What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 23 May 2022.

Na Jarově was built in 1925.

It translates as ‘In Jarov’ or ‘On Jarov’ (in Czech, you tend to be in a town, but on a district).

Jarov is the easternmost area of Žižkov, stretching east from V Zahrádkách (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-29-v-zahradkach/) until Žižkov becomes Hrdlořezy*.

Jarov was the name of a construction collective which, in 1914, started building family houses around this area.

From 1959 to 1963, a housing estate (sídliště) was built round here. It includes the local student dormitories on V Zahrádkách.

Most readers will see the word ‘Jarov’ and wonder if it’s time to get their car serviced, and maybe pop into Kaufland afterwards.

* Hrdlořezy is Prague 9; ‘What’s in a Prague 9 street name’ will be starting on whatever has replaced the thing that replaced the thing that replaced the thing that replaced Twitter in approximately 2055 (I wrote that in May 2022, not realising it would already sound prescient before the end of the year).