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: Convents
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Boleslavova was built in 1892. Boleslav was born in or around 915, the son of Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia (pictured as seen at St George’s Convent – more on that one later), and his wife, Drahomíra. Accounts of the first few years of his life vary – and, for all we know, they could…
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Originally published on X on 8 June 2024. In the 1100s, there was already a settlement round here, named Újezd and centered around today’s Church of St Castulus (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-245-hastalske-namesti/). When the Convent of Saint Agnes was built in 1231 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-243-anezska/), the district started to grow. The order residing here was originally inspired by the Order…
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Originally published on X on 7 June 2024. A street with a name, but without a sign. Malá Klášterní translate as ‘Little Convent Street’, so let me take you back to here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-243-anezska/. But what the street (all 30 metres of it) lacks in street signs, it makes up for in open spaces, specifically Zahrada…
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Originally published on X on 6 June 2024. Quick one today: a ‘klášter’ is a monastery, convent, nunnery or cloister, and this convent was already discussed a few days ago: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-243-anezska/. The church that has its address on Klášterská is the Church of St Salvator (Christ the Saviour), opened in 1611 (and the garden that’s…
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Originally published on X on 1 June 2024. Přemysl Otakar I was Duke of Bohemia from 1192 to 1193, and again from 1197 to 1198. In the latter year, he became the third King of Bohemia, and would stay as such until 1230. He was the first ruler of Bohemia who inherited the title of…
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Originally published on X on 14 May 2024. A relatively quick one today, as I can just point you towards https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/31/prague-1-day-227-u-svateho-ducha/ (with an update: I’ve seen a website saying the church was built between 1346 and 1348). Originally, the southern part of the street was called U sv. Ducha (like yesterday’s street), and the northern…
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Originally published on X on 13 May 2024. Duch svatý, or svatý Duch, is not an obscure saint, disappointing as that is for those of us who were hoping Duch was a Celtic missionary or something. He’s the Holy Spirit. The Church of the Holy Spirit was built at some point between 1325 and 1350;…
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Originally published on X on 6 March 2024. In this spot, there was once a rotunda devoted to St Lawrence (Vavřinec). In 1230, the Knights Templar bought the land and had the rotunda expanded into a church. Pope Clement V disbanded the Knights Templar in 1312, largely due to the machinations of Philip IV of…
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Originally published on X on 4 January 2023. Svatá Voršila is known to English-speakers as Saint Ursula; we don’t know much about her other than that, in 383 AD, she, along with a group of virgins, was beheaded by the Huns in Cologne, where the main church devoted to her is now located. We also…
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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 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…
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Originally published on X on 18 March 2023. Until about 1870, the street was known as Zahradnická, because the area, at that time, consisted mainly of gardens. Karel IV founded the Convent of St Catherine (Klášter sv. Kateřiny), including a church, in 1355. It was burnt down by the Hussites in 1420, and I should…
What's in a Prague street name 