What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 29 December 2023.

František Václav Pštross was born on this street in 1823; his father, also called František, was a local politician and owned a tannery, which František Junior joined in 1842.

Not content with only following in some of his father’s footsteps, he was elected to Prague City Council in 1848, but had to turn down the position as he was under 30.

He became a member of Prague’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1850 (eventually spending a year as its Chairman from 1858), and also opened a leather processing factory in 1852.

In 1861, following municipal elections which saw Czech liberals take precedence over the German population, Pštross was elected as Mayor of Prague.

During his tenure, Czech became the main language of the administration, as well as the principal language in all of the city’s schools.

However, two years into his term, Pštross died of meningitis. He was 40.

He’s buried at Olšany Cemetery.

Pštrossova includes the building which, from 1890 to 1953, housed Minerva – the first high school for girls not only in Prague, but in Central Europe. It was founded by Eliška Krásnohorská, who is the subject of an upcoming post.

It’s also the home of the Prague Film School.