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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.

Hundreds of people have been paying their last respects to Mr Havel, bowing in silence before his closed coffin at the former church of St. Anna in Prague. The site opened at noon on Monday. Mr Havel’s widow, Dagmar Havlová, placed a bouquet of roses with a black ribbon on her husband's casket. Others, too, have been bringing flowers. Ornamental details in the hall were put together by Mr Havel’s friend and former collaborator at Prague Castle, architect Bořek Šípek.

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 last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, has praised the Mr Havel as a statesman for his commitment to the highest humanistic values; he made the statement in a condolence letter sent to Mr Havel’s successor Václav Klaus. In the letter, Mr Gorbachev recalls the former Czech president’s official visit to the Kremlin in 1990, during which future ties as well as the departure of Russian troops from Czech soil were discussed. Mr Gorbachev and Havel met again in 1992 at the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow, the former leader points out. He writes that he hoped that their meetings left a positive mark on Czech-Russian ties.

Richard von Weizsäcker, the former German president, also remembered Mr Havel on Monday, telling journalists that he had been a true friend and a role-model. He made the comment after signing a book of condolences at the Czech Embassy in Berlin. He made clear that Mr Havel had helped Germany to correct past wrongs it had committed against its neighbours, including Czechoslovakia.

Around the world, acquaintances and close friends of Václav Havel alike, have continued to express grief for the former statesman and former dissident who led Czechoslovakia to democracy in November 1989. American singer and songwriter Lou Reed – of Velvet Underground fame – a close friend of Mr Havel’s after the Velvet Revolution, issued a short statement on his website remembering him. He called his death a “terrible loss for the world” and a terrible loss “for him personally”. The American performer took part in a special concert, marking the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, back in 2009.

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.

Czechs have paid tribute to their late former president not only on St. Wenceslas Square in the Czech capital, but also outside of Hrádeček – the country home Mr Havel loved, where he passed away in his sleep on Sunday. Tributes to Mr Havel outside the cottage include flowers, candles, and even two bottles of Trutnov beer left by someone recalling the years 1974-75, when Mr Havel, persecuted by the former Communist regime, worked as an assistant labourer. The experience inspired Mr Havel in the writing of his famous theatre play The Audience. Candles or flowers left outside have also included messages including “Thank you” and “We won’t forget”.

Czech Prime Minster Petr Nečas met with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov on Monday, putting worsening relations following an affair from earlier in the year to rest. The two leaders signed three intergovernmental agreements and expressed an interest in future cooperation, including the fields of energy, chemistry and ecological technology. Mr Azarov said that Ukraine was interested in Czech technology with regards to modernisation. In their meeting, Mr Nečas also raised the issue of possible visa-free relations.

In the earlier affair, involving the Czech Republic and Ukraine, two members of the Czech military section at the Czech Embassy in Kiev were accused of spying in the industrial sector. The Czech Republic countered that the scandal was reaction for the Czech Republic’s having granted asylum to Bohdan Danylyshyn who served in the government of Yulia Tymoshenko.

Former Czech president Václav Havel died at 10:15 AM on Sunday at the age of 75 after a protracted lung illness, an assistant to Mr Havel told the news agency ČTK. 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 deteriorated in recent months; the former head of state suffered from lung and heart problems, and he had to limit his public appearances. The last time Václav Havel appeared in public was last week when he received the Dalai Lama during his Prague visit.

Czechs are gathering in many cities and town to mourn the loss of Václav Havel. In Prague, people are lighting candles and laying flowers at Prague Castle, in front of the November 17 memorial in Prague’s Národní třída and at the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square. People are also gathering in Brno, and many are displaying photos of Václav Havel in their windows. A major rally in honout of the iconic Czech freedom fighter started at 6 PM in Prague’s Wenceslas Square which is when church bells across the country sounded in Václav Havel’s commemoration.