Central Bohemia
-
Prague 2, day 31: Sázavská
Originally published on Twitter on 7 December 2022. Sázavská was built in 1889. Sázava is the name both of a river in the Vysočina and Central Bohemian regions, and of a town of 3,700 people on its banks, in the Benešov district. The proto-Slavic verb sázeti means something like ‘to depose a lot of sediment’. Continue reading
-
Prague 2, day 17: Třebízského
Originally published on Twitter on 23 November 2022. Třebízského was built around 1903. From 1940 to 1945, this was Krušnohorksá, after Krušné hory / the Erzgebirge / the Ore Mountains, which separate Bohemia and Saxony. Václav Beneš was born in Třebíz, near Slaný, in 1849. The school he went to there was attended at the Continue reading
-
Prague 2, day 15: Blanická
Originally published on Twitter on 21 November 2022. Horní (Upper) Blanická was built in 1889; Dolní (Lower) Blanická was built in 1896. They became one street in 1948. From 1940 to 1945, this was Schlözerova, after the aristocratic von Schlözer family, which included August Ludwig (1735-1809, a historian) and Dorothea (1770-1825, the first woman in Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 182: Kolínská
Originally published on Twitter on 22 October 2022. Kolínská was built in 1911. It was founded as a royal city, probably in the mid-1200s, by Přemysl Otakar II, because what wasn’t. There’s even a fresco in the Town Hall there, showing him supervising the construction (picture taken from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kolin_town_hall_fresco_1.png). In 1421, the city was captured Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 181: Libická
Originally published on Twitter on 21 October 2022. Libická was built in 1911. Libice nad Cidlinou, population 1,200, is a village in Nymburk district. It was first mentioned in 981, although archeological finds indicate that the land the village lies on was already inhabited in the Bronze Age. In the 10th century, the Slavník family Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 180: Boleslavská
Originally published on Twitter on 20 October 2022. Boleslavská was built in 1910. Stará Boleslav came into existence in the early 10th century, when the Přemyšlids built a castle here to guard their Central Bohemian domain. A church was built too, dedicated to Arab physicians and two Christian martyrs, Saints Cosmas and Damian. This church Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 178: Čáslavská
Originally published on Twitter on 18 October 2022. Čáslavská was built in 1910. Čáslav, population 10,000, is a town in Central Bohemia, in the Kutná Hora district. It was founded in 1264 by Přemysl Otakar II, who I am just going to start assume founded everything, including me. Initially on the side of the Catholics Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 170: Kouřimská
Originally published on Twitter on 10 October 2022. Kouřimská was built in 1925. Kouřim is *another* small town (1,900 people) in the Kolín district. The name is one accent mark away from being ‘kouřím’ (meaning ‘I smoke’), and, according to legend, Bohemian prince Lech (died 805) lit a fire here to let his ancestor Čech Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 169: Zásmucká
Originally published on Twitter on 9 October 2022. Zásmucká was built in 1935. Zásmuky is a town of 2,100 people, 16 km to the south-west of Kolín, first mentioned in 1285. Originally owned by the Zásmucký family (originally enough), it was acquired by the Šternberk clan, one of the oldest Bohemian noble families, in the Continue reading
-
Prague 3, day 120: Lipanská
Originally published on Twitter on 22 August 2022. Lipanská was built before 1875. The Battle of Lipany, also known as the Battle of Český Brod, was fought on 30 May 1434. On one side, you had the Táborites (radical Hussites), led by Prokop the Great (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/24/prague-3-day-80-prokopovo-namesti/), and the similarly radical Sirotci (Orphans), led by Jan Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 