What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 15 October 2022.

Písecká was built in 1910.

Písek, with 30,000 inhabitants, is the third-largest city in South Bohemia.

Its name means ‘sand’, deriving from the gold-bearing sand found on the banks of the Otava River.

It was first mentioned in 1243, when Václav I built a castle there, although it was his son, Přemysl-Otakar-II-of-Královec-fame, who founded the city itself (and spent a lot of time in it).

As well as its mineral wealth, Písek was built in order to protect the Zlatá stezka (Golden Trail), a series of trade routes connecting Bohemia with the Danube.

In the early 1400s, Písek was an important centre of the Hussites. The city joined the Unity of Tábor and was frequently visited by Jan Žižka. It also, somehow, managed to avoid any military clashes.

One of its residents was Chval z Machovic, who governed Tábor along with Žižka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/01/14/prague-3-day-137-chvalova/).

After the Hussite Wars, Písek achieved prosperity, but was largely destroyed by fire in 1532 and suffered repeatedly during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48).

In the 19th century, during the Czech National Revival, so many schools and learning institutes were set up in the city that it became known as ‘South Bohemian Athens’.

Famous names associated with Písek, beyond Mr Královec Himself, include violinist Otakar Ševčík (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/01/14/prague-3-day-142-sevcikova/), recently deceased jazz musician George Mraz (https://english.radio.cz/george-mraz-performed-worlds-jazz-greats-8729992…) and gold Olympic medal-winning cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová.

Pleasingly, Písek is twinned with Caerphilly in Wales. http://caerphilly.gov.uk/twinning/english/pisek.html

There’s also a Pisek (population 87) in North Dakota, founded by settlers from the original Písek in 1882.

This page includes some videos of Pisek dot us, taken in 1997: http://mfr-eng.com/rumreich/pisek.htm

In March 2024, Písek region was the scene of what counts as a very strong earthquake round these parts: https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes/quake-info/8893220/mag3quake-Mar-7-2024-Czechia-Czech-and-Slovak-Republics.html#google_vignette.