What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on 4 November 2023.

Cihelná with an á is the feminine adjective from cihelna without an á, meaning ‘brickworks’. Once upon a time, there were two tanneries here, but, in 1781, František Antonín Linhart Herget, who had purchased them, had a Baroque brickyard built in their place.

A later owner, Josef Zobel, had it rebuilt in a classicist style in 1796; a further reconstruction occurred in 1857-8. By the 20th century, the brickyard had ceased to be used as one, and was a storage space instead; part of the buildings were demolished in 1936.

Following delays due to the floods of 2002, reconstruction began in 2003. Two years later, the building would be reopened as what you know it as now – the Franz Kafka Museum.

There’s also a statue, Čůrající postavy (English name: ‘Piss’), by David Černý, outside the museum. It is best described as ‘very David Černý’: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8C%C5%AFraj%C3%ADc%C3%AD_postavy#/media/Soubor:Praag,_Tsjechi%C3%AB_Aug_19,_2019_03-27-13_PM.jpeg

On another note, the pub across the road, Malostranská pivnice, advertises itself as having won a Best Pub In The World prize in 2009. There’s a bit of a discrepancy between this and its online user reviews (though I went in 2020 and quite enjoyed it, so what do I know).

If you don’t feel like spending money, Cihelná is also a lovely place to feed the ducks and enjoy the view.