Milan Kundera, a native of Brno, lived in France from 1975 until his death in July at the age of 94. Credit: MZK.
Brno, Sep 29 (BD) – On Wednesday, Brno city councillors approved a proposal for author Milan Kundera to take the last remaining place in the Circle of Honour at the city’s Central Cemetery. At the same time, they also approved a subsidy to support the cultural and educational activities of the Milan Kundera Library.
Milan Kundera, a native of Brno, lived in France from 1975 until his death in July at the age of 94. Shortly after that, his widow Věra Kunderová asked the city authorities if he could be buried in the site at the Central Cemetery used to honour the city’s most prominent figures, including composer Leoš Janáček, architect Bohuslav Fuchs, poet Jan Skácel, and scientist Karel Absolon.
The council has now granted this request, and an urn with the author’s remains will soon be placed there, according to Kunderová’s wishes. According to Mayor Marketa Vankova, an art competition will be announced at a later date to design the tombstone.
In the same session, councillors also discussed a request from the Moravian Regional Library (MZK) for an individual subsidy for the Milan Kundera Library.
“Every year, CZK 100,000 goes from the city budget to the activities of MZK, established by the Ministry of Culture,” said Vankova. “Today, in addition to these funds, we recommended to the council to approve another individual direct subsidy for the activities of the Milan Kundera Library, for the amount of CZK 500,000 per year between 2024 and 2026. By supporting this unique project, which manages the legacy of an honourable citizen of Brno and a world-renowned writer, we unequivocally express that we greatly value the location of the library in our city.”
The Milan Kundera Library was established in MZK in 2022, and had its opening ceremony on 1 April 2023. It is a comprehensive source that enables further research into Kundera’s life and work, including not only his book collection, but also part of his archive with correspondence, reviews, photographs and much else. At the same time, however, the Milan Kundera Library intends to act as an educational centre, hosting lectures, debates, and cultural events.
“In addition, considering the importance of the name it represents, the library does not want to limit itself to the Czech context, but has the ambition to be involved in European cultural life and to network cultural professionals across the continent,” said Tomáš Kubíček, director of MZK.
