What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 20 April 2023.

Myslíkova was built around 1348, when the New Town was founded.

Originally nameless, the street became known as Pod Zderazem, due to its location ‘under Zderaz’: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-159-na-zderaze/.

Then, it became known as Pasířská until about 1700, because of the craftsmen (a pasíř is one who makes decorative items, in particular girdles for knights) who lived here.

It then became known as Žitná because of the trade in rye that took place here.

Present-day Žitná is nearby: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/27/prague-2-day-36-zitna/

In 1884, the street became Myslíkova, after Adam Myslík z Hyršova (1520-81). His father, Matěj, was a city councillor in the Old and New Towns from 1527, and, three years later, became a lord.

Adam became a judge around 1560, and, a decade later, became council at the office of the Supreme Burgrave. When he died, he had the somewhat more lordly name of Adam Myslík z Hyršova, na Radlici a v Košířích.

The street was named Myslíkova, because he owned the house on the corner with Spálená. Except something went a little bit wrong here.

Because, while Myslík owned a heck of a lot of properties, this… was not one of them.

It actually belonged to Eliáš Myslich from Vilimštejn, who was a chamberlain in the 17th century. But it seems that poor old Myslich was not quite important enough for this to have been changed since.

Number 13 is not without interest, either: František Ladislav Čelakovský (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/18/prague-2-day-35-celakovskeho-sady/) lived and died in the house that was previously on the spot.

Whereas present number 13 is where František Škroup (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-145-skroupovo-namesti/) wrote Kde domov můj.

Meanwhile, while the Belgian Embassy is, like so many, in Malá Strana, Wallonia and Belgium’s French-speaking community get their own Delegation on Myslíkova: http://www.belgie.cz/delegace-francouzskeho-spolecenstvi-a-valonskeho-regionu/index.html.