On 6 October 2026, several dozen people gathered on Moravské náměstí in Brno and called on the Government of the Czech Republic to declare Václav Havel a cultural or natural national monument.
The rally on Moravské náměstí in Brno took place on 6 October 2026, on what would have been the 90th birthday of Václav Havel, the former dissident, playwright and president. The event was part of an all-day programme for his anniversary prepared by the Husa na provázku Theatre, which also included a tram with characters from Havel’s play Leaving driving through the city; the programme continued in the afternoon at the theatre.[1]
Course of the rally
At 17:11 several dozen people gathered on Moravské náměstí for a rally whose aim was to call on the government to enter Václav Havel among the cultural or natural heritage.[1] In their statement the organisers said: “According to Act No. 94/2012 Coll., Václav Havel made merits for freedom and democracy. That is all that the majority of society can say about him today. On the day of his 90th birthday, which he did not live to see, we therefore call on the Government of the Czech Republic: declare Václav Havel a cultural or natural national monument.”[1] According to the organisers, Havel is “certainly a cultural object, but quite possibly a natural one too, since he was undoubtedly a natural object”.[2] They added that what matters is “that he belong to all of us, and thereby to no one”, otherwise, in their view, nothing will soon be left of him but a logo on a T-shirt designed by Tomáš Sedláček.[2] During the rally, excerpts were read from the book-length interview Disturbing the Peace and from the essay The Power of the Powerless, written by Václav Havel, and those present sang together a song called Prayer for Václav to the melody of Prayer for Marta.[2]
Petition to the Ministry of Culture
The event included a petition addressed to the Ministry of Culture, launched symbolically on the day of what would have been Havel’s 90th birthday.[2] The author of the petition justified the step with the words: “If Havel were alive, he would probably surprise all of us with his thoughts. But Havel is not alive. That is why he deserves not to be exploited.”[1] A handful of people signed the petition on the day of the rally.[1]
Legal framework of the appeal
Under current Czech law, Václav Havel cannot become either a national cultural monument or a national natural monument.[2] Under the act on state heritage care, a cultural monument can be a significant movable or immovable item, a building or a group of them, whereas under the act on nature and landscape protection a natural monument protects a natural formation or another natural phenomenon.[2] Neither category applies to persons; at most, places, buildings or objects connected with a significant personality and his life can be protected.[2] According to the source, the appeal of the rally’s organisers therefore has above all a symbolic character.[2]
Related articles: Brno, Václav Havel
Chronology
- — In Brno, on what would have been Václav Havel's 90th birthday, several dozen people gathered on Moravské náměstí and called on the government to declare Havel a national monument; they also drew up a petition to the Ministry of Culture. Brněnská Drbna iDNES.cz
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Sources
- Brněnská Drbna — 6 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 6 October 2026