It’s not unusual for places which we think of as single units to have once been two separate places, with ‘upper’ (horní) and ‘lower’ (dolní) in their names to distinguish them.
For example, there used to be a Horní Nusle and a Dolní Nusle, both with residential farmhouses and both in existence before getting treated quite badly in the Hussite Wars around 1420.
And, as this street name (partially) indicates, we once had villages called Horní Krč and Dolní Krč. The former, in 1900, had 823 inhabitants, whereas present-day Krč has about 27,000.
A ‘stráň’ is a hillside, or a slope, and this street is quite literally on one in Krč.
I’m quite glad that my mental block/conviction that ‘stráň’ means ‘border’ turned out not to be true, because Na krčské stráni is in no way on the border of Krč, and I’d have struggled to explain its name at all if I’d been right.
It’s a damn shame that there was never a soap opera called ‘Krčenders’ or ‘Krčsiders’, though. Guess there’s still time?
For something that had so many streets named after it, the Krč Waterworks are surprisingly hard to get information about. We know they were built in 1912; the water tower was fourteen metres tall and looked like this: https://krc-historie.cz/image/1235.
A newspaper article gives us confidence that it was still operating in 1926; it also appears on a map (not necessarily bang up-to-date) from 1938.
Until 1935, it was called Kozinova, after Jan Sladký-Kozina (1652–1695), leader of the Chod peasant rebellion. He’s still got a street in Hostivař, but the uprising is covered a little on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/30/prague-2-day-25-chodska/ (and do check out the Chods – interesting people).
Meanwhile, the first mention of Krč that we know of – or, being accurate, Carrium, because that text was in Latin – dates from 1222. Mentions were few and far between, clearly, as the second-oldest is from 1273.
During the Hussite Wars (1419-1434), the Prague Hussites took over the villages of Upper Krč and Lower Krč. They were confiscated from them in 1547, but then purchased by Prague’s Old Town in 1586.
In 1628, during a decade in which Hussites were stripped of most of their property post-Bílá Hora, Krč x 2 was given to the Havel Monastery – itself confiscated from Hussites and given to the Carmelite Order a year earlier (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/08/prague-1-day-175-havelska/).
By 1900, Lower Krč had about 1,350 inhabitants, and was part of Nusle; Upper Krč was smaller, with about 820 inhabitants, and was part of Královské Vinohrady.
By 1922, the villages had a combined population of 3,700; on 1 January of that year, they, like so many other districts, became part of Greater Prague.
Obviously, there are things to look at all over Krč, but, as this series is currently a good way into the district – with a long way to go – I’ll try to show those whenever we get to the streets they’re in.
This was presumably named after ‘habr’, or hornbeam, i.e. a hardwood tree in the plant genus Carpinus (there are 45 accepted species, of which three exist in Europe).
Hear ‘Habrovka’ these days, and you might think of its annual music and theatre festival. This post is very well-timed, as that’s on in a couple of weeks and looks very interesting indeed: https://www.habrovka.cz/.
Toník Zachů is not a main character in the novel, but appears in its later stages, when Matouš (he of the title) ends up living in the forest and meets Toník, whom he once went to school with. Toník had worked as a carpenter in Vienna, but returned after getting into trouble for distributing anti-establishment leaflets.
Růza – Matouš’s love interest – allows both Matouš and Toník to stay at her father’s house, and both young men get jobs at the local factory.
Ultimately, during Matouš’s escape from prison, Toník is shot and dies, contributing to Matouš’s decision that nothing is left for him in his home village, and to flee abroad.
Until 1952, it was called U dětského útulku (‘At the children’s home’), after Dětský útulek sv. Terezičky (St Theresa’s), which opened here in 1929. The building was ultimately demolished in 1989.
Vojta shares various traits with Matouš – he’s kind, isn’t afraid to fight, and believes in justice. His parents have decided he has to become a priest, against his wishes.
In the novel, they have discussions about Thomas More’s Utopia (1516), which presents a fictional island society, not unlike a monastery in its structure.
Vojta and Matouš agree that they will pursue the fight for equality between people for the rest of their lives.
This housing estate in Krč is proving to be quite the gem in terms of street names, isn’t it?
Ševce Matouše was built in 1935. I just wrote this entire post, then it disappeared when I was about to post it, so I feel like I was also built in 1935 right now.
Until 1952, it was called U krčské vodárny IV, which we’ll get around to soon enough, as there’s still a street called that nearby (with out the IV).
Meanwhile, a švec is a shoemaker (if you’ve wondering why the ‘e’ is in a different place in the street name, you try dealing with the Czech declension system and saying ‘švce’ five times in a row).
And ‘Matouš’ is a biblical name, equivalent to English ‘Matthew’, among others.
It was serialised in the daily newspaper České slovo from 1927, and published in book form in 1932. Very intentionally, its events are take place around 1848.
Matouš Štěpánek starts the book as a schoolboy with two traits: a feeling for justice and a bit of a temper. This clearly comes from his father, who ends up serving a prison sentence for taking justice into his own hands after Matouš is caned by his teacher.
Matouš later leaves for Hungary, where he broadens his horizons – and linguistic skills – and decides that his life goal is to help achieve equality between people.
Back in his home village, Matouš falls for a cheerful, energetic local girl, Růza Kyklová. Unfortunately, another local shoemaker, Jíra Macháček (much more uptight and humourless) feels the same way.
Růza declares that she’ll marry whichever of the two men gets a job as a teacher at the local school. In the meantime, Matouš goes to Prague to take part in the barricades during the Prague Uprising.
Fake news, stating that Matouš has been killed in a duel, reaches Růza; she therefore chooses to marry Jíra. However, Matouš is merely injured, and when he returns, he becomes disillusioned with life and rebels against the authorities.
This lands him in prison on several occasions; during one of these, both his parents die, and, one time when he returns home, he finds his home has been burnt down by a loan shark, so he goes off to live in the forest.
While there, he meets up with Růza, whose marriage to Jíra is not what she had hoped for. Matouš and Růza start a relationship and have a child together; however, Matouš ends up in prison again and Růza and child end up in poverty.
Taking pity on his estranged wife, Jíra goes to help her, but, despite a visit at Christmas, Růza dies. Matouš escapes from prison around the same time, and, realising he has no reason to stay, sets off abroad.
O ševci Matoušovi a jeho přátelích stands out for its autobiographical elements (some characters are people whom Stašek knew as a child) in his home village of Stanový), its use of phrases and features of other Slavic languages, and its fairytale-like quality.
Karel Vik was born in Hořice, near Jičín, in 1883. From 1902 to 1906, he studied landscape painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in Prague.
He won an award for being the best student in his field, and, upon graduating, used this to visit Italy and the Balkans. Within a year, his paintings were being shown at exhibitions, and he was published in the literary magazine Zlatá Praha.
In 1914, Vik won a bronze medal at a graphic exhibition in Leipzig; from this point on, he devoted himself to artistic graphics, especially woodcuts.
The following year, he moved to Turnov, where, in 1919, his paintings were used to decorate the train station (they’re still there). In 1921, Český ráj (Bohemian Paradise), a cycle of 11 woodcuts, was produced.
Remaining productive in later years, Vik was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 1963. He died in Turnov in 1964.
Until 1960, the street was called Záloženská, due to its location near the local savings bank (záložna).
Ladislav Matěcha was born in Smrčí in 1893 and worked as a carpenter. He lived in house number 127 on this street.
He was a member of the Communist Party, as well as of the Včela consumer cooperative, which had been founded in 1905 and distributed food from warehouses to shops in working-class districts. Owned by the Social Democrats and the Communists in the 1920s, it became the exclusive property of the Communists in the 1930s.
In July 1942, Matěcha was sentenced to death for membership of the (now-illegal) Communist Party, and for high treason. He was executed at Plötzensee Prison, in Charlottenburg-Nord, Berlin, on 5 November of the same year.
He then studied law in both Kraków and Prague, graduating from the former (specifically Jagiellonian University) in 1869 and working as a lawyer in the latter from 1870 to 1873, during which time he befriended Jan Neruda (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-37-nerudova/).
It was in 1872 that his first literary work, an epic poem called Václav, was published. A study of Russian poet Ivan Turgenev would follow in 1873. Both were published under a pseudonym, Antal Stašek.
In the meantime, his first novel, Nedokončený obraz (An unfinished picture), was published in 1878. Stašek’s literary work had two main influences – socialism and the Podkrkonoší Mountains.
In the 1889 elections, Zeman/Stašek was elected to the Provincial Assembly, representing the Old Czechs and holding his seat until 1895.
In 1913, Zeman/Stašek moved to Krč, living on U kola; after the war, he sat in the National Assembly as a deputy from 1919 to 1920.
Stašek’s most famous work, O ševci Matoušovi a jeho přátelích (About the Shoemaker Matouš and His Friends) was serialised in 1927. Stašek died in 1931, aged 88, and the novel – which we’ll be discussing soon too – was published in book form the year after.
Stašek’s ashes were placed at a family grave in Semily in June 1933; later that year, however, they were stolen. The ashes were never found; the perpetrator wasn’t either.
František Halas was born in Brno-Husovice in 1901. His parents were textile workers; his father had been imprisoned for his communist beliefs, and his mother died in 1908. These experiences would greatly influence his career as a poet.
When WW1 started, Halas’s father was called up to the front, where the Russians took him prisoner. Meanwhile, František finished his education, trained as a bookseller, and then worked as a clerk for an insurance company from 1922 to 1924.
He also joined a communist youth organisation, and from, 1921, worked for the communist press as well as avant-garde magazines. The nature of his poetry varied, with time, from proletarian verses to poetic (but melancholic) verses to existential poetry.
After his military service (1923 to 1925), he moved to Prague and got a job at the Orbis publishing house.
In 1936, Halas travelled to Spain during the Civil War, an experience that he would write several poems about.
During World War Two, he wrote for the (then underground) Rudé právo, and joined the Revolutionary Committee of Writers. He is pictured below in 1943.
After the war, Halas worked as head of the publishing department at the Ministry of Information (1945 to 1949); he also sat in the Provisional National Assembly, for the Communists, from 1945 to 1946, and became a member of the Society for Cultural and Economic Relations with the USSR (1945 to 1948).
After visits to Poland and the USSR in 1947, Halas remained a communist, but developed second thoughts about whether the Communists in Czechoslovakia were really up to the job. However, he still supported the February 1948 coup.
As well as his poetry, he was known for his translation of works from ‘fellow’ communist states – he translated Hungarian, Polish and Russian literature.
Halas died of heart failure in Prague in 1949. His sons were also renowned – František Xaver Halas (1937-2023) was the Czechoslovak (and then Czech) ambassador to the Holy See from 1990 to 1999, and Jan Halas (1945-2010) was a journalist who worked for Český rozhlas.
Anyone wondering how big Prague 4 is may do well to notice that that post is almost a year old, is already day 102, and that (even accounting for a few breaks in that time), we’re not nearly done yet.
From 1908 to 1912, as well as going to regular school, he attended landscape painting classes given by Václav Jansa, and then studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 1919.
After a couple of years of being a member of the Mánes Foundation, Rada exhibited his work with Umělecká beseda from 1920 onwards. He lived in Železný Brod from 1920 to 1925, and maintained a deep relationship with the town even after moving back to Prague.
He was famed for his landscape paintings, typically using dark colours. These often featured horse-drawn carriages and sleighs, conveying the atmosphere of winter, or covered social themes. Rada also provided book covers for a range of Czech classics (as well as novels by Charles Dickens).
Named a national artist in 1958, Rada died in 1962. There is a permanent exhibition of his work in Železný Brod; his works are also on permanent display at the National Gallery in Prague and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Anna Maria Tilschová was born in Prague in 1873. Her father was a doctor of law; her mother was the daughter of Ferdinand Urbánek (1812-87), a sugar entrepreneur and organiser of cultural life in Bohemia and Moravia.
In 1895, Anna Maria married her cousin, Emanuel Tilsch, also a lawyer; they had two children. Anna Maria worked as a writer, with several novels published from 1905 onwards.
He was taken to hospital, but died a few hours later. His suicide would greatly influence his widow’s further works, which also conveyed disintegration of family relationships in bourgeois Prague society and the feeling of emptiness felt by so many of this group’s members.
Anna Maria’s masterpiece was Haldy (Heaps; 1927), which focused on life in Ostrava during the Great War. In 1947, she was awarded the title of National Artist.
Tilschová died in 1957, and is buried at Olšany Cemetery.
Blažíčkova was built in 1962. They were busy round here in 1962.
Oldřich Blažíček was born in Slavkovice in 1887. Along with his brother, he trained as a house painter, and then moved to Prague to develop his career.
Eventually, he got a place at the School of Applied Arts (UPŠ), eventually transferring to and graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (AVU). The people he met through his studies included the subject of yesterday’s post, Rudolf Kremlička (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/04/30/prague-4-day-372-kremlickova/).
Ultimately, Blažíček became known for his landscape paintings of his native Vysočina (see 1919’s Na chmelnici / On the hop field, and 1939’s Krajina s vesnicí / Landscape with village, both below).
Rudolf Kremlička was born in Kolín in 1886, and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. Interested in impressionism, he became all the more so after visiting Paris, and the painter Édouard Manet became his role model.
He became one of the leading members of Tvrdošíjní (‘The Stubborn Ones’), a group of painters whose specialism was naive primitivism.
Kremlička initially painted landscapes (here is ‘Pobřeží’ (Coast; 1927)) but his work was consistently varied; he is most known for his paintings of women.
Emil Filla was born in Chropyně, near Kroměříž, in 1882, and grew up in Brno. After graduating, he got a job as a clerk at an insurance company, but soon decided office life wasn’t for him and headed for Prague.
He started studying monumental painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 1903, but (pattern alert) left in 1906 because he found the teaching too conventional. A 1905 exhibition of Edvard Munch’s works might have inspired him in this decision.
Initially creating expressionist works (such as 1907’s Reader of Dostoevsky, below), the 1910s saw him moving into cubism (such as 1911’s Comforter, also below).
In 1912, he married Hana Krejčová, also a painter, in Vinohrady.
Spending much of World War I in the Netherlands, Filla worked for Maffie, the main Czech resistance organisation, in particular by passing messages written in invisible ink to resistance fighters.
Returning to an independent Czechoslovakia, Filla got a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which he left after a few months so that he could devote himself to painting, and prove to everyone, including himself, that old habits die hard.
His favourite theme in the 1920s was still life, and his paintings of this era were more colourful than in the previous decade.
In the 1930s, women became a particular theme of Filla’s paintings (this is 1930’s Woman in armchair with book).
Sensing future events (and also reacting to worrying current ones), Filla’s late 1930s work warned of the rise of Nazism. On the same day that the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, he was arrested and send to Dachau, then Buchenwald.
After the war, he was appointed professor at the newly founded Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and also joined the Communist Party. His work in this period focused on landscapes, but also on Slovak bandit songs.
Having suffered multiple heart attacks as a result of his weakaned health after World War II, Filla ultimately died from his seventh attack in 1953. He is buried in Střešovice.
In 2017, his ‘Seated woman’ sold at Sotheby’s for £ 729,000; four years later, 1914’s ‘Head of an Old Man’ sold for € 1.297 million.
What's in a Prague street name 
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