What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 2 February 2023.

Na Slupi was built in 1448 and was called Slupská until 1870.

Sometimes we go *way* back. And, the further back we go, the more likely it often becomes that we don’t entirely know where street names come from.

It’s likely that, before the New Town was founded in 1348, there was a manor here by the Botič, which is the stream located round here (more on this in about 25 streets’ time).

Theory No. 1 concerns a slup, an old Czech word that isn’t in use anymore; apparently, it’s a wooden basket that you place in a weir in order to catch fish.

I am a total non-fisherman, so please let me know if there’s an English word for this.

Elsewhere in the Czech Republic, there’s a village called Slup in Znojmo District, one called Sloupno near Hradec Králové, and a small town called Sloupnice near Litomyšl. All are also believed to be named after this device.

Theory No. 2 suggests that the manor was built on pillars – na sloupích.

While Theory No. 3 suggests that a pillar (one pillar is a sloup) once stood here, in dedication to Svantovít, Slavic god of abundance and war, and later of all the Polabian Slavs (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/14/prague-2-day-28-luzicka/).