What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 11 February 2024.

A cíp is a tip or a corner. And, as this is basically an extension of Panská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/23/prague-1-day-139-panska/) which doesn’t lead anywhere, this seems quite apt.

First referred to as ‘in vico dicto Czyp’ in 1395, it was also known as Heršova for a time, as a Mr Hersch owned one of the houses which has its back here, but its front on Jindřišská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/19/prague-1-day-131-jindrisska/).

V Cípu has to be a contender for ‘least attractive street in Prague 1’. Even the houses refuse to look out onto it.

I didn’t feel unsafe per se when walking down it to take these pictures, but I didn’t feel sorry to no longer be on the street a couple of minutes later either.

It’s also been the scene of quite a bit of destruction – I don’t know when this photo is from, but you’ll notice a stark difference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:V_C%C3%ADpu_(Prague)#/media/File:Ulice_V_Cipu,_vpravo_budova_hotelu_Art_Nouveau_Palace.jpg

The printing house of the Prager Tageblatt – see also https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/23/prague-1-day-139-panska/ – used to be here, but it was demolished in 2010.

It seems this was it in 2009: https://en.mapy.cz/zakladni?source=stre&id=122515&ds=2&gallery=1&sourcep=foto&idp=410598&x=14.4269954&y=50.0839078&z=19

Without knowing what’s going to be done round here in years to come, this is a bit of a downer, isn’t it.