Lavička Václava Havla, Public art installation in Sady Karla IV., Karlovy Vary, Czechia.
Václav Havel's Bench is an art installation in a public garden in Karlovy Vary featuring two chairs connected by a round table. A tree grows through the center of the table, creating an inviting outdoor gathering structure.
The bench was unveiled on 5 July 2015, during the 50th Karlovy Vary Film Festival, making Karlovy Vary the ninth Czech city with a Havel's Place. A two-year preparation preceded it: citizens donated almost 20,000 korunas and the city added 260,000. Dagmar Havlová and then-mayor Petr Kulhánek were the first to sit on it.
The installation is one of the Václav Havel's Place memorials; the Karlovy Vary bench was the ninth such site in the Czech Republic. Architect Bořivoj Šípek titled it "Hovoří demokracie" (Democracy Speaks). Havel's widow Dagmar and then-mayor Petr Kulhánek were the first to sit on it at the unveiling on 5 July 2015.
The installation is located in a public garden and is freely accessible at any time of day. Visitors can easily find it by exploring the garden or asking a local resident for directions to this gathering spot.
Architect Bořivoj Šípek named the installation "Democracy Talks". Each of the two metal-and-wood chairs has only one armrest, so the speakers are separated by nothing but the round table, and a linden, the Czech national tree, grows through its centre. The glass drops and hearts on the backrests are red and green.
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