Havel’s iconic Velvet Revolution jacket auctioned for over CZK 2.7 million

A green jacket belonging to the late president Václav Havel sold for more than CZK 2.7 million at an auction at Prague’s Žofín Palace on Sunday. The late dissident and playwright wore the jacket when addressing the crowd on Wenceslas Square on November 21, 1989. Its starting price was CZK 200,000.

The auction also included two paintings by Havel and a handwritten letter from February 1989, when he was sentenced to nine months in prison for participating in a protest during the anniversary of Jan Palach’s self-immolation. The money raised in the auction will go towards the reconstruction of the Lucerna Palace in Prague.