What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 22 December 2023.

Mills operating here by the Vltava got their name from a former owner, Jan Šítka, who died in 1451.

In 1495, a wooden water tower was built, but would be destroyed by a fire six years later. A replacement would also be burned down in 1588, after which everybody got the message and a stone version was created instead.

Despite damage by Swedish troops in the Thirty Years’ War, the tower would function as the local waterworks until either 1847 or 1913 (two sources that I’ve been looking at mention different years).

In any case, it was purchased by the Mánes Union of Fine Arts in 1926, and Mánes is probably the first name that comes to mind when you think of it (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/18/prague-2-day-11-manesova/).

From 1977 to 1989, it was an observatory for the State Security (StB), which is not at all coincidental when you consider that Václav Havel had an apartment on nearby Rašínovo nábřeží (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/28/prague-2-day-125-rasinovo-nabrezi/).

Back on the street itself (which, let’s be honest, isn’t *that* near the tower), those who enjoy looking for embassies and consulates (or that could just be me) will be able to walk along Šítkova and tick Cape Verde off their list.