What's in a Prague street name
Every street in Prague, one by one.
recent posts (search bar on main page for about a gazillion more)
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: Braník
-
Branický most was named in 1969. In 1920, the Prague Railway Commission received a proposal for a railway bridge for freight transport. Construction began, somewhat abruptly, in 1949, before the design of the bridge had even been agreed on (this doesn’t sound like a great idea). It’s thought that part of the reason for the…
-
Barrandovský most (Barrandov Bridge) was built between 1978 and 1988. In the 1700s already, there was a pontoon bridge here – a pontoon bridge being a bridge that uses floats, or shallow draft-boats to continuously support traffic. For those of you wanting to see an example and also dream of warmer weather, here’s a picture…
-
Vltavanů was named in 1998. In 1871, an association was formed in Podskalí (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-122-podskalska/). Its full name was ‘Vzájemně se podporující spolek plavců, rybářů a pobřežných Vltavan’, translating loosely as ‘The Mutually Supportive Association of Swimmers, Fishermen and Coastal Guards: Vltavan’. One of the founding members was František Dittrich, a Podskalí native who had once…
-
Na dlouhé mezi was built in 1900 and, despite the pic, is partially in Braník. Until 1941, the street was called V Zátiší, which we’ll discuss in a few days. A ‘mez’ is a ‘limit’ or a ‘boundary’; it can also be translated as ‘balk’ or ‘baulk’ (a ‘narrow strip of uncultivated land between cultivated fields’).…
-
Klánova was built in 1925. Václav Klán was born in Černošice (nowadays in Prague-West) in 1839. He was working as a clerk in Zbraslav when an aunt left him some rocky land in Radotín (nowadays in Prague 16). He later sold this to a mining company (Radotín is famed for its limestone), making a nice…
-
U nás was built in 1935. U nás is a novel by Alois Jirásek, discussed on both https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/10/prague-4-day-275-ludvikova/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/12/prague-4-day-277-havlovickeho/. ‘U nás’ is a simple phrase that can be translated in multiple ways in English, because we don’t have an equivalent of ‘u’ / ‘chez’ / ‘bei’ / ‘hos’, and so on. You could say…
-
Filosofská was built in 1941. You know what philosophy is. You know what a philosopher is. But we’re not here because of Socrates, Plato, and whichever person on your feed has declared that he (it’s always a he) too is a philosopher and should therefore be listened to. We’re here because of Alois Jirásek, and…
-
Korandova was built in 1925. We don’t know when Václav Koranda was born, but we do know that, by 1414, he had founded a Hussite community in Plzeň, taking part in and often leading pilgrimages to the mountains. Leaving Plzeň in 1419, he joined Jan Žižka’s forces, and took part in the Battle of Sudoměř…
-
Polední was built in 1925. ‘Polední’ is the adjective from ‘poledne’, midday or noon. You might be reading this on your ‘polední přestávka’ (lunch break). In Polish (but not in Czech), ‘południe’ means not only ‘noon’ but ‘south’ (and, yes, the word for ‘midnight’, ‘północ’ also means ‘north’). This is the first in a series of…
-
Na výspě was built in 1930. No historical novels today: a ‘výspa’ is a promontory, outpost or headland, and the street is located on one.
-
Havlovického was built in 1935. Josef Regner was born in Havlovice, near Trutnov, in 1794, the son of a miller (his mill, Regnerův mlýn, is still standing) and fervent Czech patriot. He studied philosophy at Charles Ferdinand University in Prague, and then theology at the seminary in Hradec Králové. He first served as a priest in…
-
Novodvorská was created in 1935 through the merger of two streets: Hlavní (Main) and Vozová (which is related to ‘vůz’, meaning wagon). Once upon a time, there was a farmstead (in present-day Lhotka, also in Prague 4). Its name was Nový dvůr (New Court). It later became a monastery. After that, it served, at different…
-
Ludvíkova was built in 1935. Josef Myslimír Ludvík was born in Dolany, near Náchod, in 1796. After studying theology at the seminary in Hradec Králové, he was ordained as a priest in 1819. A year later, he became chaplain of Náchod Castle, staying in that role until 1832. He devoted much of his time to…
-
Vítovcova was named in 1973. From 1927 to 1935, the street was called U rybníka, after a nearby and erstwhile pond. From 1935 to 1973, it was called V Hodkovičkách, which presumably caused confusion, as it’s not directly connected to the other street in the area called that. More on that name when we get…
-
Vavřenova was built in 1968. In 1878, Alois Jirásek (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/) published a novel called Filosofská historie (Philosophical History). It’s set in Litomyšl, where Jirásek was living and working as a teacher at the time, and a key theme is the use of Czech and German in everyday life. Tellingly, it is set in 1847 (the…
-
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…
-
Němčická was built at some point between 1973 and 1982 (warning: today’s post is going to remain about this vague). The street is likely to be named after a village called Němčice (whose name, in turn, I assume comes from the fact that its inhabitants were once predominantly German). Unfortunately, there are at least nine…
-
Nad lesním divadlem was built in 1968. Behind this street, you’ve got Velký háj (‘The big grove’), a forested area with parkland. Only a small portion is owned by the City of Prague; the rest is in the hands of various private individuals. In 1913, Jan Šimsa, a local doctor, established a ‘lesní divadlo’ – a…
-
Ohnivcova was built in 1933. We’re still in ‘novels by Alois Jirásek’ territory: between 1887 and 1890, Jirásek published a trilogy called Mezi proudy (Between the Currents), based on real events which occurred between 1381 and 1409. Those real events concerned Czech resistance against German oppression during the reign of Wenceslas IV. As this was…
-
Poberova was built in 1935. We’ve been on a bit of a break, so let’s recap some key information. Alois Jirásek was a writer of historical novels and plays; these were written at a time when the Czech nation was seriously (re-)discovering itself. He has a square named after him in Prague 2: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/. As…
What's in a Prague street name 