Astronomers
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Prague 1, day 254: Štefánikův most
Originally published on X on 12 June 2024. Milan Rastislav Štefánik was born in Košariská, a village nowadays in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia, in 1880. He was the son of an evangelical priest, Pavol Štefánik, who raised his children to be interested in Slovak history and culture. Leaving his village at nine, he went Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 20: Nový Svět (New World)
Originally published on X on 18 September 2023. Nový Svět was originally a village, developing outside Hradčany in the early 1300s, and, in 1360, being attached to it as ordered by Charles IV. Not surprisingly, many of its residents worked at the Castle. And its attachment to Hradčany is why it became known as a Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 19: Keplerova
Originally published on X on 13 September 2023. Johannes Kepler was born Weil der Stadt, the “Gateway to the Black Forest”, in 1571, and was the son of a mercenary and a herbalist. Observing the Great Comet of 1577, and a lunar eclipse in 1580, he soon became fascinated by astronomy. The picture below is Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 68: Koperníkova
Originally published on Twitter on 13 January 2023. You know who Niklas Koppernigk was, but probably under the name of Nicolaus Copernicus or (if you’re Czech) Mikuláš Koperník. He was born in Toruń, now in Poland, in 1473. This is the (fairly 1970s, right?) pic of him in the Town Hall there. He put forth Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 151: Křišťanova
Originally published on Twitter on 21 September 2022. Křišťanova was built in 1904. Křišťan z Prachatic was born in the late 1360s, started studying at Charles University in 1386, and then became a maths lecturer there while also being a parish priest in the Old Town. *And* also becoming the University’s dean and chancellor. He Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 