What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 15 March 2024.

Jan Václav Vejvoda was born around 1677. I’m not sure about his early life, but, by 1701, he was already working in the Old Town’s municipal administration.

After various roles (including a scribe, a supreme warden, a member of the city council, and, erm, ‘director of the fish office’), he was ultimately appointed as the mayor of the Old Town in 1745.

A year later, Maria Theresa, presumably wanting to do something that wasn’t the War of the Austrian Succession, ennobled Vejvoda, who called himself Jan Václav Vejvoda ze Stromberka after that.

Vejvoda would be mayor until his death in 1757.

He also owned an impressive house on this street (number 2; it’s also number 4 on Jilská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/06/prague-1-day-171-jilska/)). It’s now a restaurant, quite stylish-looking on the outside, but the reviews online are not the greatest.

Vejvoda was the 35th mayor of the Old Town – and there would only be one after him, because, in 1784, it, the New Town, Hradčany and Malá Strana would be merged into one municipality, with one mayor.

Number 36, however, would certainly make the most of the role – Jan Václav Blažej Friedrich z Friedenberka was mayor for 26 years.

This week, more than ever, Bohuslav Svoboda should not be taking this as a hint.

The old other Old Town mayor who’s come up in these posts to date was number 17: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/29/prague-1-day-155-krocinova/.

I know I’m Kating, sorry, stating the obvious when I say that it’s foolish to get people on Twitter into conspiracy theory mode, but it’s interesting that Googling Jan Václav Vejvoda brings up not a single image of the man.