The coffin of former Czech President Vaclav Havel went on display in St. Anna's Church in central Prague Monday for people to pay their respects, the Czech News Agency reported.

Havel died Sunday at the age of 75, and his funeral has been scheduled for Friday, the agency said.

Admirers poured into the streets of Prague Sunday night with candles and flowers in memory of Havel, people on the scene said.

The former dissident playwright helped topple communism in eastern Europe through the power of his words, insisting, "Truth and love triumph over lies and hate."

His longtime friend and translator Paul Wilson remembered him as a "a very shy and gentle man with a will of steel, who was fearless when confronting a regime that tried, relentlessly, to crush his spirit."