Austria
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Prague 4, day 110: Kischova
Kischova was built in 1900. It was originally named Třebízského, after the historical novelist Václav Beneš Třebízský, who still has a street named after him in Vinohrady: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/27/prague-2-day-17-trebizskeho/. Egon Erwin Kisch was born into a Jewish family in 1885, and grew up on Melantrichova in Prague’s Old Town, where his father, a cloth merchant, ran Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 6: Otakarova
Otakarova was built in 1900. Přemysl Otakar II was born in or around 1233, the son of Václav I, who had been King of Bohemia since 1230, and his wife, Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen. His older brother, Vladislav, became Margrave of Moravia and Duke of Austria in 1246, but died suddenly in 1247, probably of natural Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 124: Washingtonova
Originally published on X on 26 January 2024. George, not Denzel, Dinah or Poussey. I could tell the George Washington story, but you might already know it quite well and/or feel it’s not got enough/any Czech connections (it won’t shock you to learn that GW never set foot in Bohemia). So let’s go looking for Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 112: Jungmannovo náměstí
Originally published on X on 13 January 2024. I promise this is a square, and not a pair of glasses or a bikini top. On the one hand, I can cheat a bit on this one and send you back 24 hours: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-111-jungmannova/. On the other hand, the square itself deserves some attention. In 1347, 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 1, day 15: Kanovnická
Originally published on X on 9 September 2023. A kanovník – or, alternatively, a kapitulár – is a canon, i.e. a clergyman who belongs to a specific chapter, or who performs liturgical functions in a certain church. The ‘certain church’ in this case is quite an important one – St. Vitus Cathedral (as it was Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 153: Resslova
Originally published on X on 12 April 2023. Until 1870, the street was known as U Hurta, Nad Hurtem, Hurtova or Hurtovská, all named after a building here (U Hurta) which hosted the municipal forge. Josef Ressel, meanwhile, was born to a Czech-German family in 1793 in Chrudim, which garnered him a quick mention on Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 26: Šumavská
First published on Twitter on 2 December 2022. Šumavská was built in 1889. Šumava is a mountain range covering the borderlands of the Czech Republic, Germany (Bavaria) and Austria. Many German speakers refer to it as the Böhmerwald – (the Bohemian Forest), although Bavarians, clearly wanting to take full credit, like to call it the Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 