What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 22 January 2023.

Na Folimance was built in 1930.

Folimanka, a vineyard, was first mentioned in writing way back in 1353. It was owned by one Jakub Foliman. An orchard of apricots was added within the following century, and, in the 19th century, a homestead was created here.

In 1918, the homestead was purchased by an association that intended to create an orthopaedic centre for children, but this never materialised.

The vineyard was probably converted into a park around 1930, which is also when the street was built; the homestead was demolished when Nusle Bridge (coming up in this series) was constructed in 1969.

The park was done up in the 1970s, which is also when the Folimanka sports hall was built*: https://prague.eu/cs/objevujte/sportovni-hala-folimanka/

* (I can see how that one glance at it would make you think ‘yeah, no sh*t’)

It’s principally used by basketball team USK Praha (http://uskpraha.cz), a 14-time national champion.

Folimanka also has a communist-era nuclear bunker, which is open on one Saturday in each month. Dates for 2023 are on here: https://krytfolimanka.cz/en/

While the park has recently undergone some major improvements to make it a more pleasurable place to spend your free time: https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/zena-styl-pod-nuselskym-mostem-vyrostlo-nove-misto-pro-sport-a-setkavani-oceni-ho-nejen-rodiny-s-detmi-40419231