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: 1947
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Jílovská was built in 1947. The earliest mention we have of Jílová is from the 1200s, when it was a mining settlement (the writer wanted us to think the document was from 1045, but it turns out that it’s a forgery). In the 1320s, it was described as a ‘royal gold-mining town’; around 1350, Charles…
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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…
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U Dobešky was built in 1947. Quick one today: the street is located near Dobeška, a former farmstead already mentioned on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/08/prague-4-day-192-na-dobesce/.
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Nad kolonií was built in 1947. We’re not out of the emergency colony tales that have been told in recent days: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/08/prague-4-day-166-nad-ondrejovem/. In order to compensate for the lack of new content: a ‘kolonie’ would also be a ‘rookery’ (if you’re talking about, for example, ravens, penguins or seals).
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Dvourammená was built in the 1930s, but not named until 1947. ‘Dvou’ at the start of the word would translate as ‘two’ – ‘dvoupokojový’ means ‘two-roomed’, ‘dvousložkový’ means ‘two-component’, ‘dvourychlostní’ means ‘two-speed’, and so on. Meanwhile, a ‘rameno’ is a shoulder if it’s on you or me, a ‘branch’ if it relates to a river,…
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U gymnázia was built in the 1930s, and given a name in 1947. A ‘gymnázium’ is a well-known false friend: it’s a grammar school (if you’re British), or a high school (if you’re American). Around the spring of each year, your local friends who have kids may talk about how insanely competitive their entry examinations…
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In 1938, this square was first named individually on maps – but it was called Soudní náměstí (Court Square), after the Prague High Court, which had moved here in 1933 (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/03/25/prague-4-day-57-soudni/). During the Prague Uprising of May 1945 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/02/05/prague-4-day-25-5-kvetna-5-may/), barricades stood in front of the court, aiming to stop the Nazis from reaching Pankrác;…
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Na výsledku II was named in 1947. Remember yesterday’s very ‘OK, let’s give this street a name, but let’s not waste our imagination’ story? Well, just to show even less imagination, the name was given to not one street, but two.
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Na výsledku I was named in 1947. A ‘výsledek’ is a result, outcome, score, etc. It’ll be (extremely) clear to anyone following these recent posts that there was a lot of construction of residential buildings around here in the 1930s and 1940s. A lot. By 1947, this street didn’t have a name yet. Not feeling…
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U Pernštejnských was built in 1938, but was nameless until 1947. The Pernštejns were a noble family originating in south-west Moravia. They reached the peak of their power in the 1500s, becoming one of the three richest families in the Czech Lands. However, by the mid-1600s, they were no more, as the last of the…
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Originally published on Twitter on 12 January 2023. Nad Petruskou was built in the 19th century but not named until 1947. It’s official: defunct vineyards are the new Hussites. I think I’m going to put that in my bio. Originally, the homestead which included the vineyard was called Pelikánka; in the late 18th century, it…
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Originally published on Twitter on 5 August 2022. Prvního Pluku has had this name since 1947. It translates as ‘(the street of) the First Regiment’. In 1877, three pre-existing streets – Anenská, Křížová and Mlýnská – were joined together to form a street called Vinohradská (not that one). This became Pibranser Straße – Příbram Street…
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Originally published on Twitter on 25 July 2022. U Zásobní zahrady was built in 1947. A zásobní zahrada is a ‘supply garden’. The garden here provided flowers for Prague’s parks, and for specific events, from 1937 onwards. That’s a lot of flowers. It replaced a previous storage garden, also located in Žižkov, but at Rajská…
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Originally published on Twitter on 24 July 2022. Na Parukářce was built in 1947. We explained Parukářka yesterday – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-91-pod-parukarkou/ – so today we can talk about people not quite agreeing what this area should be called. We know about Vrch svatého Kríže / Mount of the Holy Cross, named after a wooden cross…
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Originally published on Twitter on 5 July 2022. Olšanská was built in 1947. Olšany, a village located where the road now is, was built in 1306. It was named after ‘olše’, the alder tree. It’s hard to believe now, but there were several ponds and a stream here. The manors here had various owners, before…
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Originally published on Twitter on 4 July 2022. U Nákladového nádraží was built in 1935 but not given a name until 1947. Nákladové nádraží Žižkov, or Žižkov freight railway station, is the biggest functionalist industrial building in Prague and a notorious Destroyer of Neighbourhoods (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/21/prague-3-day-70-na-viktorce/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/22/prague-3-day-71-k-cervenemu-dvoru/). It also gets to have *two* tram stops…
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Originally published on Twitter on 14 June 2022. Květinková was built in 1947. If something is květinový, it’s floral or flowery. And it certainly does get that way round here. Make it květinkový, and it’s still floral… but the flowers are presumably that little bit cuter. For vocabulary fans, a květinový záhon is a flowerbed,…
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Originally published on Twitter on 31 May 2022. Na Lučinách was built in 1947. It translates as ‘in the meadows’, or, literally, ‘on the meadows’. If you walk towards the meadows on K Lučínám (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-3-k-lucinam/), you end up in the meadows in Na Lučinách! Or you end up where the meadows were. I’m as supportive…
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Originally posted on Twitter on 6 May 2022. Pražačka was built in 1947. It’s named after *another* farmstead (and vineyard) that no longer exists. The origin of the name ‘Pražačka’ isn’t clear, but original maps list the name as ‘Brasatscha’ – so, surprisingly, the name probably doesn’t have anything to do with ‘Praha’. The vineyard…
What's in a Prague street name 