What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.


1925

  • Prague 4, day 263: Na výstupu

    Na výstupu was built in 1925. Anybody who’s ever taken the Prague Metro will know that ‘výstup’ is one of the two things that you have to complete when the doors are closing (or, ideally, slightly before), the other one being ‘nástup’. Anybody who’s ever taken public transport to or from Braník will also know Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 259: Kamenitá

    Kamenitá was built in 1925. Another one that describes the street’s physical features – ‘kamenita’ translates as ‘stony’, ‘rocky’, or ‘pebbly’. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 258: Nad branickým pivovarem

    Nad branickým pivovarem was built in 1925. In 1899, thirteen Prague brewers, feeling that industrialisation had caused them to lose their competitive edge, decided that Prague needed a new, modern brewery. In 1900, the Společenský pivovar pražských sládků – Prague Brewers’ Community Brewery – opened. The complex consists of seven Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau buildings, Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 225: K Ryšánce 

    K Ryšánce was built in 1925. This area was originally covered by vineyards. Around 1858, a neo-Gothic farmstead was built here, joining nearby farmsteads such as Dobeška (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/08/prague-4-day-192-na-dobesce/) and Zemanka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/23/prague-4-day-207-na-zemance/). The residential building was converted into a chateau around 1860; the owner at the time was one Mr Ryšánek. The farmstead, which had initially been Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 201: U dubu

    U dubu was built in 1925. A ‘dub’ is an oak tree. Once upon a time, Slavs venerated oak trees which were dedicated to Perun, who was the god of the sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war and, yes, oak trees (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/12/23/prague-3-day-183-perunova/). But oaks aren’t just important to the Slavs – the oak is Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 193: Zapadlá

    Zapadlá was built in 1925. ‘Zapadlá’ is an adjective with many potential translations, including (but not limited to) ‘fallen’, ‘remote’, ‘out-of-the-way’, ‘sunken’ and ‘deep-set’. In 1925, when this was becoming a truly residential area, it was decided that this was a good way to describe the street in relation to all the construction taking place. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 192: Na Dobešce

    Na Dobešce was built in 1925. It’s been said that this is named after a massive oak tree in the vicinity (an oak is a ‘dub’, and more on that in a few streets’ time). However, for the other story, we can go to the 1931 writings of Karel Čapek (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/30/prague-2-day-24-sady-bratri-capku/ for a post Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 189: U háje

    U háje was built in 1925. A ‘háj’ is a a grove; you may also know its diminutive form, ‘hájek’ (but note that, no, Mexican-American actress and producer Salma Hayek doesn’t have secret Czech roots – her father is of Lebanese descent). This area used to be a grove; while there’s still a good deal of Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 187: Nad lomem

    Nad lomem was built in 1925. Braník is known for the Branické skály, or the Braník Rocks, designated as natural monument in 1968. From the 1700s (maybe earlier) until 1928, limestone was mined round here. Mining involves quarries, and the Czech for ‘quarry’ is ‘lom’ – hence this street being ‘Above the quarry’. However, wander Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 183: Na Kavčích horách

    Na Kavčích horách was built in 1925. I don’t know if it has a street sign, and felt like I might be walking on private property anyway, as fairly well proven by this picture, so I decided it was wise to stop looking for one. We already discussed the origin of the name Kavčí hory Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 179: Za skalkou

    Za skalkou was built in 1925. A ‘skalka’ is a rock garden, or a rockery. It’s the diminutive of ‘skála’, which is a rock or a cliff. Or a crag, if you want multiple options. Once upon a time, the area round here was called Za skalkou (we can find that on maps from around Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 154: U vápenné skály

    U vápenné skály was built in 1925. This translates as ‘by the limestone rock’, so go and take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/20/prague-4-day-122-vapencova/. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 149: Na Podkovce

    Na Podkovce was built in 1925. ‘Podkovka’ translates as ‘Hippocrepis’, which itself translates as ‘horseshoe’; it’s a genus of flowering plants, of which there are accepted to be 34 different species. And, because round here is round here, it was, once upon a time, the name of a local vineyard. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 144: Na Zlatnici

    Na Zlatnici was built in 1925. You may remember that Podolí was built in an area of vineyards – they’re mentioned on quite a large proportion of recent posts, such as https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/11/prague-4-day-114-na-topolce/, which is named after a vineyard called Topolka. There was another vineyard round here called Zlatnice. When used to describe a person, a Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 135: Podolské schody

    Podolské schody were built in 1925. There may be a proper street sign up at the top. These are the ‘Podolí Steps’, built around the same time as much everything else round here, when Podolí was newly part of Prague and expanding. The steps got a bit of attention in late 2023, when railings were Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 133: Ve svahu

    Ve svahu was built in 1925. A ‘svah’ is a slope or a hillside, and this street is, as you’ve already guessed, located on one. For vocabulary fans, a ‘lyžařský svah’ is a ski slope, whereas a steep slope would be a ‘příkrý svah’. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 131: Hoffmannova

    Hoffmannova was built in 1925, but remained nameless until 1955. The whole namelessness thing starts to make sense when you see that it feels more like a ye olde village road than anything else. Karel Hoffmann was born to a poor family in Smíchov in 1872, initially living near Anděl, then at Bertramka. As a Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 130: Nad spádem

    Nad spádem was built in 1925. ‘Spád’ can be translated as ‘momentum, ‘speed’, ‘cadence’, ‘flow’ and much else besides. In the context of this street, it would be a ‘gradient’, ‘slope’, etc., and ‘Nad spádem’ denotes that the street is above one. Continuing the theme of publishing companies quite liking setting up their headquarters in Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 128: Voráčovská

    Voráčovská was built in 1925. Apparently a previous name for the immediately surrounding area – presumably because of someone whose surname was Voráček, but all the ones listed on Czech Wikipedia were born too late for it to be them. I’m going to assume there was a villa, a farm or a vineyard involved. Based Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 125: Doudova

    Doudova was built in 1925. Václav Douda was born in Podolí in 1886. He qualified as a teacher, while also training, and acting in a management capacity, at the Podolí Sokol (guide to the Sokols on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-114-sokolska/). In 1913, he was part of the Czech team at the 6th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which took Continue reading