22. 09. 2026
On the occasion of the unveiling of the Václav Havel Bench in Prague's Mariánské náměstí, Dagmar Havlová granted the Municipal Library of Prague free-of-charge permission to use Václav Havel's name and trademarks.
n the year of what would have been his 90th birthday, this opens the way for long-term cooperation focused on preserving, making accessible and further developing his legacy.
Václav Havel at the Municipal Library of Prague
The Municipal Library of Prague is planning cultural, educational and civic activities, as well as publishing projects, connected with Václav Havel's political, cultural and literary legacy.
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Dagmar Havlová and Tomáš Řehák
“I am glad that my husband's work will be accessible to the broadest possible public both here and around the world. I see granting the rights and materials to a respected public institution as a way to ensure continuity, expertise and professional long-term care,” says Dagmar Havlová.
“We want to present Václav Havel's legacy in all its breadth and to all generations. We would like to engage with Václav Havel's ideas and work not only as a playwright and writer, but also as a thinker, dissident and internationally respected statesman. It is a responsible and prestigious task that we are taking on with the knowledge that we have extensive experience in organising cultural and educational events for all age groups. Last year alone, we organised almost ten thousand in-person events for the public,” added Tomáš Řehák, Director of the Municipal Library of Prague.
There Is Much to Build On
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Dagmar Havlová and Tomáš Řehák
At the Municipal Library of Prague, there is already much to build on. As part of the writer-in-residence programme Prague City of Literature, Prague is hosting British author Mark Fiddes, who is working on a poetry project inspired by Václav Havel's work. At the beginning of October, the Great Hall of the Municipal Library of Prague will host the concert Havel & the '36ers: poetry and texts by the group known as the '36ers, performed by Vladimír Merta, Jiří Dědeček and Přemysl Rut.
The Václav Havel Library was founded by Dagmar Havlová together with Karel Schwarzenberg and sociologist Miloslav Petrusek in 2004, after Havel left the presidency. Disagreements between the library's staff and its management culminated this year in a mass departure of employees. Subsequently, patrons Zdeněk Bakala and Karel Komárek withdrew from their agreements to cooperate on the project. Since June, Dagmar Havlová had been seeking a way to preserve Václav Havel's legacy in a stable and sustainable manner over the long term. From the offers she received, she chose and found a trusted partner in the Municipal Library of Prague.
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Dagmar Havlová
The Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation VIZE 97 is marking what would have been Havel's 90th birthday this year with its own series of events recalling this iconic figure, and has taken over the organisation of an international conference honouring the laureate of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, together with Charter 77 and the Council of Europe. Václav Havel's legacy will be carried forward by Dagmar Havlová together with the VIZE Foundation and her family.