Hundreds gather to drop Václav Havel’s funeral flowers into Elbe River in silent tribute to late ex-president
The many flowers and wreaths that people placed around the coffin of former Czech president Václav Havel took center stage at a silent farewell to the national hero. After travelling downriver for three days, the flowers were greeted by hundreds of people gathered at the Elbe River’s bank in Děčín and dropped into the river. The unusual tribute was organized by former human rights minister Michael Kocáb, a friend of the late president.
“I immediately knew I had to go, yes. It is sort of a last goodbye. We certainly appreciated everything he did for us, and it is very sad to see him go. He was someone who managed to remain a decent man, who simply was a good person.”
Dozens of people accompanied the flowers on their way from the Czech capital’s Rašín Embankment, where Mr. Havel had lived for many years, to Děčín. Along the pontoon’s route, people waved from the riverbanks, with some drivers honking their horns to greet the boat. The unusual flower-throwing tribute was organized by a close friend of Havel’s, former human rights minister and musician Michael Kocáb, who said he was very happy with the outcome.
Friends and colleagues of the late president, among them his former collaborator Martin Věchet, unbound the wreaths so that only organic material would be thrown into the water. While this was perhaps the last symbolic farewell to Mr. Havel, who died on December 18 at the age of 75, Mr. Kocáb says that he is planning further events to keep his memory alive.
“I have decided to call a meeting of all the old friends and collaborators of Mr. Havel, first of all, so that we can reminisce, and I would also like to use it as an opportunity to reflect on what we can do with his legacy, or rather, what Czech society can do with it.”
