Knihovna Václava Havla

Club / News / Program

Three candidates shortlisted for the 2022 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 06/09/22

The discussion among the seven-member jury helmed by the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe centred on the importance of the issue of human rights during this tense period. The finalists include Vladimir Kara-Murza, a political prisoner and leading Russian democracy campaigner; Ukraine’s 5 AM Coalition, which gathers evidence of human rights abuses stemming from Russia’s invasion of the country; and Hungary’s Rainbow Coalition defending LGBTQIA+ rights. “This year’s selection reflects the central role that human rights play in the current European crisis,” says Michael Žantovský, jury member and executive director of the Václav Havel Library, which bestows the prize in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Nadace Charty 77.

The Other Europe 27/04/22

Dear Friends, After three years we have completed the international project The Other Europe, during which, in cooperation with partner institutions, we have processed and made public recordings of interviews shot in 1987 and 1988 behind the Iron Curtain, and in exile, with important representatives of the opposition and the arts, as well as random citizens. Over those three years we have prepared video, audio and text of 106 interviews in speakers’ native languages and English translation. Despite public health restrictions in the Covid period, we have jointly prepared 16 international conferences and public presentations in six Central and Eastern European states. More

From Schuman to Havel – what next? 16/02/22

The Václav Havel Library is a proud partner of the project Beyond Robert Schuman’s Europe More

Václav Havel Prize awarded to Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava 27/09/21

The ninth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize – which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights – has been awarded to Belarusian opposition leader and activist Maria Kalesnikava, the PACE press service reported. The 60,000-euro prize was presented at a special ceremony on the opening day of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Maria Kalesnikava is one of the opposition leaders in Belarus and a member of the Co-ordination Council. She was the head of the campaign headquarters of former presidential nominee Viktar Babaryka, and has become one of the three female symbols of the Belarusian opposition and the struggle of the people of Belarus for civil and political liberties and fundamental rights. Accepting the award on her behalf, Maria’s sister Tatsiana Khomich thanked the award committee and said her sister would want to dedicate her win to all those in Belarus fighting for their rights: “This award is a sign of solidarity of the entire democratic world with the people of Belarus. It is also a sign to us, Belarusians, that the international community supports us, and that we are on the right track.”

Program for June 2023<

05. June

Debate with
Respekt

06. June

Debate N: Are We
Wasting Children’s Potential?

07. June

I Spotted My
Own Face

08. June

Jiří Přibáň and Karel Hvížďala:
The Quest for Meaning

Today10. June

The Václav Havel
Library at Knihex

12. June

Jan Steklík,
Mixed Technique

15. June

Tower of
Babylon

19. June

Conference: The Power of
Parties, Money & Influence

An Evening of Remembrance
for Josef Jařab

20. June

Echo from
the Library

21. June

Open Apartments, Open Hearts – Defiant
Women in the Normalisation Era

22. June

Aleš Lederer 70: Landmark Birthday
for Legend of Czech Publishing

29. June

Announcement of the 2023
Tom Stoppard Prize

Debate with Respekt

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 5, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

How is the war in Ukraine changing Eastern Europe? What can we expect from further developments in the conflict? And how important is Europe to the US today? Debate with US historian Michael Kimmage, an expert on American-Russian relations and the history of the Cold War, hosted by Barbora Chaloupková. Discussion in English without interpretation into Czech.

Debate N: Are We Wasting Children’s Potential?

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 6, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

This year the densest year in 30 years will finish ninth grade, meaning secondary schools are facing the most intense pressure. Even though the strain was expected, the capacity of schools remained the same as in previous years. In this Deník N debate we will explore how the system of individual entrance tests should be changed and how to ensure we have better educated pupils.

I Spotted My Own Face

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

Traditional authors’ reading within the festival Stranou – European Poets Live

Featuring: Cvetka Bevc (SLO) / Gale Burns (UK) / Przemysł Dakowicz (PL) / Petr Hruška (CZ) / Vid Karlovšek (SLO) / Jakub Pacześniak (PL) / Daniela Vodáčková (CZ) / Iryna Zahladko (UA-CZ)

Music programme: Petr Hejný (cello) and Edita Keglerová (harpsichord)

Lenka Kuhar Daňhelová and Peter Kuhar will host the evening.

Jiří Přibáň and Karel Hvížďala: The Quest for Meaning

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

The discussion will introduce Hledání smyslu (The Quest for Meaning), the latest volume in a loose trilogy that follows on from The Quest for History and The Quest for Responsibility. In the new book the authors turn from history toward human culture and man as a being that seeks the meaning of everything, particular his own existence. The very combination of “quest” and “meaning” may, however, create a false impression that search is a matter of effort or movement, while meaning represents the permanence and certainty that such a quest is focused on. In reality it is the other way around. Hidden in the search itself is our essential living experience, while meaning often turns out to be a moving target. And today’s crisis of culture stems from the fact that man does not search for meaning, which leads him to want it all the more. In reality the quest for meaning is a continuous, ongoing and never-ending process.

Appearing alongside the authors will be Pavel Rychetský, Tereza Matějčková, Jan Němec and Veronika Pehe.

Petr Fischer will moderate.

The Václav Havel Library at Knihex

Where: Kasárna Karlín, Prague 8
When: June 10, 2023, 10:00 – 20:00

Once again the Václav Havel Library will have a stand at Knihex, a traditional festival of small book publishers taking place for the 13th time. There you will find our newest publications alongside established titles, posters and other essentials.

Jan Steklík, Mixed Technique

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 12, 2023, 17:00 – 20:00

On the occasion of an exhibit of Jan Steklík’s drawings at Libri Prohibiti an intercity and international gathering is being held, exploring the life and oeuvre of the multifaceted artist.

The evening will be launched by Jiří Gruntorád, while the authors of a monograph on the artist, Jozef Cseres and Terezie Petišková, will speak. Also
appearing will be Don Sparling and Gerry Turner, fellow members of the Crusaders School. Jiří Fiedor will discuss Jan Steklík’s 1990s exhibitions. The subsequent discussion will be chaired by Duňa Slavíková. Josef Daněk and Blahoslav Rozbořil will deliver an art performance, while Annegret Heinl will be on hand with a performance lecture. A discussion following that will be chaired by Paul Wilson, with Karel Oujezdský and Aleš Lamr also set to appear.

Tower of Babylon

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 15, 2023, 19:00 – 21:00

The Tower of Babylon was a year and a half long project under which the review Babylon mapped the literature and culture of ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic and Norway (the Norwegian Funds supported the project): Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Roma, Sami. It is also the name of an anthology that arose out of the project. Its editor, Babylon’s editor-in-chief Petr Placák, and other guests will discuss both its subject matter and authors. Jáchym Topol will chair the debate.

Conference: The Power of Parties, Money & Influence

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 19, 2023, 12:00 – 17:00

On Monday June 19th, 2023, between 13.00 and 18.00 am, at the Vaclav Havel Library the Democracy & Culture Foundation in collaboration with the Sekyra Foundation, and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung will conduct a twin event. During the first part a panel of two speakers will examine the issue of “Women in Politics and Public Space”. In the second part the Atlas organization will conduct and facilitate a four-hour citizens’ driven consultation on the issue of “Political parties, money and influence”. Local citizens will be asked to debate this specific issue and come up with policy recommendations that have a Czechia-oriented and universal application, which, when implemented, will contribute to strengthening the functioning of Liberal Democracy.

Ms. Ladmanova, Head of Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic and Ms. Nerudova, University professor and a candidate in the 2023 Czech presidential election will be the speakers in the panel

Andrea Venzon and Colombe Cahen-Salvador will conduct and facilitate the Consultation.

Václav Štětka will act as the moderator for the panel and as rapporteur for the Consultation

The entire event will be conducted in Czech.

The consultation is part of the “Re-Imagining the Building Blocks of Democracy”, a 3-year international project, already in its 2d year of implementation which runs in 10 cities across the world (both the Global North and the Global South) and aims through a combination of experts’ roundtables and citizens’ consultations to identify, publicize and push for implementation specific policy proposals that would help Liberal Democracy meet the challenges of our times. The proposals concentrate on five main issues (building blocks) namely people, parties-money & influence, voting, information & disinformation and the balance between legislative and executive power.

An Evening of Remembrance for Josef Jařab

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

Josef Jařab, a teacher, American Studies expert, translator and public figure (1937–2023), died recently after over half a century of striving for a free and democratic society. He was an important personage in intellectual life in Moravia, Silesia and Bohemia and helped shape the outlooks and cultural perspectives of generations of young people. After November 1989 he contributed as a politician and senator to the construction of democratic academic and social institutions in his own country and throughout Central Europe. Friends and relatives will remember Jožka Jařab in an evening that will also see readings from his translations, as well as musical accompaniment.

Echo from the Library

Where: Václav Havel Library, Ostrovní 13, Prague 110 00
When: June 20, 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 names of guests visit www.vaclavhavel.cz prior to the event.

Open Apartments, Open Hearts – Defiant Women in the Normalisation Era

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

Open apartments in a closed period. Islands of freedom despite the constant threat of losing just that. Female hostesses, wives, mothers, activists… What was life like in open apartments? What were the pleasures and pitfalls for inhabitants? What did it mean for the children who grew up in them? And did these defiant, unconventional women regard themselves as feminists? These questions will be discussed by Kamila Bendová, a mathematician, mother of six and key figure in the dissent; Pavla Paloušová, a Charter 77 signatory and daughter of the recently deceased Dana Němcová; and Mirek Vodrážka, a feminist, underground musician and journalist.

Aleš Lederer 70: Landmark Birthday for Legend of Czech Publishing

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

A month after the brutal attack on Národní in 1989 one-time samizdat publisher Aleš Lederer set up the PROSTOR publishing house. In early 1990 its first title – Politickou emigraci v atomovém věku (Political Emigration in the Atomic Age) by journalist Pavel Tigrid – came out in a print run of 100,000. That was the start of over 30 years of life with the publishers, which has always striven to cultivate and maintain a space for freedom in this country. On Thursday June 22 Aleš Lederer celebrates his 70th birthday. A get-together involving Aleš Lederer and his guests is promised, while a toast, and birthday cake, can also be expected!

Announcement of the 2023 Tom Stoppard Prize

Where: The Residence of the Mayor, Mariánské náměstí 98/1, Prague 1
When: June 29, 2023, 18:00 – 20:00

Following an agreement with the British dramatist of Czech origin Sir Tom Stoppard, the Václav Havel Library took over the annual Tom Stoppard Prize. It is bestowed for an original, unpublished essay in the Czech language that contributes in an extraordinary way to the understanding of the state of contemporary society and social processes, civilization and civilization circles, the international environment, human rights, literary and artistic works and their creators, fresh scientific discoveries, modern history and processes taking place in the human soul.

Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil has assumed patronage of the ceremony at Prague’s Lord Mayor’s Residence.

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.

Polish historian and political scientist Łukasz Adamski in an interview with Zuzana Hocková

The Velvet Revolution, the Current Crises and the Future of Liberal Democracy. A Patočka Debate

The Havel Albright Transatlantic Dialogues: Havel and Our Crisis - The Crisis of Truth

The Havel Albright Transatlantic Dialogues: Havel and Our Crisis - Keynotes

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.

Olomouc Prague 2023 Prague 2022 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.

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 2022 Transatlantic Dialogues 2021 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

Man of inspiration

This six-part series of educational videos introduces young viewers to the most important events in Czechoslovak history in the second half of the 20^th century, with an accent on the human rights struggle. It is presented by singer and TV moderator Emma Smetana and choreographer and producer Yemi. The presenters of the English versions are native speakers.

Year of Revolution

The year of the Velvet Revolution from the perspective of young YouTubers. A series of seven video lessons aimed at elementary and secondary schools mapping the revolutionary year from January to December 1989 and introducing viewers to key moments in totalitarian Czechoslovakia’s transformation into a democratic country.

Read Havel

A collection of short videos in which well-known young people in Czech public life present iconic and lesser-known texts by Václav Havel.

Václav Havel here and now

A travelling series of discussions about VH and more with Michael Žantovský, intended for secondary school students, libraries and arts centres.

Best Student Essay Competition

One of the key genres of Václav Havel’s work is essays – on literary, artistic, social, political, and spiritual topics. His essays, such as the The Power of the Powerless and A Word About Words, have become classic texts of Czech literature; they have been translated into tens of languages, and are among the few truly world-famous works of Czech culture. This is also why it is necessary to keep cultivating the essay genre in the Czech language – not in the sense of imitating Václav Havel’s writing, but in the spirit of his courage to name unpleasant problems and search for unconventional solutions to them. For this reason, the Václav Havel Library is announcing the next year of the literary competition for secondary students: the Václav Havel Library Prize for Best Student Essay.

Václav Havel´s Bookshelves

The Václav Havel Little Libraries are a key new Václav Havel Library project aimed at establishing a nationwide network of elementary and secondary schools that, with the support of the VHL, will spread the legacy of Václav Havel among their pupils and students. The aim of the Little Libraries is to create in schools (on the model of the existing Václav Havel’s Places) book shelves on which the schools will gather both texts by Václav Havel and texts closely linked to him. They may also contain other written materials, audio and video recordings and photographs.

Lets rock!

Are your students (whether at elementary, arts-focused elementary or secondary schools) interested in history? Do you have a theatre or film club at your school, or are you teaching young people who “just” like to act? If so, we cordially invite you to join the Václav Havel Library in celebrating in a creative manner the centenary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia with the theatre-education project Tomorrow!

Václav Havel – a Czech myth, or Havel in a Nutshell

This interactive workshop lasting for about 180 minutes takes place in the “Havel in a Nutshell” exhibition hall. Primary and secondary school students are divided into groups within which they deal with various “research” projects. Students work with selected texts and are provided with particular books. The workshop is related not only to the teaching of Czech history, but also to personal, literary, artistic and media training, and increasing student’s democratic consciousness as citizens.

Workshop: The Audience

An interactive 90 minutes’ workshop for secondary school’s students deals with Havel´s well known play The Audience.

Workshop: The Life Story of Vaclav Havel

An interactive 90 minutes’ workshop for primary school pupils (6 – 12 years) brings the ideas and work of Václav Havel on human rights and civil society to children through Havel´s book for children Pizh'duks.

Exhibitions

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”.

Oldřich Škácha – Occupation 1968

A collection of photographs by Oldřich Škácha from the Václav Havel Library’s collection.

The Faces of Resistance

Pavel Hroch’s online photographic exhibition captures the stories of those who, across several decades of Czechoslovak history, stood up to evil, inhumanity, oppression and coarseness and who at certain moments displayed courage, will to freedom, love of those around them and common sense.

Via the East to the West

In autumn 1989, Prague was flooded with citizens from the German Democratic Republic. For them, the Czechoslovak capital was to be a transfer station on the journey to freedom, to the western part of their country, whose division was symbolised by the Berlin Wall. One of the main reasons for the sudden growth in the number of refugees was the fear that the GDR would close its borders with Czechoslovakia, the only country East German citizens could enter without a visa, ahead of 40th anniversary celebrations of its foundation.

With a Passion for Freedom

Pavel Hroch’s photographs capture the revolutionary period springing from November 1989 as well as the era of transformation, the start of the 1990s, when things happened in Czechoslovakia that had previously been impossible and unimaginable, a period of joy and carnivalesque festivity, a period of visions, hopes and a great and perhaps somewhat naïve belief in the future. Twenty-five years later, the photographs hold a mirror up to the manner in which those dreams and visions have been realised and to where we find ourselves today.

Leaving

Story of Václav Havel’s final play and first film (1988–2011)

August invasion of Hrádeček

A meeting of the children of dissidents and others who shared recollections of Václav Havel. The exhibition is a colourful collage of photographs, audio recordings – from talks by individual participants on the subject “My life with Václav Havel”, to a concert by Monika Načeva and Michal Pavlíček – and unique archival materials.

Exhibition archive

Depository

Za dobu svého trvání Knihovna Václava Havla připravila a uspořádala desítky výstav. Část z nich – přibližující nejen život a dílo Václava Havla, ale též nejrůznější kulturní, historické a společenské fenomény českých zemí 2. poloviny 20. století – se stala součástí jejího archivu. Nyní bychom je rádi prostřednictvím tohoto digitálního depozitáře nabídli dalším vzdělávacím a kulturním institucím (školám, knihovnám, klubům…) k bezplatnému využití.

Více o depozitáři Mám zájem o výstavu

11/11/23 – 19/11/23
18/10/23 – 30/11/23Písek Municipial Library
16/09/23
01/09/23 – 18/10/23Písek Municipial Library

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.

64246 records in total
21561 of events in the VH's life
2994 of VH's texts
2124 of photos
385of videos
567of audios
6596of letters
15099of texts about VH
8087 of books
37474of 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

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 collects, researches, disseminates, promotes and advocates the spiritual, literary and political legacy of a great figure of modern Czech history - the author, playwright, thinker, human rights defender and Czechoslovak and Czech president. It also focuses on people, events and phenomena related to the legacy of Václav Havel and strives to place them in the context of the times and of the present.

From August 2014, the Václav Havel Library is located at the address Ostrovní 13, Prague 1. The building’s ground-floor spaces is dedicated to an exhibition "Václav Havel or Havel in a nutshell" and used for VHL club events – all kinds of seminars, readings, exhibitions, lectures, concerts and theatre performances. The Library’s offices, archive, constantly expanding library, and reading room are located on the first floor.

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

Staňte se členy Klubu přátel Knihovny Václava Havla

We believe that we are succeeding in fulfilling the vision of Václav Havel, who, when he founded the Library, declared that it only makes sense as a living organism that occupies an unmissable place in the whole of public and political life. We see this as a commitment and inspiration for the future. We would like to use the footage of our hundreds of events in our own internet TV channel, expand our publication programme, develop more e-learning series, start organising workshops for teachers... But all this will require considerable financial resources. That's why we decided to turn to our visitors and supporters for support.

Pomozte nám inspirovat své okolí i Vy!
Přijdete se k nám a staňte se členem Klubu přátel Knihovny VH!

Podpořte nás
jednorázově

Přispět

Přítel

200 KČ / měsíc

Přispět

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže s organizací pravidelných akcí pro veřejnost.

Patron

1200 KČ / měsíc

Přispět

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže rozvíjet náš ediční plán a publikační činnost

Partner

? Kontaktujte nás
pro další informace

Kontaktovat

Váš příspěvek nám pomůže s vývojem vzdělávacích miniserií, audivizuálních projektů, přípravou mezinárodních konferencí...

Support us

Financial donations

If you would like to support the work of the Václav Havel Library or its specific activities or projects by means of a financial donation you can do so via the VHL’s PayPal account

Or by bank transfer to:

ČSOB a. s., Na Poříčí 24, 115 20 Praha 1

Crown account number 7077 7077 / 0300 CZK
Euro account number 7755 7755 / 0300 EUR
Dollar account number 7747 7747 / 0300 USD

If an individual makes a donation of over CZK 1,000, or if a company makes a donation of over CZK 2,000, in one calendar year we will create for you a donation contract confirming the amount of the donation involved; the donor can use this to reduce their tax base in compliance with the law on taxation. For more information, contact us.

Donors with US citizenship can support us through the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation New York.

Donations and loans to the VHL archive

The Václav Havel Library administers an archive of written materials, documents, photographs, video recordings and other materials related to the life and work of Václav Havel. The archive is predominantly digital in form. If you or somebody close to you is the owner of original texts, photographs, speeches or other works produced by Václav Havel we would appreciate it greatly if you contacted us. We will oversee the digitalisation of these documents and place them in our digital archive. If you would like to keep possession of such documents or items, we will return them in perfect condition.

If a copy or original is donated to the Václav Havel Library, the terms of donation and use will in all cases be agreed with the owner. The names of all donors or owners will be listed alongside the documentary materials in question.

Internships

We offer short and long-term internships at the Václav Havel Library to Czech and foreign students. Interns are particularly welcomed in the fields of library studies and archival science, arts management, journalism, Czech Studies and other areas of the humanities.

We welcome knowledge of English (German and French are also a plus), while knowledge of Czech is an advantage for foreign interns.

Internships range in duration from six weeks to one year, while it is possible to agree on individual duration depending on the requirements of schools. On completion of the internship, the participant receives a certificate with an appraisal. Internships take place on the basis of prior agreement with applicants and dates must be agreed around two months in advance. Václav Havel Library internships are unpaid and we do not cover transport or accommodation costs.

If you are interested in an internship at the Václav Havel Library, contact us at the email address:

Media and promotion cooperation with the VHL

The Václav Havel Library welcomes the mutual exchange of links and the publication of our banners and information about our events. For more information, contact us directly.