What's in a Prague street name

Prokopova was built in 1872.

Prokop Holý (the Bald) was born around 1380 in Prague. The identity of his family is unclear, but it’s known that he was born into wealth and was able to travel extensively around Europe as a young man.

His uncle ordained him as a priest, but, no later than 1420, he became a follower of Jan Žižka, and started to preach in Tábor.

He probably became known as ‘the bald’ after undergoing tonsure, which is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility.

He became one of the field captains of the Taborite groups in 1424, and was instrumental in their victories at Ústí (1426), Zwettl (1427) and Domažlice (1431 – see also https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-14-domazlicka/).

That last battle stopped the raids by Catholic army groups into Bohemia, and ushered in the opposite, a period of Hussite army groups invading neighbouring lands.

In 1433, Prokop defended more radical forms of Hussitism at Basel. In the following year, he died at the battle of Lipany, which I will keep fairly quiet about for now as that has a street of its own which I haven’t covered yet.

Part of current-day Prokopova was a different street, called Nákvasova, until 1975. Jan Nákvas was a Hussite priest, burned as a heretic in Bavaria in 1419 after being captured by German Catholics.