What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 25 October 2023.

An opyš is ‘a narrow ridge rising from a flat hill into a valley’.

It’s not entirely clear how the word came about; there are those who believe that the word originally meant ‘tail’ (ocas in modern Czech).

Anyway, Opyš has become the name given to the lower part of the hill on which Prague Castle stands.

It also gave its name to a vineyard whose vines were supposedly tended by St Wenceslas / Václav himself.

The vineyard was revived in the early 2000s, and, as a tribute to Wenceslas, is now known as Svatováclavská vinice.

There’s a nice view of it from Klárov.

While Na Opyši itself is a nice little alternative for those not wanting to subject themselves to the hordes of tourists coming down the castle steps (more on those tomorrow).