The Velvet Revolution and the University of Hradec Králové

The grand opening of this new town square named after the first Czech President and standard-bearer of the revolutionary events of 1989 – Václav Havel – was the main event that took place on the eve of 17^th November at the Campus. About 500 hundred people gathered in the square at 4:30 pm. They watched in awe as the sign attached to the Faculty of Science was uncovered and waited in suspense as the commemorative plaque was uncovered too. The students, or more precisely their representatives from the Student Chamber of the Academic Senate of the UHK, had the plaque made. "The plaque that we as students have dedicated to those who fought totalitarianism is also a symbolic promise that we will heed and stand behind freedom and democracy whenever we feel that the values achieved by our ancestors have been compromised. By so doing we also extend our support not only to students in the Czech Republic, but also to international students who have not lost hope and who strive for a more democratic society,” says Matyáš Strnad, Vice-Chairman of the Student Chamber and one of the organisers of the meeting, while hinting at what is going on in Hong Kong or in some South American states.

The Mixed Choir of the University of Hradec Králové, directed by Jiří Skopal, Jr., sang the national anthem and Gaudeamus Igitur and in so doing made the gathering a magical and dignified one. While the academic commercium song Gaudeamus Igitur sounded, the plaque was unveiled by the Rector of the University of Hradec Králové, Kamil Kuča, the Chairlady of the Academic Senate of the University of Hradec Králové, Hana Tomášková, and the Vice-Chairman of the Student Chamber of the Academic Senate of the University of Hradec Králové, Matyáš Strnad, and the writing on the plague became known to the public for the first time. It reads:

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

Václav Havel

The students of the University of Hradec Králové dedicated the plaque on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution of 1989 to all those who fought totalitarianism.

16. 11. 2019

Popular actor, Jan Sklenář, who until recently was a member of the Klicperovo Divadlo town theatre in Hradec Králové, surprised dozens of new visitors at the Václav Havel Square. He took it on himself to read selected essays from Václav Havel’s The Power of the Powerless. Visitors could warm up in the lobby of the Building of Common Education where the organisers installed a special photography exhibition. “It is actually a collage of historical photographs mapping the history of Hradec Králové over the past approximately 200 years which we embedded into a modern Hradec Králové. Altogether there were 16 unique photographs made by Martin Brus, our graduate,” says Vojtěch Tuček, Head of the Department of Publicity and Communication of the University of Hradec Králové. The first 300 visitors got a commemorative postcard bearing the Campus motif. It was printed especially for this event.

Kamil Kuča: “I am proud of our students and I am grateful that they keep the dramatic events of 1939 and 1989 in mind.”

The festive unveiling of the Václav Havel Square was part of an orchestrated programme titled Road to Freedom (Cesta ke svobodě). It was put together by the University of Hradec Králové, Post Bellum (East Bohemian Branch), the Statutory City of Hradec Králové and the Hradec Králové Region for the citizens of Hradec Králové. Those participating in the Road to Freedom set out in a procession holding candles towards Pivovarské náměstí town square, where the commemorative event was concluded by an open-air concert. The Rector, Kamil Kuča, welcomed them with open arms as he did at the Campus. “Like the free media, students are the watchdogs of freedom and democracy and the imaginary catalyst of democracy in the Czech Republic. I am proud of our students and I am grateful that they keep the dramatic events of 1939 and 1989 in mind. I am glad that our students know who Jan Opletal and Jan Palach were and that they continue to uphold their legacy,” added Mr Kuča.

Several more speakers took the floor, as did several performers, including Dagmar Pecková; they were accompanied by the Mixed Choir of the University of Hradec Králové, directed by Jaromír Křováček.

The festive unveiling of the Václav Havel Square and the Road to Freedom were not the only events that the University of Hradec Králové proudly participated in remembrance of the 30 year old events. UHK students and people from the Artistic Activities Centre and the East Bohemian Museum all took part in reconstructing a wall out of paper boxes at Ulrichovo náměstí town square. “Many years ago, a wall about 20 metres long was built at the former Gottwaldovo náměstí town square to symbolically divide the headquarters of the Communist Party District Committee in Steinský Palace from the headquarters of the municipal committee and the security bodies on the opposite side of the square. The weather did all it could to hamper our efforts to rebuild the wall. First it rained and the wall got all soggy and when the students rebuilt it, the wind scattered it all over the place,” describes Soňa Došková, Chancellor of the UHK, how difficult it was to put the wall up.

We managed to keep the wall standing, mainly thanks to volunteers from the University, museum staff and Hradec Králové primary school teachers, who sent entire classrooms full of children to help. It was once again full of contemporary slogans, memories, messages and rhymes. “Given the weather, which was not good at all, it was rather difficult to keep repairing the wall and keep it standing. We considered giving up many times. But then an eyewitness or a person who helped build the wall thirty years ago came along and cordially thanked us for our efforts. And that gave us the energy to go on and we promised ourselves that we would keep the wall standing until the happening on Sunday in Ulrichovo náměstí town square. And it was worth it!” recalls Dominik Šípoš, a member of the Chamber of Students of the Academic Senate of the University of Hradec Králové. He coordinated everything on-site.

Over a thousand people participated in building the wall against the bad mood.

The happening, attended by hundreds of visitors, went really well and the wall stood tall on Ulrichovo náměstí town square all afternoon thanks to the beautiful weather. “The wall of 2019 serves as a reminder of and refers to the wall of 1989; it also stands against the bad mood that President Havel used to refer to. Over the past 30 years, the Czech Republic has worked very hard and has gone a very long way. We are a democratic country. A safe country. And that is why we are building the wall against people relativising these facts. We are against hateful and untruthful moods being stirred up in Czech society and that is why building the wall symbolises the protection of Velvet ideals,” Mr Kuča explains the significance of the wall made out of paper boxes.

The University of Hradec Králové had 1,200 commemorative postcards made bearing the wall of 1989. “Everyone who participated in putting up the wall got a postcard and as all of the postcards were handed out we assume that more than a thousand people helped build it. And that makes us very happy. Our sincere thanks go to the students and schools of Hradec Králové that participated in the event,” commented Soňa Došková, Chancellor of the UHK, on the success of the event. People then went on to artistically arrange the boxes and the event was brought to a close by the band Bílé světlo, which played with the famous Plastic People of the Universe.