What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 9 August 2022.

Řehořova was built in 1897.

Řehoř Krajčí (died 1474) was a knight, and possibly the nephew of Jan Rokycana (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-19-rokycanova/).

In 1457, he founded the Unity of Brethren in Kunvald (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-83-ceskobratrska/). The group’s popularity led to significant tension with Uncle, an Utraquist.

From 1897 to 1940, and again from 1945 to 1947, this was Havlíčkova. The presence of a photo of Havlíčkovo náměstí on my phone means I won’t explain this one any further for now.

Under the Nazi occupation, the street was called Ochranovská, or Herrnhuterstraße.

Ochranov, or Herrnhut, is a town near Görlitz in Saxony, founded by German-speaking refugees from Bohemia in the early 18th century.

Its name means something like ‘shelter’ in both languages.

The Moravian Church was founded in Ochranov / Herrnhut by Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf of Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, in 1722.