What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.


1941

  • Prague 4, day 224: Nad Zemankou 

    Nad Zemankou  was named in 1941. It’s in Braník as well as Krč, but you won’t find a street sign confirming the former. Zemanka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/23/prague-4-day-207-na-zemance/) was such a big deal round here that four streets have been named after it; this is the fourth. Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 206: Zelený pruh

    Zelený pruh was built in… read on. In 1941, a street, intended to be called Weilburgova, was built. It was named after Jan Weilburg z Widy, who, in the late 1400s, was the highest scribe in the Old Town. We have to assume he was a German speaker, not only because of his name, but Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 116: Na Hřebenech II

    Na Hřebenech II was built in 1941. The street, obviously, got its name from the same source as Na hřebenech I (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/12/prague-4-day-115-na-hrebenech-i/). So let’s talk about the western part of Pankrác Plain, known as Kavčí hory, instead. A ‘kanec’ is a wild boar. According to Czech mythology, a man called Bivoj caught a ‘kanec’ in Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 107: Děkanská vinice I

    Děkanská vinice I was built in 1941. Let’s start by reminding ourselves that we’re not far from Vyšehrad, which has a more than significant place in Czech history (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-118-vysehradska/, and maybe have a look round https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/category/vysehrad/ for more). Around the year 1070, the Vyšehrad Chapter / Vyšehradská kapitula was founded, a ‘chapter’ being an assembly Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 82: Doudlebská

    Doudlebská was built in 1941. Doudleby (coat of arms below) is a village less than ten kilometres from České Budějovice – so it’s quite appropriate that this street is just a stone’s throw from Budějovická. It’s named after the Doudleby tribe, who settled in the area of the village around 800. It was one of Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 71: Zdaru

    Zdaru was named in 1941. ‘Zdar’ translates as ‘success’ or ‘luck’. If you were to say ‘Mnoho zdaru!’ to someone, you’d be wishing them good luck. It derives from ‘dar’, which means ‘gift’ or ‘present’. It’s also where we get ‘nazdar’, which takes third place to ‘ahoj’ and ‘čau’ in the ‘how to greet your Continue reading

  • Prague 4, day 60: Družstevní ochoz

    Družstevní ochoz was built in 1941, and has an excellent shape. ‘Družstevní’ is the adjective deriving from ‘družstvo’, which means ‘cooperative’. Everything within that circle of sorts consists of residential homes built by cooperatives. ‘Ochoz’, meanwhile, would translate as ‘gallery’, but not in the art sense: it’s a ‘a space allowing longitudinal passage through walls’. Continue reading