What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 18 January 2023.

Pod Zvonařkou was built in 1935.

Nice and quick this morning: while day 60 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/07/06/prague-2-day-60-u-zvonarky/) was at Zvonařka, today is under it. And Zvonařka is another ex-vineyard.

However, there’s still something special to say about Pod Zvonařkou: in 1889, number 65 was purchased by one Antonín Chmel, who used it to expand his budding business, exporting Prague ham.

By the time of his death in 1893 (when he was only 42), there were 28 employees, and the ham was exported as far away as Romania; by 1930, there were 250 employees.

The company, however, was nationalised in 1948.

There’s a great advertisement here from 1891, when the General Land Centennial Exhibition was held in Prague: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Anton%C3%ADn_Chmel_Pavillon_Prague_Exhibition_1891.jpg