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European institutions the European Council, Parliament and Commission, as well as NATO headquarters, flew their flags at half-mast on Monday in honour of former president Václav Havel, while the European Council held a minute of silence in the former statesman’s memory. A day earlier, upon hearing of Mr Havel’s passing, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy credited Mr Havel with “creating history in his country”, while the head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso called him “a true champion of democracy and freedom”. Mr Havel was seen as one of the most important figures in the push for the Czech Republic joining NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Mr Havel’s body is lying in repose in the former church of St. Anna in Prague, the spiritual centre founded by the late president, for two days as of Monday. His remains will then be transferred to the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle, where he will lie in state.

In related news, members of the public began lining up to sign condolence books at Rothmayer Hall at Prague Castle on Monday morning. Five tables, covered in black cloth, were provided for the occasion, near a Czech flag and a photograph of Mr Havel, who died on Sunday at the age of 75. The first to write his condolences was Mr Havel’s successor to the presidency, Václav Klaus, followed by the heads of Parliament, Milan Štech and Miroslava Němcová, and Archbishop Dominik Duka. Dozens of others waited their turn shortly before the hall’s opening. One condolence book is for public figures (and VIPs) – four others are for regular visitors wishing to pay their respects. Visitor lines have swelled throughout the day. The hall will be open until 8 pm.

The Czech Republic will hold three days of national mourning for former dissident and leader Václav Havel, who died on Sunday. Mr Havel paved the way for democracy in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and was the leading figure of the Velvet Revolution. Speaking at a press conference after an extra-ordinary government meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Petr Nečas said the cabinet wanted to honour Mr Havel not only as the first post-Communist president, but also as a symbol of all-encompassing change in society. During the mourning period, flags on public buildings will be lowered to half-mast and a minute of silence will held at 12 pm on Friday in Mr Havel’s memory.

A moral icon and symbol of the modern Czech state, former president Havel died on Sunday morning at the age of 75 after a protracted illness. The former dissident, playwright and politician passed away in his sleep at his country house Hrádeček, in northern Bohemia, tended to by his wife Dagmar. Mr Havel’s health had deteriorated in recent months, forcing him to limit his public appearances. The last time he appeared in public was last week, when he received the Dalai Lama during his Prague visit.

During the national days of mourning, all casinos and betting agencies will remain closed; there is a possibility also that sports events may be cancelled. In addition, organisers have been asked to gauge the appropriateness of planned public events and the media have been asked to carefully consider broadcast content. The cabinet is also preparing a special bill in the name of the former president, recognising his merit in leading the country out of totalitarianism to freedom and democracy.

People in the Czech Republic and around the world hail the late ex-president Václav Havel as a great European, a humanist and a man who stood up to the communist regime, a decent and courageous man who led his country to democracy. In this special edition of One on One, we talk to political commentator Jiří Pehe who served as Václav Havel’s chief political advisor in the late 1990s.

This play is vintage Havel, his only radio play, dating back to the first half of 1968, when he was at the height of his creative powers. Not long after it was completed, Soviet tanks brought an end to the reforms of the Prague Spring, and for two decades the play was left on the shelf.

The death of Vaclav Havel stopped Czechs in their tracks on Sunday. A hush fell over the country as thousands of people gathered to light candles and pay a silent tribute to the hero of the Velvet Revolution. At 6 pm bells around the Czech Republic tolled in memory of the man who showed endless courage in the face of oppression and who led his nation on the road to freedom and democracy.

A crowd of several dozen people at Prague’s Wenceslas Square swelled to several thousand within the space of minutes Sunday evening, and the statue of St. Václav went awash in candlelight. At the end of a reading of the writings of the country’s mentor in democracy and freedom, the entire multitude was silent for a long time - some weeping quietly, but most just standing speechlessly, gazing at the memorial, and looking stunned and lost in thought. The passing of Václav Havel had not been unexpected, but that did not make it any less of a shock.

The Guardian in the UK looks at President Havel in the European context. Their editorial describes the president as “a politician whose vision and wit embraced not just the art of the possible but of the impossible too”. All the states of Europe, the paper writes “have to be open to the new, the brave and the difficult without abandoning the moral, the wise and the treasured.

A number of Czech politicians on Sunday expressed sorrow over the death of former president Václav Havel. Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas said Mr Havel’s passing away was a great loss for the Czech Republic, and said he deserved the highest state honours. Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said Václav Havel was the most famous Czech who enjoyed more popularity abroad than he did at home. According to former Social Democrat PM Miloš Zeman, the former dissident and politician was a symbol of the Czech Republic who had the courage to stand up against the communist regime at a time when many others lacked it. The head of the coalition Public Affairs party Radek John called Václav Havel one of the greatest Czechs, while Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said Mr Havel did a lot during the country’s accession to the EU and NATO.