What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 2 October 2023, one day after the street, formerly Koněvova (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/18/prague-3-day-1-konevova/) , was officially renamed.

Karel Hartig was born in Sedlčany, near Příbram, in 1833, and trained as a bricklayer, working, amongst other places, on the George of Poděbrady / Jiří z Poděbrad barracks, which we now know better as the Palladium shopping centre.

In 1865, he married one Amálie Stomeová, whose parents owned a good bit of land, including the farmstead described here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-13-prazacka/.

Hartig bought these up, as well as neighbouring land, building houses on what was then the Vienna Road (Vídeňská cesta). This is considered to be the moment at which Žižkov was founded.

In 1869 – 500 years after the birth of Jan Hus – Hartig had a flagpole placed on Vítkov Hill – a deed which got him a ten-day prison sentence, ultimately quashed on appeal.

In 1875, Royal Vinohrady (Královské Vinohrady) split into two – Královské Vinohrady I (today’s Žižkov) and II (today’s Vinohrady). Hartig became the first mayor of the former in 1876 (it officially became known as Žižkov a year later).

In 1878, the Civic Credit Union, which Hartig had founded, went bankrupt, an event which would ultimately force Hartig to resign his position (and move to Vinohrady).

However, in 1882, he was responsible for the creation of a monument to Jan Žižka on Vítkov Hill (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/04/prague-3-day-106-u-pamatniku/).

And, if you haven’t already guessed, it was Hartig who was behind the naming of so many of the streets round here after Hussites (insert any number of links to previous posts here).

But what’s really interesting is that Hartig was the first to decide that street signs should be in the national colours, red and white. An idea which eventually spread to the whole of Prague.

As of yesterday, my gym, favourite barista, nearest tram stop and potraviny that I always have to go to to pick up packages are no longer in a street named after a Soviet general who didn’t give a toss about the Czechs. This is a good thing.