Charles University to honor shooting victims with multiple events this week

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the nation’s most brutal mass shooting, a series of events will take place in Prague this week.

A memorial plaque will be installed inside the main building of Charles University’s Faculty of Arts to commemorate the victims of last year’s tragic shooting, according to Dean Eva Lehečková in an interview with the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The plaque, created in collaboration with the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design (UMPRUM), is expected to be completed by next year.

"One permanent reminder will be a memorial plaque inside the building commemorating both the names of those victims, but also their connection to the faculty community," Lehečková said.

Last December, a former student opened fire in the faculty’s building, resulting in the deaths of 14 people and injuries to 25 others before taking his own life. In response, a quiet place on the fourth floor of the building, the site most affected, was set up as a temporary memorial.

Lehečková noted that this space, with the exception of the hardest-hit room, would be returned to regular academic use.

The temporary memorial on Jan Palach Square will remain for several years before being replaced by a permanent structure. The final design of the new memorial has not been decided yet, and it will involve consultations with faculty representatives, survivors, and other entities in the area.

The anniversary of the tragedy, Dec. 21, will be marked with a silent memorial, a fund-raising concert, and a mass. A Christmas concert on Dec. 18 will also include a moment of remembrance for the deceased. Faculty buildings will close for the Christmas period, Dec. 21-29. Lehečková emphasized the need to maintain the period around Dec. 21 as a quiet time for reflection, without too many public events.

The new memorial plaque and other commemorative activities are part of the faculty’s efforts to honor the victims and ensure that the tragedy is remembered respectfully and meaningfully.