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: Churches
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Originally published on X on 4 March 2024. Originally, the street was called Svatého Ondřeje, after a church dedicated to St Andrew, consecrated in 1165, abolished in 1785, and destroyed in the 19th century (by which time it was used as a carpentry workshop) so the street could be extended: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostel_svat%C3%A9ho_Ond%C5%99eje_%28Praha%29#/media/Soubor:Kostel_sv._Ond%C5%99eje.jpg. Later on, the central…
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Originally published on X on 3 March 2024. In the Middle Ages, there was a Romanesque church here devoted to Saints Philip and James – and so the accompanying street became known as U Filipa a Jakuba. Between 1391 and 1394, a chapel – the Bethlehem Chapel / Betlémská kaple was also constructed. The intention…
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Originally published on X on 21 February 2024. In the 1200s, this area was a poor neighbourhood; one of its most well-known buildings was called ‘Benátky’ (Venice), and so the street’s first name was Benátská. In 1372, Jan Milíč from Kroměříž (Hussite Prague 3 flashback on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/26/prague-3-day-121-milicova/) founded a preacher’s school and refuge for ‘repentant…
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Originally published on X on 17 February 2024. Way back in the 1100s, there was a settlement here called Újezd, meaning the same as but not to be confused with https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/11/prague-1-day-81-ujezd/. Between 1178 and 1187, the Church of St Martin was built, and, after that, the name of the settlement was updated to Újezd u Svatého…
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Originally published on X on 10 February 2024. The oldest documented name for this street, around 1380, is Nová (New) – because, sometimes, these street names just aren’t that creative. On the corner with Na Příkopě, there was once land and gardens belonging to – great word alert – a maltman called Kříž or Křížalova,…
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Originally published on X on 5 February 2024. In the pre-New Town was founded, this street was called Horská, because it led to Kutná Hora. It then became known as Na Dlážděném from 1348, and if I explain that now, I’ll ruin tomorrow’s post. In 1355, a church was built, and dedicated to St Ambrose,…
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Originally published on X on 2 February 2024. ‘Jindřich’ is Henry, and the two don’t seem so different once you realise that one of the German versions of ‘Henry’ is ‘Heinrich’. And one famous German Henry was Henry II (973-1024), Holy Roman Emperor, also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant. He essentially incorporated Bohemia into…
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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,…
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Originally published on X on 30 December 2023. Remember a tanner and his family being brought up yesterday (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/13/prague-1-day-97-pstrossova/)? Well, we’re still on this topic. Jircha is tanned leather, derived from the Latin ‘hircus’, which is a buck or male goat. So a jirchář is a tanner, but is not exactly as the same as…
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Originally published on X on 21 December 2023. Vojtěch was born around 956 in Libice nad Cidlinou, near Nymburk, into the powerful Slavník dynasty (the other powerful family of the time being the Přemyslids). Studying in Magdeburg for about ten years, he took the name ‘Adalbert’ upon his confirmation and was ordained as the second…
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Originally published on X on 2 December 2023. Time for a quick language lesson: a řeka is a river. If you want to use ‘river’ as an adjective, though, then říční is your friend – as in říční přístav (river port), říční síť (river system) or říční koryto (river bed). And that map at the…
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Originally published on X on 25 November 2023. Malá Strana was founded as a royal town in 1257, but the surrounding area had been inhabited for centuries. And that surrounding area had several villages, including, among others, Újezd and Nebovidy, the latter of which was located around where the street is now. A nebovid would…
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Originally published on X on 23 November 2023. Prokop was born around the year 1000 in Chotouň, near Kouřim (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/03/08/prague-3-day-170-kourimska/) in Kolín District. He worked as a priest, but then left the profession and became a hermit. Despite his reclusive life, he became known to Oldřich, Prince of Bohemia (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/20/prague-2-day-80-oldrichova/). How do we know this?…
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Originally published on X on 6 November 2023. You’ll know who St Joseph was. The kid in his arms ended up being a pretty big deal too. In 1655, the Discalced Carmelites, as founded by St Theresa of Avila, were called to Prague by Ferdinand III (a quick lesson about the Carmelites is here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-39-karmelitska/).…
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Originally published on X on 20 October 2023. The earliest mention of a church round here dates from 1228. In 1285, King Václav II invited a group of Augustine monks to Prague and decided they needed a new, better church in the same location. It was devoted to Thomas the Apostle (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-8-na-baste-sv-tomase/). The altar was…
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Originally published on X on 12 October 2023. In 1257, Přemysl Otakar II founded a town here, just below the castle, and gave it the Latin name of Nova civitas sub castro Pragensi (New City under Prague Castle), or just Nova civitas, or – and this is where you may get confused if you’re a…
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Originally published on X on 1 October 2023. This part of Malá Strana used to be a separate settlement called Obora (meaning ‘enclosure’ or ‘forest’). It was first mentioned in 1278, but a sanctuary had already been founded here the century before that. That first mention in 1278 occurred because, at the time, Bohemia was…
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Originally published on X on 11 September 2023. Let’s start this one in Italy, where Loreto, on the Adriatic coast, and with a population of about 12,000, houses the Basilica della Santa Casa, which some Catholics believe was inhabited by the Virgin Mary. Rather than being a nice Italian holiday home for the… Mary and…
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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…
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Originally published on X on 1 August 2023. Before 1870, other variants of this name (Jiřské náměstí or Svatojiřské náměstí) were also in use. The story goes that George was born into a Greek Christian family in Cappadocia (in what is now Central Anatolia, i.e. Central Turkey) around 270. His father was an officer in…
What's in a Prague street name 