What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 20 September 2022.

Žižkovo náměstí was built in 1904, and I’m now wondering how I spin this one out.

Oh, OK: until 1947, it was Kollárovo náměstí, after Ján Kollár (1793-1852), Slovak poet, pastor, writer and promoter of Pan-Slavism.

From 1947 to 1958, it was Chelčického náměstí, and you can find out about Petr Chelčický here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/24/prague-3-day-78-chelcickeho/.

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us, so the original Žižkovo náměstí had to be renamed to Tachovské náměstí in 1958: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-17-tachovske-namesti/.

Jan Žižka is, at this moment in time but probably not at any other moment, most famous for not being a massive hit in US movie theatres.

(I haven’t seen the film yet and don’t like to base my impressions on box office results or sales – any feedback from people who have?)

The square is the home of the Higher Vocational School of Applied Arts and Secondary School of Applied Arts: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Um%C4%9Bleckopr%C5%AFmyslov%C3%A1_%C5%A1kola_%C5%BDi%C5%BEkov#/media/File:130912_VOSUP_SUPS_Praha_01b.jpg

I’m comfortable with Czech, but seeing the words ‘Vyšší odborná škola uměleckoprůmyslová a Střední uměleckoprůmyslová škola’ just did something to me and I’m not sure I enjoyed it.

And the square is another place that will be looking nicer and greener in a couple of years, if all goes well: https://prahain.cz/zivot-ve-meste/zizkovo-namesti-upravi-firma-enviromental-building-4801.html