Prague, July 19 (CTK) – The Grassmayr Austrian plant will cast a new bell dubbed Vaclav after the late president Vaclav Havel (1936-2011), on the occasion of his 80th birth anniversary, and St Vaclav (Wenceslas), the Czech patron saint, for St Havel Church in Prague centre, Lidove noviny (LN) writes yesterday.
The 13th-century Gothic church in the Old Town that bears the name of Saint Gall (Havel in Czech) has two bells now in the belfry. The smaller, called Marie, is the oldest preserved bell in Prague from 1455. However, there is also an empty place for the third bell that was melted for ammunition during WWI where the new Vaclav bell will be placed, LN says.
The project has been arranged by the Charter 77 Foundation, which is seated near St Havel Church and which Havel supported.
“We are striving for the name of Vaclav Havel being put on the bell, possibly also with a heart, which was his typical mark (added to his signature),” Charter 77 Foundation spokeswoman Sona Keppertova told LN.
The foundation bears the name of the anti-communist manifesto and movement whose initiator and one of spokespersons Havel was.
The foundation has chosen the renowned Austrian bell-maker, which has operated continuously for 400 years making bells for churches in more than 100 countries, on purpose since it is seated in Innsbruck where Havel underwent a complicated colon operation in 1998, LN writes.
“Consequently, the new bell will be born at the place where Havel was actually reborn after a serious acute surgery,” the foundation says.
It launched a public fund-raising campaign for the bell a few weeks ago, recently accompanied by a billboard campaign and a presentation on thewww.zvon-vaclav.cz website. It would like to collect five million crowns in total, LN says.
The Olgoj Chorchoj design studio, artist Jana Bacova Kroftova and graphic artist Ales Najbrt cooperate on the appearance of the bell.
Moreover, the foundation will send 30 small symbolical bells in memory of Havel to the world where they will travel among people and their path will be registered on its website, LN says.
The first bells will be given to Havel’s close people, such as his widow Dagmar Havlova, actress and dissident Vasta Chramostova, actor Jan Triska and legendary gymnast and Olympic winner Vera Caslavska, LN says.
“Each of them will take a picture with the little bell or record a message on Facebook to promote the fund raising and they can contribute with any sum to it,” Keppertova said.
The new Vaclav bell will not be ready by Havel’s 80th birthday in October, but the Austrian craftsmen will manage to complete it by December so it can get to Prague by Christmas and installed in the church’s belfry a week later, LN adds.
Havel, born on October 5, was the last Czechoslovak and the first Czech president (in office 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.
($1=24.446 crowns)
