Vaclav Havel as a Statesman and Passenger. Prague Airport and Vaclav Havel Library Have Opened a New Photo Exhibition

The exhibition includes 16 period photographs depicting President Havel at the airport or on an airplane, especially during the first months and years after his historic election to the Czechoslovak presidency. Among the photographs, you can find memorable pictures of Vaclav Havel with the Rolling Stones and another of him welcoming Pope John Paul II shortly after his arrival in Prague, as well as a photograph showing how the airport was renamed after Havel. “Just like Vaclav Havel Airport Prague connects our country to the world, Vaclav Havel significantly contributed to the Czech Republic´s visibility abroad. Prague Airport is proudly named after the first post-communist president and the 30th anniversary of November 1989 is the most appropriate moment for us to remember this connection. We believe that the photographs that were chosen together with Vaclav Havel Library are a dignified and interesting reminder of those times and of Havel’s legacy,” says Jakub Puchalský, Executive Director of Corporate and Marketing Communication of Prague Airport.

Each photograph comes with a caption that describes the background of its origin or the situation that it is portraying. In addition to interesting facts from the time when Vaclav Havel served as president, visitors can also look forward to reading anecdotes that Havel and his co-workers experienced, either directly at the airport or while on foreign trips by plane. “President Havel’s work life was closely linked to Prague Airport. It was Prague Airport where he left from for his first foreign visit to Germany, for his first memorable visit to the USA, and for an important meeting with Gorbachev in Moscow. It was at Prague Airport where he welcomed President Bush and Pope John Paul II on the airfield. It was at Prague Airport where some of his most historic media briefings took place. And it was at Prague Airport where important politicians arrived on 23 December 2011 to pay him tribute. Prague Airport rightfully bears his name. I view the exhibition that we put together with Prague Airport as a pleasant reminder of Vaclav Havel’s legacy and as a respectable contribution to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution,” says Michael Žantovský, Executive Director of Vaclav Havel Library.

An exhibition of Vaclav Havel’s photographs can be seen for free in the public section of Prague Airport, in the connection corridor between Terminals 1 and 2.

For more information, follow Prague Airport’s Twitter account at: @PragueAirport.