What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 4 March 2024.

Originally, the street was called Svatého Ondřeje, after a church dedicated to St Andrew, consecrated in 1165, abolished in 1785, and destroyed in the 19th century (by which time it was used as a carpentry workshop) so the street could be extended: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostel_svat%C3%A9ho_Ond%C5%99eje_%28Praha%29#/media/Soubor:Kostel_sv._Ond%C5%99eje.jpg.

Later on, the central part was called Boršov – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/29/prague-1-day-154-borsov/ – and the part near the Vltava was named Dolní Solní because of the nearby saltworks.

For the story of the Bethlehem Chapel, you can take a look at yesterday’s thread: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/01/prague-1-day-160-betlemske-namesti/.

Betlémská features the character limit-busting Střední průmyslová škola strojnická, škola hlavního města Prahy (Secondary School of Mechanical Engineering, School of the Capital City of Prague). Founded in 1837, it’s the oldest school of its type in the city.