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: 1935
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Pod višňovkou was built in 1935. We’re under a sour cherry tree. Or we used to be. Same story as https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/08/22/prague-4-day-427-visnova/. Same tree too. Or one of them.
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V podzámčí was built in 1935. In 1222, the fortress and village of Lower Krč (Dolní Krč; https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/07/18/prague-4-day-406-dolnokrcska/) were mentioned in writing as belonging to the Vyšehrad Chapter (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-118-vysehradska/). In 1420, the fortress was captured by the Hussites under one Jan Žižka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-150-zizkovo-namesti/ and many other Prague 3 posts). It passed through various owners, many…
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Na vrstevnici was built in 1935. A ‘vrstevnice’ is a line on a map that connects two places of equal elevation, helping them to show the shape and height of the terrain. In other words, a contour line. And the street is named because it’s located ‘on’ one.
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Nad obcí I was built in 1935. An ‘obec’ is a ‘village’, a ‘parish’, or a ‘municipality’. The obec in question is (was) Lower Krč, or Dolní Krč, which we’ll discuss soon enough, because, yes, there’s a street named after it.
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Na staré vinici was built in 1935. A ‘vinice’ is a vineyard or a vinery. There was once one round here (actually, there were probably several, and you can still imagine them when you walk around the area). Hence the street being named after ‘the old vineyard’. In the 1920s, Prague’s population was growing too…
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Točitá was built in 1935. Descriptive street name time – ‘točitá’ means ‘spiral’, ‘winding’, or, if you’re trying to look a bit swish, ‘serpentine’. If you want some vocab, a ‘točité schodiště’ is a ‘spiral staircase’. And, given Communist Czechoslovakia’s propensity for cover versions, the more middle of the road, the better, how am I…
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Nad pískovnou was built in 1935. It’s named after its location above a once-upon-a-time pískovna, AKA a sandpit or a sand quarry. For another sand-related street, why not take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/03/19/prague-3-day-175-pisecka/.
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Hornokrčská was built in 1920. The street didn’t have an official name until 1935; apparently, it was ‘unofficially’ known as Zborovská until then, whatever ‘unofficially’ means. We’re about a year from writing about a street in Prague 5 that is still called Zborovská, but, for now, Zboriv and its WW1 battle get a mention on…
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Pod rovinou was built in 1935. If there’s one thing Prague 4 loves, it’s a good ‘rovina’, i.e. a plain or flat land. We’ve been in them in Podolí: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/09/prague-4-day-167-v-rovinach/. We’ve been on them in Lhotka: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/03/10/prague-4-day-329-na-rovinach/. And today, we’re under one. Looking at the map above, this may also win the prize for being…
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K Habrovce was built in 1935. Quick throwback to the story of Habrovka, an erstwhile homestead, on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/05/19/prague-4-day-384-u-habrovky/; it was demolished as Krč became increasingly urban and increasingly residential.
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Na krčské stráni was built in 1935. A ‘stráň’ is a hillside, or a slope, and this street is quite literally on one in Krč. I’m quite glad that my mental block/conviction that ‘stráň’ means ‘border’ turned out not to be true, because Na krčské stráni is in no way on the border of Krč,…
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U Habrovky was built in 1935. Once upon a time, there was a vineyard here; a homestead was added to it, and was named Habrovka. One building from the homestead survives: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habrovka_(usedlost)#/media/Soubor:Habrovka_(02).jpg (picture by Alenka Pokorná). This was presumably named after ‘habr’, or hornbeam, i.e. a hardwood tree in the plant genus Carpinus (there are…
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Pecharova was built in 1935. Until 1952, it was called U dětského útulku (‘At the children’s home’), after Dětský útulek sv. Terezičky (St Theresa’s), which opened here in 1929. The building was ultimately demolished in 1989. Meanwhile, it turns out that today’s street name is a continuation of yesterday’s post about O ševci Matoušovi a…
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Ševce Matouše was built in 1935. I just wrote this entire post, then it disappeared when I was about to post it, so I feel like I was also built in 1935 right now. Until 1952, it was called U krčské vodárny IV, which we’ll get around to soon enough, as there’s still a street…
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Matěchova was built in 1935. Until 1960, the street was called Záloženská, due to its location near the local savings bank (záložna). Ladislav Matěcha was born in Smrčí in 1893 and worked as a carpenter. He lived in house number 127 on this street. He was a member of the Communist Party, as well as…
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Antala Staška was built in 1935. Until 1952, it was called U krčské vodárny II, which we’ll get onto in an imminent-ish post. Antonín Zeman was born in Stanový, a village near Jablonec, in 1843, as the eldest of ten children. He went to school in Jičín (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-158-jicinska/) and Kraków. He then studied law in…
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U nových domů III was built in 1935. This is the third – and, thankfully, final – part of the New Houses trilogy which started on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/04/17/prague-4-day-359-u-novych-domu-i/. That longer red line on the map above indicates that, yes, the C line of the metro runs underground near here; the ‘no crossing here’ signs a bit…
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U nových domů II was built in 1935. New buildings, old post: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/04/17/prague-4-day-359-u-novych-domu-i/.
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U nových domů I was built in 1935. ‘Nové domy’ are ‘new buildings’ or ‘new houses’. In 1935, the houses around here were indeed new – they had been built by the Ústřední sociální pojišťovna / Central Social Insurance Agency. That ‘I’ in the name is a sign that I’m going to get quite an…
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Za Zelenou liškou was built in 1935. Some time before 1720, an inn was built, south of Pankrác (then a village) and near the road that led from Prague to České Budějovice. It had a green fox – a zelená liška – painted on its gable. The fox then gave its name to the inn,…
