Plzen, West Bohemia, Oct 5 (CTK) – A steel commemorative plaque in honour of the first Czech president, Vaclav Havel (1936-2011), was installed on the wall on his 80th birth anniversary of the Plzen-Bory prison building on Wednesday, mayor of a Plzen district, Lumir Aschenbrenner (Civic Democratic Party, ODS), has told journalists.
The plaque says that Havel was imprisoned there between 1981 and 1983.
Near the prison gate, there is another commemorative plaque which warns of the fate of General Heliodor Pika, executed at the prison yard after a show trial in 1949.
Playwright and dissident Havel was the last Czechoslovak and the first Czech president (1989-2003). After he left the post, he primarily focused on the promotion of human rights in the world. He died on December 18, 2011, aged 75 years.
People and institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad remember Havel throughout the year.
Havel’s commemorative plaque was made by Plzen sculptor Frantisek Balek.
Its text says: “Vaclav Havel, prisoner number 2,789, a later prrresident, was imprisoned behind these walls between July 30, 1981 and January 28, 1983.”
The “r” is written three times in order to highlight Havel’s characteristic speech defect.
The plaque also features a red heart, Havel used to attach to his signature.
The plaque measures 60 times 40 centimetres and weighs about eight kilograms.
The costs of the work of art were covered by a collection. In all, over 73,000 crowns were collected, while the costs amounted to more than 40,000 crowns.
The rest of the money will be given to Vision 97, the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation.
Havel was several times imprisoned for his dissident activity under the Communist regime, most recently in May 1989.
