What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 14 October 2022.

Slezská was built in 1889.

Silesia (Slezsko in Czech, Śląsk in Polish, and Schlesien in German), is a historical region of Central Europe (translation: this might not be the briefest of threads).

Czech Silesia is one of the three historical Czech lands, though it’s significantly smaller than the other two (taking up about 5.6% of the country’s land, and containing 9.5% of its population).

Only four of the 30 biggest cities in Silesia are on the Czech side (and three of these, Havírov, Opava and Frýdek-Místek, rank 20th or lower).

The obvious exception is Ostrava, which is third behind Wrocław and Katowice.

From the 10th century, the territory was contested by the Přemyslids (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-152-premyslovska/) and their Polish rivals, the Piasts.

Initially, the Piasts were successful; they encouraged German migration in order to strengthen the region’s economy; Silesia’s German character would last until the mid-20th century.

In 1335, Charles I of Hungary assigned Silesia to the Bohemian crown. However, the individual principalities maintained their rulers, who (for example) took the Catholic side in the Hussite Wars.

Ruled by Hungary for 21 years between 1469 and 1490, Silesia was then reacquired by Bohemia – meaning it also passed to the Habsburgs in 1526.

By the 1700s, Silesia’s industrial background meant it was the richest province in the Empire, and so Frederick the Great decided it might be quite nice if he could make the region part of Prussia instead.

Cue the War of Austrian Succession, which, in 1742, left the Habsburgs with little more than Opava, Krnov and Těšín, which joined Moravia.

Following WW1, Silesia was divided between Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. Arguments and violence inevitably ensued.

There was a war between Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1919 (https://english.radio.cz/czechoslovak-polish-war-january-1919-a-brief-clash-lasting-consequences-8139977…), which is also why we have Český Těšín and (Polski) Cieszyn.

The war can be regarded as a victory for Czechoslovakia, which acquired the region’s coal mines. But relations with Poland remained strained until WW2.

After WW2, only a small strip of Silesia (Lusatia) was given to East Germany; the German population was forcibly expelled from the rest.

There is debate about whether Silesian is a dialect of Polish (or of Czech), or a language in its own right; whatever your view, the existence of a TED Talk in Silesian (from 2013) is really freaking awesome:

My goodness, languages are the best.

Bonus material: in 1928, Slezká joined with a street called Chocholouškova, which had existed since 1884.

It was named after Prokop Chocholoušek (1819-64), a journalist and writer whose anti-Habsburg sentiments led to police surveillance and difficulties in making a living.

A street in Palmovka still bears his name.