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: Banks

  • Prague 1, day 272: Na Poříčí

    Originally published on X on 30 June 2024. Poříčí – meaning ‘Riverside’ – existed as a settlement by the year 1000 (its local church was mentioned in writing in 993: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/10/prague-1-day-261-klimentska/). It was mainly settled by German merchants, as demonstrated by the name of the trade route leading through it – Vicus Teutonicum. A second…

  • Prague 1, day 267: Náměstí Republiky (Republic Square)

    Originally published on X on 25 June 2024. This was an important area for centuries – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/10/prague-1-day-183-kralodvorska/, for example – but, as the border between the Old Town and the New Town, it was long dominated by a moat, then by the city walls. The square was constructed in the 1860s, at the same…

  • Prague 1, day 194: Melantrichova

    Originally published on X on 7 April 2024. Jiřík Černý was born around 1511 in Rožďalovice, near Nymburk, but there are no written mentions of him until 1534, when he gained a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. At some point (the years after his graduation aren’t well documented either), he…

  • Prague 1, day 177: Havelská ulička

    Originally published on X on 20 March 2024. For the name, we can go back 48 hours and learn about St Gall and a town-within-a town: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/08/prague-1-day-175-havelska/. Until the 1700s, Havelská ulička was nameless, and was part of the surrounding market. There was also quite a gap between people using the current name and its…

  • Prague 1, day 145: Perlová

    Originally published on X on 16 February 2024. In the Middle Ages, this street was known as ‘U písku’ (‘By the sand’), because the terrain nearby consisted of sandy fields. Charles IV ordered that a monastery and church be built on those fields, and you can read about the result on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-112-jungmannovo-namesti/. There was a…

  • Prague 1, day 137: Na Příkopě

    Originally published on X on 8 February 2024. A příkop is a ‘ditch’ or a ‘moat’. Way back in the 1230s, work was underway to create the walls of the Old Town, and, during the process, a moat was excavated here. The moat wouldn’t be filled in until 1760, when the street was created. Originally…

  • Prague 1, day 136: Senovážná

    Originally published on X on 7 February 2024. An underwhelming post (if you’re reading), or a nice and easy one (if you’re me): Senovážná leads directly off Senovážné náměstí: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/19/prague-1-day-132-senovazne-namesti/ That said, for a street that’s less than 140 metres long, Senovážná serves us some pretty good views. Namely of Obecní dům and Prašná brána…

  • Prague 1, day 132: Senovážné náměstí

    Originally published on X on 3 February 2024. Your regular reminder that a ‘náměstí’ is a square, but doesn’t necessarily have to be square in shape. Let’s start with a language lesson: seno is ‘hay’, while váha means both ‘weight’ and ‘weighing machine’. So, a senováha is a hay scale, and this is Hay Scale…