What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 12 November 2023.

Čertovka may get a street sign – but it’s actually a canal which separates Kampa Island from the rest of Malá Strana.

Kampa (which is getting a post of its own soon) was created in the 12th century, when the Knights of Malta (ditto) ordered the building of the canal so that the mills of Malá Strana would have a water supply.

There were nine mills at the time; three remain.

Originally, the canal was known as Strouha, which translates as ‘gutter’ or ’stream’; the name Čertovka dates from 1892. Legend has it that a cantankerous old woman used to wash her laundry here, and shouted at a group of young men who were also there.

They took offence at this, declared her to belong to the devil, and painted seven devils on the front of her house, which then became known as U Sedmi čertů (The Seven Devils). It’s on modern-day Maltézské náměstí.

All of which is presumably much worse than anything the woman could possibly have done, because misogyny.

Čertovka was featured in both Mission: Impossible and Amadeus, as was much of the district, and now I’m going to have to sheepishly admit I’ve never seen either and need to remedy this. With views like this, you can see why it’s a popular location for filming things.

In September 2024, when massive floods hit the country, Čertovka’s flood defence, a steel gate, was put to good use: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2l1l8ng2edo.