What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 8 June 2024.

In the 1100s, there was already a settlement round here, named Újezd and centered around today’s Church of St Castulus (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-245-hastalske-namesti/).

When the Convent of Saint Agnes was built in 1231 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-243-anezska/), the district started to grow.

The order residing here was originally inspired by the Order of Friars Minor, founded by St Francis of Assisi in 1209 so, one of the first buildings to be created was the Church of St Francis of Assisi (to the right in this picture). The district became known as Na Františku.

The church was possibly the first Gothic building in the whole of Bohemia; however, when the entire monastery complex was renovated, starting in 1978, the church was the last building to be done, in 1986.

Na Františku is also a good place to view some other buildings which have been covered in recent days, such as the Church of Saints Simon and Jude (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-244-u-milosrdnych/).

And the Na Františku Hospital.

And then we have the Ministry of Industry and Trade, constructed from 1928 onwards on what was, until that point, a neglected plot of land. The design was by Josef Fanta, who was also responsible for Prague’s main train station (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/12/25/prague-2-day-9-wilsonova/).

The sculptures on the façade, just in front of the glass dome, represent Industry, Trade, Crafts and Navigation.

On the western side (formerly the entrance to the Patent Office), the statues symbolise Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering.

While those on the eastern side symbolise Enterprise, Ingenuity, Perseverance and Truthfulness, and the statues of children on each side represent Trade and Industry.

These are just some of the 120+ statues on the building, without taking into account all the other elements.

I feel like people don’t mention what an incredible building this is often enough.