What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 30 October 2022.

Milešovská was built in 1896.

Milešovka, 837 metres high, is the highest peak in the České Středohoří, the Central Bohemian Uplands, in northern Bohemia.

Bronze objects and ceramics from the Bronze Age have been found near the mountain; they suggest there was a mountain cult of sorts.

The mountain’s name is first mentioned in 1521, named after the village of Milešov.

Its German name, Donnersberg, means ‘Thunder Mountain’ and came about after the region became increasingly Germanised after the Thirty Years’ War.

By the 19th century, the mountain had become a popular spot for tourists, helped by the existence of spas in Teplice.

(Painting from 1808 by Caspar David Friedrich)

Famous Germans who climbed it include Goethe, Friedrich Wilhelm III and Alexander von Humboldt, who described the view as the third most beautiful in Europe (no idea what one or two were, of if this was actually a putdown of the ‘you’re my second best friend’ variety).

Karel Hynek Mácha also climbed the mountain shortly before his death in 1836.

Milešovka remains a popular destination for tourists. It has a lookout tower, built in 1905, from which meteorological observations take place: https://www.ufa.cas.cz/struktura-ustavu/oddeleni-meteorologie/observatore/milesovka/

It’s also the windiest spot in the entire country; one day in January 1967 was so windy that it was off the chart of the mountain’s measuring instrument.

Virtual views from Milešovka – covering all four seasons – can be seen at https://prohlidky.virtualvisit.cz/milesovka/.