What's in a Prague street name

U gymnázia was built in the 1930s, and given a name in 1947.

A ‘gymnázium’ is a well-known false friend: it’s a grammar school (if you’re British), or a high school (if you’re American). Around the spring of each year, your local friends who have kids may talk about how insanely competitive their entry examinations are.

In 1948, such a school opened here; it was created for children of employees of diplomatic missions from other Eastern European countries (read: Communists), and focused on the teaching of languages.

As if we couldn’t already guess where the majority of these students came from, the street was originally called ‘U ruského gymnázia’ until 1948, then being known as ‘U sovětské školy’ (By the Soviet School) until 1991.

In 1952, the school became a ‘normal’ secondary school, but with a focus on teaching Russian; it moved to another location (on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/01/29/prague-4-day-7-kresomyslova/).

The school has moved again since – it’s now on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/02/01/prague-4-day-21-na-vitezne-plani/ – and still specialises in languages, though not specifically that one.

Meanwhile, the Soviet School moved to Bubeneč, where the Russian Embassy is, apparently at the expense of some quite nice older buildings.

Since 2021, when Czechia expelled Russian diplomats due to Russian military involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouse explosions, (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56790053), the school in Bubeneč has been empty. It’s hard to imagine this changing.