What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 18 November 2023.

A převor is a prior – a word whose meaning differs depending on what kind of monastery they’re in.

Among Dominicans, Augustinians, Brothers of Mercy and other Catholic orders, a prior is any monastic superior.

Among Premonstratensians, Benedictines and Cistercians, however, a prior would be directly subordinate to an abbott.

In this case, we’re dealing with what is known as the Maltézský řád in Czech, and most commonly as the Knights Hospitaller in English; they’re mainly associated with Malta because they had their headquarters there from 1530 to 1798.

There’ll be more on them in a few days – the map above might have been a giveaway – but, for now, let’s just mention that the order has six Grand Priories – or Velkopřevorství – around the world, including a Czech one.

In the 12th century, King Vladislav I made a building on this square available to the Johannite Order, the Knights’ predecessor organisation.

The palace underwent major Baroque reconstruction from 1725 onwards. After becoming part of the National Museum in 1952, it was given back to the Maltese Knights in 1991.

Velkopřevorské náměstí has had its current name sine about 1750.

The Grand Priory has also given its name to the nearby mill / Velkopřevorský mlýn (no longer in use). The mill is one of the reasons why Čertovka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/09/prague-1-day-67-certovka/) and Kampa were created.

The mill is now the location of a restaurant.

The Square also includes Buquoy Palace, which has been the French Embassy since 1919, and, in 1988, was famously the location at which Václav Havel, then a dissident, had breakfast with President François Mitterrand: https://english.radio.cz/december-1988-mitterrand-meets-dissidents-prague-8552805

But – and no offence to Malta or France, I promise – if you end up on Velkopřevorské náměstí, it’ll probably be to take a look at the Lennon Wall. (And it’s the Maltese guys who own the wall and allow people to graffiti it).

It’s been a popular place to leave anti-regime messages since the 1960s, and got its current name shortly after Lennon’s murder in December 1980 (great picture from 1981 here, showing his presence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennon_Wall#/media/File:John_Lennon_-_Prag_-_1981.jpg).

And another brilliant photo of the wall in 1993: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennon_Wall#/media/File:PrahaJohnLennon1993.jpg

The wall has inspired other Lennon Walls across the world, most famously in Hong Kong during anti-government protests in 2014: https://timemapper.okfnlabs.org/anon/tdo5ag-worldwide-lennon-wallstand-with-hong-kong/#0