What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 4 February 2023.

Krokova was built in 1892.

During the Nazi occupation, this was Jarlochova, after Jarloch (1165-1228), an abbot who wrote one of the post-Kosmas parts of the Chronica Boemorum.

Speaking of Kosmas’s Chronicle? That’s our source for information about Krok.

Kosmas says that the first Czechs in Bohemia were teetotal, weapon-free and happy to engage in dangerous things like private property. Or marriage.

But then they decided to go off the rails. So Krok, a wise, rich, sophisticated and apparently just plain perfect man*, appeared and became the first duke of the Czechs.

* If you ever see someone on a dating app with this bio, it probably is, indeed, a load of old Krok.

Despite being wise, rich, sophisticated and apparently just plain perfect, Krok also failed to be interesting enough for Kosmas to write anything more about him, except that he had three daughters.

Kazi, the oldest, was an expert in herbs and fortune-telling. She worked as a healer.

Teta, the middle daughter, was a pagan priestess who taught people to worship rivers, trees, stones and forests.

Libuše, the youngest one, was also the smartest, and, when Krok died, she took over.

I won’t reveal what happened next, as it’ll leave me with nothing to write in a few streets’ time, but you won’t be surprised to know that it involves Vyšehrad.