What's in a Prague street name
Every street in Prague, one by one.
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I could talk about myself for ages, or I could point out that https://english.radio.cz/ed-ley-englishman-recording-stories-pragues-streets-one-one-8806941 is over two years old but still largely stands (other than the Twitter links).
Category: 1925
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V kole was built in 1925. ‘V kole’ translates as ‘In the wheel’, or ‘In the round’, so, for more info, please take a look at yesterday’s equally wheel-related https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/08/30/prague-4-day-430-paprskova/.
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Paprsková was built in 1925. Take a look at the map above. The street looks a little bit like the spoke of a wheel, and the Czech for spoke (in this sense, not as in ‘past tense of speak’) is ‘paprsek’. A ‘paprsek’ can also be a ray, beam or shaft (a ‘světelný paprsek’ is…
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Višňová was built in 1925. It’s quite nice and green around here (to me, at least), but apparently it used to be greener (as we learned on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/08/20/prague-4-day-425-u-spolecenske-zahrady/). And it may also have been redder, too – a ‘višeň’ is a sour (or morello) cherry, one of life’s great pleasures, and is also the name…
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Nad Havlem was built in 1925. This one is nothing to do with Václav Havel, but if you want to read about him, you can: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/14/prague-1-day-104-namesti-vaclava-havla/. It is, however, to do with St Gall (he who gave his name St Gallen in Switzerland), who we discussed on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/08/prague-1-day-175-havelska/. As mentioned on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/08/18/prague-4-day-423-v-podzamci/, the Carmelites of…
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U Společenské zahrady was built in 1925. In either 1843 or 1845 (depending on your source), the Česká společnost pro zvelebování zahradnictví, or the Czech Society for the Improvement of Horticulture, was founded on Bredovského (now known as https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/18/prague-1-day-127-politickych-veznu-political-prisoners/). In 1845, it moved south to Na Slupi (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/21/prague-2-day-88-na-slupi/), where it housed exhibitions in its multiple…
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U krčského nádraží was built in 1925. We spoke briefly about the present and future of Praha-Krč Station (nádraží) on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/08/15/prague-4-day-420-pred-nadrazim/. Now it’s time to talk about its past. Back in 1882, Modřany (south of Krč, in Prague 12; discussed on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/29/prague-4-day-185-modranska/) was known for its sugar factory. Which made a train connection to Prague…
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Nová cesta was built in 1925. When Nová cesta was build in 1925, it was, quite literally, a New Road. It isn’t anymore (well, it *is* a road, credit where it’s due), but the name has stuck. Those who think the name should have been updated might do well to remember that Prague’s New Town…
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U krčské vodárny was built in 1925. Until 1952, it had a ‘I’ at the end of its name, due to the (then) existence of U krčské vodárny II (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/05/07/prague-4-day-378-antala-staska/). And U krčské vodárny III (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/05/18/prague-4-day-383-zachova/). *And* U krčské vodárny IV (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/05/13/prague-4-day-381-sevce-matouse/). It seems there was even a V, which I haven’t written about yet.…
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K Novému dvoru was built in 1925. K Novému dvoru is named after the former farmstead Nový dvůr (New Court), as is the nearby main road, Novodvorská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/11/prague-4-day-276-novodvorska/). From 1925 to 1930, the street was called Mikoláše Aleše, after one of the greatest Czech painters; you can learn more about him on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/22/prague-1-day-210-alsovo-nabrezi-ales-embankment/ (which is…
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Na rovinách was built in 1925. It’s flat round here. And the street is, as its name says, on a plain (or, as it’s in the plural, ‘plains’). We’ve been in very similar name territory in Prague 4 already: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/09/prague-4-day-167-v-rovinach/.
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U lesa was built in 1925. We’re back on the street names that represent the surroundings – ‘U lesa’ is quite literally by a forest, namely Velký háj, which got a bit of attention on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/04/prague-4-day-270-nad-lesnim-divadlem/. This piece – published yesterday – indicates that the intended revival of the forest theatre is progressing quite nicely:…
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Na dubině was built in 1925. I said there’d be a new story today. It turns out that I lied. ‘Dubina’ is an oak forest, and we’ve been here before: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/02/06/prague-4-day-302-k-dubinam/. I promise that tomorrow’s post is completely new and not a dubina, a zátiší or a lysina.
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V Zátiší was built in 1925. It was looking a bit slippery when I was round here, so here you can see the street at the end, rather than a street sign. I did say that there would be a set (four, I currently believe) of Zátiší-based streets, and, as this is the second of them,…
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V lučinách was built in 1925. Until 1952, the street was part of V Zátiší (coming up), but then it was separated and became its own street. A further portion of V Zátiší was given to V lučinách in 1979. A ‘lučina’ is a synonym for ‘louka’, i.e. a meadow. We’ve been on this topic…
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Na Lysinách was built in 1925. When talking about humans and their heads, a ‘lysina’ is a bald spot. When talking about landscapes, a ‘lysina’ is a forest area without vegetation, and so the area around here was once known as such. Based on my walk around the area last weekend (and a new record for…
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V mokřinách was built in 1925, and separated from another street (V Zátiší) in 1938. ‘Mokřina’ means ‘marsh’, ‘fen’, or ‘bog’, and reflects the surroundings. The area got a bit of a glow-up in 2019: https://www.praha-priroda.cz/vodni-plochy-a-potoky/vodni-toky/zatissky-potok/revitalizace-a-opravy-na-zatisskem-potoce/revitalizace-v-mokrinach/.
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Klánova was built in 1925. Václav Klán was born in Černošice (nowadays in Prague-West) in 1839. He was working as a clerk in Zbraslav when an aunt left him some rocky land in Radotín (nowadays in Prague 16). He later sold this to a mining company (Radotín is famed for its limestone), making a nice…
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Korandova was built in 1925. We don’t know when Václav Koranda was born, but we do know that, by 1414, he had founded a Hussite community in Plzeň, taking part in and often leading pilgrimages to the mountains. Leaving Plzeň in 1419, he joined Jan Žižka’s forces, and took part in the Battle of Sudoměř…
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Polední was built in 1925. ‘Polední’ is the adjective from ‘poledne’, midday or noon. You might be reading this on your ‘polední přestávka’ (lunch break). In Polish (but not in Czech), ‘południe’ means not only ‘noon’ but ‘south’ (and, yes, the word for ‘midnight’, ‘północ’ also means ‘north’). This is the first in a series of…
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Údolní was built in 1925. At one end of this street, you’ve got a hill with Braník Brewery (no longer brewing) on top of it (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/13/prague-4-day-258-nad-branickym-pivovarem/). At the other end, I’m going to assume we’re also on a hill, but will confirm that when we get to the streets around there. Hills or not, the street…
