Foundation stone laid for new Bohumil Hrabal Centre on the writer's 90th birthday

Last Saturday, was the 90th anniversary of the birth of Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal, who died in 1997. To mark the occasion, a small monument has been unveiled on the street where he lived in Prague. A foundation stone has also been laid for a new Bohumil Hrabal centre, which will be dedicated to the writer's life and work.

Foundation stone laid for new Bohumil Hrabal Centre on the writer's 90th birthday

From celebration of the 90th anniversary of Bohumil Hrabal's birth, photo: CTK

On the 90th anniversary of Bohumil Hrabal's birth, a colourful looking accordionist, who himself looks like he might have walked straight out of a Hrabal novel, plays a tune to mark the unveiling of a small milestone monument on the corner of Ludmilina and Na Hrazi street, where Bohumil Hrabal lived for many years.

It seems like a rather humble memorial for such a world-renowned novelist, but as local councillor Roman Petrus explains, it's the sort of thing Hrabal himself would have liked:

"It's such a modest memorial mainly because, as you can see today, Bohumil Hrabal wasn't very keen on officialdom. He didn't want any grand monument. That's why we just have this little milestone instead, which is what he would have wanted."

Besides local dignitaries, many of the people who turned out for the event were from the area of Liben in Prague 8 where Hrabal lived and which gave him so much material for his picaresque novels such as Closely Observed Trains and I Served the King of England. One of them told me that Hrabal would have liked this small memorial on a street corner, "which the local dogs could pee on".

The foundation stone for a new Bohumil Hrabal Centre, photo: CTK

In addition to this little monument, the foundation stone has also been laid for a new Bohumil Hrabal Centre, which is to be built here. The centre will house books, films and other material on Hrabal's life and work. It will also serve as a meeting place for people, who will be able to drop in for a chat with friends and neighbours over a few beers.

The Serpens association is one of the groups behind the project. Their representative, Vaclav Spale explains the importance of Bohumil Hrabal's rich legacy:

"There are many facets to Bohumil Hrabal's legacy - on one level it concerns a certain type of literature, which provides an account of the Czech mentality and tells the story of the times in which Hrabal lived and which we partially experienced as well. It's also a kind of living human heritage, which can perhaps only be seen in the people who came to watch the foundation stone being laid today. You can see that there is a bit of Bohumil Hrabal inside these people."

Once these people Mr Spale mentioned have christened Hrabal's monument with a glass of beer, our accordionist leads them off on a lively procession to a special beer stand around the corner, which has been erected for the occasion. It seems like a suitable way to celebrate what would have been the 90th birthday of the writer who lived in their midst for so many years, and who himself was rather fond of the odd drink or two.