What's in a Prague street name

Vlastislavova was built in 1892.

We’re back onto the mythological figures today.

The story of the seven mythical dukes of Bohemia was last told on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/01/03/prague-4-day-3-mnatova/.

However, of more relevance is the story of Duke Number Four, Vnislav (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/25/prague-2-day-102-vnislavova/), because he supposedly had a brother called Vlastislav. Their father was Vojen who, somehow, has missed out on getting a street round here (although, to be fair, Mnata had to wait until 2024).

The chroniclers don’t agree on events: Kosmas says that Vnislav became Duke after Vojen died; Dalimil says that, during his lifetime, Vojen divided his land between his sons. Vnislav got Bohemia. Vnislav would later be succeeded by Křesomysl, whose street we’re getting onto soon.

Vlastislav got an area known as Lucko, which was centered around modern-day Žatec (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/20/prague-1-day-207-zatecka/ for the history of that city). This made him Duke of the local tribe, the Lučans.

Unfortunately (I probably mean ‘predictably’), the Lučans and the Bohemians didn’t get on.

Křesomysl’s successor – and therefore Mythical Duke Six of Seven – was Neklan (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/25/prague-2-day-103-neklanova/). He tried to maintain peace with Vlastislav, who broke this peace by invading Neklan’s villages.

Neklan went back down the ‘let’s make peace’ route; Vlastislav went back down the ‘let’s start a war’ route. If I explain how that war went in too much detail, that’ll ruin tomorrow’s post, but, for now, I’ll just say that Vlastislav was killed.

Vlastislav left a son, Zbyslav, who Seemingly All-Round Nice Bloke Neklan took in, entrusting him to his friend, Durynk. Durynk was not a Seemingly All-Round Nice Bloke, because he did the exact opposite of the task entrusted to him and killed Zbyslav.

Somehow – seriously, don’t ask me how – Durynk took Zbyslav’s head to Neklan, thinking this would impress him. It didn’t. Neklan sentenced Durynk to death, but told him he could choose how he would die.

In the end, Durynk hanged himself from a tree outside of Prague; it became known as ‘Durynkova olše’ (Durynk’s alder tree).