What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 25 November 2023.

Malá Strana was founded as a royal town in 1257, but the surrounding area had been inhabited for centuries. And that surrounding area had several villages, including, among others, Újezd and Nebovidy, the latter of which was located around where the street is now.

A nebovid would be somebody who can see the sky.

The main building in Nebovidy was a church dedicated to St Laurence; it was first mentioned in 1298. There was also a Premonstratensian convent in the village, and another church, that of Mary Magdalene.

When the Premonstratensians moved to the Old Town in 1316, the convent was passed to the Dominicans. There was also a second Dominican convent in the village, that of St Anne – I haven’t confirmed if these both operated at the same time.

Because, let’s be fair, for a village in the 1300s, two convents for the same religious order seems like a lot.

In 1360, the ever-expanding Malá Strana would reach Nebovidy’s outer limits; in 1420, the church and monastery of Mary Magdalene got burned down. The Museum of Music is now in their place (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-39-karmelitska/).

However, this other church – that of St Laurence – still exists; it’s on Hellichova. That said, it’s not been used as a church since 1784, and, in the 1980s, was converted into a concert/exhibition hall.