Dozens gather in Prague to honour memory of Karel Schwarzenberg

Czechs have been paying tribute to Karel Schwarzenberg, one of the country’s most prominent politicians of the post-communist era, who died in Vienna on Saturday at the age of 85.

Dozens of people gathered outside his house in Prague on Sunday evening to light candles and lay flowers in his memory.

Among those present were Prague deputy mayor and Schwarzenberg’s party colleague Jiří Pospíšil, who described Karel Schwarzenberg as the second greatest personality in the country’s modern history next to Václav Havel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have condolence books for people to sign in memory of for the former foreign minister. They will be available in the reception area between 2pm and 4pm on Monday and between 10am and 12 am and 2pm and 4pm on Tuesday.

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marketa Pekarová Adamová said Tuesday’s session of the lower house would start with a minute of silence in honour of the late politician.