What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 18 May 2022.

Buchovcova was built in 1930.

Zbyněk Buchovec z Buchova (died 1436?) was a Hussite warrior and commander (hejtman).

Coming from a peasant family, he was elected one of the four governors of the newly founded town of Tábor in 1420 (one of the other three being Jan Žižka).

In December, he led a camp expedition against Příběnice Castle, which the Hussites managed to conquer. Buchovec subsequently manned it with his garrison.

In February 1422, he represented Jan Želivský in arbitration procedures to settle the political and religious situation in Prague. Their side acknowledged the Lithuanian duke Sigismund Korybut (Zikmund Korybutovič) as governor of Prague and Bohemia.

(Sigismund, however, was recalled by the Pope and left again in 1423).

The last mention of Buchovec as a governor of Tábor dates from 1425.

Until 1952, the street was called Kostkova, named after the Kosteks of Postupice, a Czech ruling family founded in the 14th century. The name change presumably arose because they were filthy rich and, you know, communism.