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 Jiráskovou čtvrtí was built in 1935. Also having its construction completed in 1935? Jiráskova čtvrť, i.e. the entire district (a primer is on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/02/prague-4-day-247-vrbova/). Clearly, this was a popular idea: there’s also a Jiráskova čtvrť in Kyje (Prague 9), as well as in Doksy (near Liberec) and Meziměstí (near Náchod). Brno had one too…
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Ve studeném was built in 1935. ‘Studený’ means ‘cold’. Is it colder than elsewhere round here? I didn’t particularly notice. The other option – which I’ve not been able to prove, as that would involve having read 21 novels and ten plays on a working day – is that there’s something ‘studený’-tangential in one of…
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Machovcova was built in 1935. Until 1952, the street was called Pod myslivnou II, after a myslivna (gamekeeper’s lodge). As with yesterday, we’re spending some time in Jiráskova čtvrť, and so this is another street named after a character from a novel by Alois Jirásek (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/). This time, the novel is called Temno (Darkness), and…
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Vrbova was built in 1935. Originally, it was two streets – one called Pod myslivnou (Under the gamekeeper’s lodge), and one called Ve studeném (a name we’ll get on to before we leave Braník). They were joined and renamed in 1973. The villa district covering parts of Braník and Hodkovičky (which is up next in this…
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Nad malým mýtem was built in 1935. A ‘mýto’ is a toll. We’re near the Vltava, and, historically, this is where tolls were collected. By the mid-19th century, the entire area was called ‘Za malým mýtem’, literally ‘Behind the small toll’. Those who think it may be unusual to name a place after a toll…
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Zelinářská was built in 1935. A ‘zelinář’ is a market gardener (as well as translating as ‘greengrocer’) – and this street reminds us that, while there’s been a lot of talk in recent posts about vineyards, the area was also once known for its vegetable gardens.
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Branická was built in 1911. Originally, it was three separate streets. The first one was called Hlavní, because it was the main street in, yes, Braník (which wasn’t yet part of Prague). The second one was called Husova, after Jan Hus – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/05/prague-1-day-169-husova/ for a bit more on him. The third one was nameless.…
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Ke Krči was built in 1935. Ke Krči leads (to an extent) towards Krč, a district with about 27,300 inhabitants (about twice as many as either Braník or Podolí). It also has about 135 streets and is in Prague 4, hence my relative silence about the area for now.
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Vlnitá was built in 1935. A ‘vlna’ is a wave (it also translates as ‘wool’, but not here). If you’re into the radio and living here, you may know, or want to know, the phrases ‘krátké vlny’ (short wave), ‘střední vlny’ (medium wave) and ‘dlouhé vlny’ (long wave). And if you’re into physics, you might…
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Pod Zemankou was built in 1935. Repetition time: pop back to day 207 to learn something about Zemanka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/23/prague-4-day-207-na-zemance/).
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U Šálkovny was built in 1935. Vineyards existed around here at least as far back as 1400. About four hundred years later, a farmstead was set up here by an owner called Mr Šálek. Šálek was Jewish and, for a time, the farmstead included a synagogue. After World War One – by which time the…
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V malých domech III was built in 1935. You know the drill by now (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/27/prague-4-day-211-v-malych-domech-i/). You may also be happy to know that there is no V malých domech IV, and so we can talk about something new tomorrow.
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V malých domech II was built in 1935. I can’t give new information today (which, as I’m on holiday, is fine by me), but I can point you to https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/27/prague-4-day-211-v-malych-domech-i/ and give you a picture of the street and its supposed small houses.
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V malých domech I was built in 1935. You’ll often hear it mentioned how the First Czechoslovak Republic was (after 1933) the only democratic country in the region, and how it was one of the world’s ten most industrialised countries. Cue nostalgia (also, it seems it was ‘only’ 14th). One of the facts that this…
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Na Zemance was built in 1935. A vineyard was probably in place here as far back as the Middle Ages. It survived several centuries, but took a bit of a beating in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 to 1748). Reduced from being a vineyard to just being a field, it was purchased by…
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V Ondřejově was named in 1935. Emergency colony time again; same one that was discussed, briefly, on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/08/prague-4-day-166-nad-ondrejovem/. In order to make sure today’s post isn’t completely devoid of new information: Ondřejov is also the name of a former village which is now part of Prague-East. It’s mainly known for the Ondřejov Observatory, principal observatory…
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V rovinách was built in 1935. A ‘rovina’ is a ‘plain’, a ‘flat surface’, ‘flat land’, etc. As far back as 1841, there were field tracks in Krč (where the southernmost tip of the road is located) which were called Rovina or V rovinách. I was sceptical – there are some hills round here –…
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Nad Ondřejovem was named in 1935. In the 1920s, Prague experienced unprecedented growth. For example, Podolí, which had had 4,048 inhabitants in 1910, had 8,097 in 1930, i.e. its population was exactly twice as much, plus one extra person, as it had been twenty years earlier. This kind of population growth meant additional housing was…
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Na vrstvách was built in 1935. You can translate ‘vrstva’ in several different ways – it’s a ‘layer’ (e.g. of clothing), or, if we were dealing with paint, it’s a ‘coat’. Then, if you’re talking about society, it’s a stratum or class. In the case of this street name, it would be something like ‘heights’,…
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Nad cihelnou was built in 1935. A ‘cihelna’ is a brickyard, or a brickworks. In the 1800s, Podolí became well known for its industries; as well as its limestone mining (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/20/prague-4-day-122-vapencova/), it had a sawmill, and, around here (from about 1872 onwards), a brickyard. The brickyard lasted until about 1945. There are some great old…
