What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 17 April 2023.

Záhořanského was built in 1877.

Bernard Augustin Zahořanský was born in 1738, into a family which had originated in the town of Záhořany, becoming ennobled in 1600 and settling in Prague’s New Town three years later.

He graduated in law and, in 1763, became a councillor at the supreme provincial criminal court.

In 1784, Emperor Joseph II united the Old Town, the New Town, the Lesser Town and Hradčany into one city. This also meant that, where there had previously been four city councils, there would now be one.

An Imperial Decree declared that Zahořanský would be the first mayor, or purkmistr, holding the position for a four-year term. According to municipal records, the city worked and met exclusively in German.

Zahořanský didn’t take the option of running for mayor again in 1788, instead returning to his previous job. He died two years later, in 1790.

The house in which he lived with his wife, Johanna Gosková, is located where the street is now. Zahořany, meanwhile, is now located in Prague-West and has about 300 inhabitants.