Václav Havel's name plaque vanishes from Prague library façade — management denies involvement

Václav Havel's name has disappeared from a building on Ostrovní Street in Prague: above the door, where a sign reading "Václav Havel Library" once hung, there is now only an empty frame, and the plaque on the building's wall has vanished too. Both signs were still in place earlier this week.

The library currently does not have permission to use the former president's name. Its director, Tomáš Sedláček, said this was the first he had heard of the plaques being removed and that he knew nothing about it. Board member Michael Kocáb gave a similar response.

Later, board chairman David Dušek clarified that the library's management had nothing to do with the disappearance of the signs. "It happened sometime between Friday afternoon and this morning. We've reported the missing plaques to the police — there should be security camera footage of it," he told the editorial team. Dušek declined to comment on a possible renaming of the institution or its future operations.

The library was founded in 2004, after Václav Havel left the presidency, by his wife Dagmar Havlová, former politician Karel Schwarzenberg, and sociologist Miloslav Petrusek.

In May of this year, the institution's major sponsors — billionaires Zdeněk Bakala and Karel Komárek — withdrew their support. The reason was disagreement with the management of economist Tomáš Sedláček, who has led the library since March 2025 and refused to step down.

The conflict over his leadership led most of the staff to resign, followed by the entire board of trustees stepping down — except for David Dušek. Only Martin Pallouš remained on the supervisory board. In early June, the former president's widow announced she was ending her cooperation with the Václav Havel Library.

Dušek expanded the board of trustees with new members, a move Havlová opposed, saying it had been done without her knowledge. In late June, the former first lady withdrew the consent that had given the institution the right to carry Václav Havel's name. According to Dušek, negotiations with Dagmar Havlová over the possible granting of personal rights to the name and activities of the library are still ongoing.

Dagmar Havlová herself could not be reached for comment — she said she was on holiday and was currently declining to make any statements.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz