faculty of the Academy of
Performing Arts in Prague .

1968

Václav Havel played an active role in
democratization and renewal of culture during the
era of reforms, known as Prague Spring.

1969

Havel's work were banned in Czechoslovakia. He
moved from Prague to the country, continued
his activities against the Communist regime.

1974

Václav Havel worked as a manual laborer
at a local brewery near Hrádeček in
the north of the Czech Republic.

1975

Václav Havel wrote an open
letter to President Gustav Husak,
criticizing the government.

1977

Václav Havel co-founded the Charter 77
human rights initiative and was one
of its first spokesmen.

1978

Václav Havel co-founded The
Committee for the Defense
of the Unjustly Prosecuted.

1979

Václav Havel was imprisoned several times
for his beliefs, his longest prison
term lasting from 1979 to 1983.

1989

Václav Havel emerged as one of the
leaders of the November opposition movement, also
known as the Velvet Revolution.

1990

Václav Havel is elected
President of Czechoslovakia on
December 29.

1993

Václav Havel is elected, after the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the first President
of the Czech Republic.

1996

On January
27, Olga
Havlova died.

1997

Václav Havel married Dagmar Veskrnova,
a popular and acclaimed Czech theatrical,
television and movie actress.

1999

Václav Havel enabled the entry of
the Czech Republic into the North
Atlantic Treat Organisation (NATO).

2003

Václav Havel left office after
his second term as Czech
president ended on 2 February 2003.

2004

Foundation of Václav
Havel Library in
Prague.

2004

The Czech Republic became the 35th
member State of the Council of
Europe on 30 June 1993.

2010

Václav Havel directed
a film adaptation of
his play Leaving.

2011

Václav Havel died at his
summer house Hrádeček in the
north of the Czech Republic.

Educational projects

Archive / Documentation centre / Research projects

The Václav Havel Library is gradually gathering, digitizing, and making accessible written materials, photographs, sound recordings and other materials linked to the person of Václav Havel.

78061 records in total
32330 of events in the VH's life
2831 of VH's texts
2125 of photos
407of videos
569of audios
6583of letters
15100of texts about VH
8602 of books
43779of bibliography records

Access to the database of the VHL’s archives is free and possible after registering as a user. Accessing archival materials that exist in an unreadable form is only possible at the reading room of the Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, 110 00 Prague 1, every Tuesday (except state holidays) from 9:00 to 17:00, or by prior appointment.

We will be glad to answer your queries at archiv@vaclavhavel-library.org.

Havel in a nutshell

The virtual exhibition Václav Havel in a Nutshell places the life story of Václav Havel in the broader cultural and historic context in four chronologically distinct chapters with rich visual accompaniment. The exhibition is supplemented by the interactive map Flying the World with Václav Havel, which captures in physical form Havel’s global “footprint”.

Gallery of key figures of Oldřich Škácha

The Gallery of Key Figures of Oldřich Škácha presents unique and previously unknown photographs of Ludvík Vaculík, Jan Werich, Milan Kundera, Marta Kubišová and many other important personalities as an authentic and original source of knowledge about our modern history.

Vladimir Hanzel's revolution

Collage of recollections, images and sound recordings from Vladimír Hanzel, President Václav Havel’s personal secretary, bringing the feverish atmosphere of the Velvet Revolution to life.

Václav Havel Interviews

A database of all accessible interviews given to print media outlets by the dramatist, writer and political activist Václav Havel between the 1960s and 1989. The resulting collection documents the extraordinary life story of an individual, as well as capturing a specific picture of modern Czechoslovak history at a time when being a free-thinker was more likely to lead to jail than an official public post.

Pavel Juráček Archive

The Pavel Juráček Archive arose in February 2014 when his son Marek Juráček handed over six banana boxes and a typewriter case from his father’s estate to the Václav Havel Library. Thousands of pages of manuscripts, typescripts, photographs, documents and personal and official correspondence are gradually being classified and digitalised. The result of this work should be not only to map the life and work of one of the key figures of the New Wave of Czechoslovak film in the 1960s, but also to make his literary works accessible in the book series The Works of Pavel Juráček.

The aim of the Václav Havel Library is to ensure that Pavel Juráček finds a place in the broader cultural consciousness and to notionally build on the deep friendship he shared with Václav Havel. Soon after Juráček’s death in 1989 Havel said of him: “Pavel was a friend of mine whom I liked very much. He was one of the most sensitive and gentle people I have known – that’s why I cannot write more about him.”

All about Library

The Václav Havel Library works to preserve the legacy of Václav Havel, literary, theatrical and also political, in particular his struggle for freedom, democracy and the defence of human rights. It supports research and education on the life, values and times of Václav Havel as well as the enduring significance of his ideas for both the present and future.

The Václav Havel Library also strives to develop civil society and active civic life, serving as a platform for discussion on issues related to the support and defence of liberty and democracy, both in the Czech Republic and internationally.

The main aims of the Václav Havel Library include

Organizing archival, archival-research, documentary, museum and library activities focused on the work of Vaclav Havel and documents or objects related to his activities, and carries out professional analysis of their influence on the life and self-reflection of society
Serving, in a suitable manner, such as through exhibitions, the purpose of education and popularisation functions, thus presenting to the public the historical significance of the fight for human rights and freedoms in the totalitarian period and the formation of civil society during the establishment of democracy
Organizing scientific research and publication activities in its areas of interest

Support us

We are well aware that freedom and democracy must be nurtured. Here at Ostrovní 13, but also on the audiovisual platform Havel Channel, we strive to do so through our own educational programmes, talks, discussion meetings, books, exhibitions, concerts, theatre performances. We honour Václav Havel's legacy and wish that the Library be a living organism and open to all. That is why our programme is free of charge for everyone. This would not be possible without regular financial support from our supporters. Become one of them...

Support us with a financial donation

Does our work make sense to you and do you want to support the activities of the Vaclav Havel Library?

You can easily make a one-time payment by scanning the QR code.

Would you like to contribute regularly? Then we invite you to become a member of the Vaclav Havel Library Friends Club. What are the benefits of membership? Find out more.

I want to support: Darujme.cz Friends club

Help us expand the archive

The Vaclav Havel Library manages an archive of writings, documents, photographs, video recordings and other materials related to the life and work of Vaclav Havel. This archive is predominantly in digital form. If you or someone close to you owns any original texts, correspondence, photographs, speeches or any other work by Vaclav Havel, we would be grateful if you could contact us.

Archive Contact

You can donate in other ways too

Supporting a specific charitable or public benefit organization whose activities you appreciate or have been supporting for a long time is also possible through a will. This form of donation is quite common abroad, but in the Czech Republic this tradition is only just taking root.

Share information about us

The Vaclav Havel Library is open to media and promotional cooperation, mutual sharing of links, publishing our banners or information about our events.

For more information, please contact us.

Contact for PR & media

Donations have their rules

At the Vaclav Havel Library, we uphold a transparent, responsible and ethical way of dealing with all those who contribute to fulfilling our purpose and implementing our strategy. Our code of ethics summarizes the basic rules of donations.

Code of conduct