Thousands of mourners turned out on the streets of the Czech capital on Wednesday to pay their respects as the body of the late former president, Vaclav Havel, was carried through the streets on a procession to Prague Castle.

The procession was led by Havel's widow, Dagmar Havlova, who was joined by current President Vaclav Klaus, Prime Minister Petr Necas and other senior politicians. Mourners applauded as Havel's casket, which was draped with the Czech flag and escorted by an honor guard, moved through Prague's narrow, cobbled streets.

Havel is to lie in state at the castle, which is the seat of the Czech presidency until his funeral, which is to be held at Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral on Friday.

German President Christian Wulff is among numerous world leaders who are planning to attend the funeral.

Three days of mourning

Flags flew at half mast as Wednesday's procession marked the start of three days of national mourning following Havel's death at the age of 75 on Sunday.

Havel, who under Czechoslovakia's communist era was a dissident playwright, is credited with leading the country's 1989 "velvet revolution," which brought down the Soviet-backed regime.

He served as president of the newly democratic Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992, and for a further decade as president of the Czech Republic, after Slovakia broke off and became an independent country at the start of 1993.

Author: Chuck Penfold (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Andreas Illmer