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: 1955
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V křovinách was built in 1955. ‘Křovina’ translates as ‘shrub’, ‘bush’ (both individual) or ‘shrubbery’ (general). The area round here, covered in the stuff, was also once known as V křovinách. Synonyms include ‘keř’ and ‘křoví’, although the latter has some interesting additional meanings that the other words don’t. On stage, it can designate a…
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Srázná was built in 1955. ‘Srázná’ translates as ‘steep’ or ‘precipitous’, and describes the geographical location of the street. Another word for the same concept is ‘příkrá’, as in https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/07/prague-4-day-191-prikra/. It’s nothing to do with a ‘sraz’, i.e. a meeting. A word that I learned a few years back when somebody clearly got a digit…
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U Družstva Práce was built in 1955. A ‘družstvo’ is a ‘cooperative’ (it’s also a ‘team’). ‘Práce’ is ‘work’, otherwise known as the reason if I ever skip a day in this series. Or a week. Or a month. Putting the two together, a building cooperative called Práce built the houses in this street.
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Sitteho was built in 1955. This is one of those cases where I’d like my (brief) research to tie in with itself a little bit better. The Pražský uličník – AKA my usual first port of all – says that Jindřich Sitte was the progressive headmaster of a school in Braník. It doesn’t say which…
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Ke Klínku was built in 1955. Despite the street sign, it’s partially in Podolí (we’re officially getting out of Podolí and officially getting into Braník in about ten days). If you want a translation of ‘klín’, take your pick from the following non-exhaustive list: wedge / gore / gusset / lap / knees / crotch.…
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Hoffmannova was built in 1925, but remained nameless until 1955. The whole namelessness thing starts to make sense when you see that it feels more like a ye olde village road than anything else. Karel Hoffmann was born to a poor family in Smíchov in 1872, initially living near Anděl, then at Bertramka. As a…
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Originally published on Twitter on 3 October 2022. Hollarovo náměstí was built around 1925, remaining nameless until 1955. Václav Hollar was born to a wealthy family in Prague in 1607. An artist from a young age, he was introduced to the practice of engraving when he was 18. In 1627, he left Bohemia and moved…
What's in a Prague street name 