What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 1 January 2023.

Koubkova was built in 1883.

Jan Pravoslav Koubek was born into a wealthy family in Blatná, in Strakonice District, in 1805. He went to secondary school in Písek (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/03/19/prague-3-day-175-pisecka/) and later in Prague, where he was taught by Josef Jungmann.

In 1827, he went to Charles-Ferdinand University to study law, but his real passion was Slavic languages. He then moved to Galicia and spent eight years working as a tutor and teacher, including four years in L’viv.

Returning to Prague in 1837, he was soon appointed as a professor of Czech language and literature at Charles-Ferdinand University, later also teaching Polish. He also wrote poems and translated Russian and Polish authors.

In 1848, he led the academic legion at the university, and, later in the year, was elected to the short-lived Austrian Reichstag. He supported more conservative viewpoints.

He died shortly afterwards, also in Blatná, in 1854. He was 49.