What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 18 August 2022.

Blahníkova was built in 1883.

Until 1952, this was Švihovského, named after Půta Švihovský (died 1504), a Bohemian nobleman who was the highest regional judge of the Kingdom of Bohemia for 25 years.

According to German Wikipedia, he was a bit of a prick, though, and – rather incoherently given where his street was – a hater of Hussites.

Vojtěch Kristián Blahník (1888-1934), meanwhile, was a theatre historian and critic.

After dropping his studies in mechanical engineering, he spent 1907 to 1909 working as a teacher in his native Pardubice region, before moving to Prague and becoming an editor.

His connection to the theatre was strengthened by his marriage to Růžena Wenigová, sister of the writer Adolf Wenig and stage and costume designer Josef Wenig.

After WWI, he became head of the library at the Ministry of National Defense. He also contributed to several newspapers, wrote several books, and lectured on the history of theatre at the Prague Conservatory.

In nearby Štítného street (coming to Twitter… tomorrow, actually), he directed at the Masaryk Hall, where Jára Cimrman’s Žižkov Theatre is now located.

In 1934, Blahník shot himself in Litoměřice. He was 45.