What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 13 June 2022.

Malešícká was built in 1931.

The road leads to Malešice, a district which is located (mainly) in Prague 9 and (partially) in Prague 10.

In the 1980s, archeologists discovered pieces of chipped stone from the late Paleolithic period in Malešice, making it the first safely proven Paleolithic settlement in Central Bohemia.

The village of Malešice was first mentioned in 1309; its name probably derives from a feudal lord called Mališ, who owned the settlement.

As late as 1843, the village had a population of 316 people, living in 39 buildings.

In 1922, when Prague really started to expand, Malešice (population at the time: 1,400) became part of Prague XI, along with Žižkov and Hrdlořezy.

Though Prague XI is no more, you can still see many older street signs referring to it round where I live.

Malešice maintained its village character until the 1950s, when it inevitable gained a lot of paneláky. But it’s still a tram-free zone.

I don’t wind up here very often, but Malešický Park is nice, and, as I learned last summer, a health centre in the district is also where you should go if you want the kind of PCR test that goes a bit too far and brings tears to your eyes.

It also has its fair share of statues: go to https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seznam_um%C4%9Bleck%C3%BDch_realizac%C3%AD_ve_ve%C5%99ejn%C3%A9m_prostoru_v_Male%C5%A1ic%C3%ADch… for a peek.