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: Braník
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Park Adolfa Borna was opened in 2020. Adolf Born was born in České Velenice in 1930 – which was formerly one town along with Gmünd, which is now not only a separate town but is across the border in Austria. In his late teens, he started studying art education at the Faculty of Education at…
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Saveljevova was built in 1979. Mikhail Ivanovich Savelyev was born in 1896 in Poyarkovo, a village in Ryazan Governorate, Russia. From the age of twelve, he worked in a butcher’s shop in Moscow. In 1915, he was drafted into the army; after the October Revolution of 1917, he was involved in the disarmament of counterrevolutionary officers.…
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Pod srázem was built in 1998. Hey, Prague 4! Can you get these people a street sign, or, if there is one, place it where it’s not covered by greenery (while please not getting rid of the greenery)? Street sign or no street sign, the street is under a ‘sráz’, i.e. a steep slope or…
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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 Dobešky was built in 1947. Quick one today: the street is located near Dobeška, a former farmstead already mentioned on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/08/prague-4-day-192-na-dobesce/.
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Zapadlá was built in 1925. ‘Zapadlá’ is an adjective with many potential translations, including (but not limited to) ‘fallen’, ‘remote’, ‘out-of-the-way’, ‘sunken’ and ‘deep-set’. In 1925, when this was becoming a truly residential area, it was decided that this was a good way to describe the street in relation to all the construction taking place.…
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Na Dobešce was built in 1925. It’s been said that this is named after a massive oak tree in the vicinity (an oak is a ‘dub’, and more on that in a few streets’ time). However, for the other story, we can go to the 1931 writings of Karel Čapek (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/30/prague-2-day-24-sady-bratri-capku/ for a post…
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Příkrá was built in 1925. ‘Příkrá’ means ‘steep’ or ‘precipitous’, and this describes the slope the street is on (and why it includes steps).
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U pražských lomů was named before 1938. I’m not too sure if it has a street sign, and it definitely fits into the ‘street? really?’ category. For this one, I’m going to take you back to https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/10/02/prague-4-day-187-nad-lomem/, AKA I Want To Know What Lom Is (sorry).
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U háje was built in 1925. A ‘háj’ is a a grove; you may also know its diminutive form, ‘hájek’ (but note that, no, Mexican-American actress and producer Salma Hayek doesn’t have secret Czech roots – her father is of Lebanese descent). This area used to be a grove; while there’s still a good deal of…
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Kovriginova was built in 1977. I want to start this one by taking you to https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/20/prague-4-day-178-goncarenkova/, and the story of when Soviet tanks entered Prague in May 1945. As well as Honcharenko, the crew of tank no. 24 included a loader, Nikolai Kovrigin. According to an article published earlier this year by a local newspaper…
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Nad lomem was built in 1925. Braník is known for the Branické skály, or the Braník Rocks, designated as natural monument in 1968. From the 1700s (maybe earlier) until 1928, limestone was mined round here. Mining involves quarries, and the Czech for ‘quarry’ is ‘lom’ – hence this street being ‘Above the quarry’. However, wander…
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Vysoká cesta was named in 1911. ‘Vysoká cesta’ translates as ‘high road’, and, in relation to the terrain directly to the west, this is accurate. Though it kind of blows my mind that anywhere that looks like this qualifies for street status at all. My mind is equally blown by the villa at number 24…
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V podhájí was built in 1911. A ‘háj’ – the plural of which is Háje, as in the last stop on the red metro line – is a ‘grove’, or a dense collection of trees which isn’t big enough to qualify as a forest. I guess a reasonable translation of ‘podhájí’ would be ‘undergrowth’. Once…
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Za skalkou was built in 1925. A ‘skalka’ is a rock garden, or a rockery. It’s the diminutive of ‘skála’, which is a rock or a cliff. Or a crag, if you want multiple options. Once upon a time, the area round here was called Za skalkou (we can find that on maps from around…
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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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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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Jeremenkova has exited in its current form since 1952; before then, it consisted of two separate streets called Dvorecká (built 1906) and Pod vrstami (created 1938). More on those in future posts, as there are still streets with those names. Andrei Ivanovich Yeremenko was born to a peasant family in Markivka, near Kharkiv, in 1892.…
What's in a Prague street name 