What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 31 March 2023.

Na Poříčním právu was built in 1925.

A řeka is a river. This leads to the adjective říční, as in říční koryto (riverbed), říční síť (river system) and říční přístav (river port).

Put a prefix onto říční, and you get poříční, another adjective which also means ‘river’ (or ‘riverine’, apparently, which I swear I’m seeing for the first time today).

So poříční právo comes out as something like ‘river law’, or ‘fluvial law’ if you want to sound a bit more educated.

You might remember that this area, Podskalí, used to thrive thanks to the wood trade: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-121-na-vytoni/.

The swimmers involved in getting the wood across were so important that they had their own guild.

Until 1784, the guild had its own court in a building here – which was called Poříční právo. It then functioned as Podskalí’s Town Hall, ultimately being destroyed in 1911.