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: Forests
-
Novohrádecká was built in 1935. In 1411, King Václav IV (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/10/prague-1-day-183-kralodvorska/) ordered the construction of a castle here in Kunratice Forest. It must have been constructed pretty quickly, especially by 21st-century Prague standards, as there’s a record of his staying there in 1412. But it also seems he liked it so much there that he…
-
V jehličí was built in 1941. You may remember that we’re near a forest (which you are allowed to call several different things – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/09/12/prague-4-day-443-pod-krcskym-lesem/). Among the things you find in forests are trees and shrubs which reproduce with male and female cones. These trees are known as conifers in English, and as ‘jehličnany’…
-
Pod Krčským lesem was built in 1941. You will see a big chunk of forest on the map above. Thing is, people can’t quite agree what to call it. Generally, the north-western section is known as Michelský les (Michle Forest), and Michle is where we’ll be going once I’m finished with Krč in approximately one…
-
Na Borovém was built in 1930. A ‘bor’ is a pine; ‘borový’ is therefore the adjective, and a ‘borový les’ is a pine forest. There was once one round here, eventually replaced by the Krč housing estate. The forest was generally known as ‘Borový’ (no les), hence the street name. Obviously, that forest is long…
-
Vzdušná was built in 1941 (I think). There’s greenery around here, and there no doubt used to be a lot more of it, especially as none of these streets I’ve been covering lately seem to have sprung up earlier than Czechoslovakia did. This particular street was built on a plateau near the forest. One nice…
-
U lesa was built in 1925. We’re back on the street names that represent the surroundings – ‘U lesa’ is quite literally by a forest, namely Velký háj, which got a bit of attention on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/04/prague-4-day-270-nad-lesnim-divadlem/. This piece – published yesterday – indicates that the intended revival of the forest theatre is progressing quite nicely:…
-
Mezilesní was built in 1931. We’re between (mezi) two forests (lesy) here. The first one is Kunratický les or Michelský les, as described on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/20/prague-4-day-265-zalesi/ (which is ‘behind’ the forest, whatever you want to call it). The second is the grove in the valley of Kunratický potok, which there are some nice pictures of on…
-
Na dubině was built in 1925. I said there’d be a new story today. It turns out that I lied. ‘Dubina’ is an oak forest, and we’ve been here before: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/02/06/prague-4-day-302-k-dubinam/. I promise that tomorrow’s post is completely new and not a dubina, a zátiší or a lysina.
-
Nad lesem was built in 1935. While we’ve established that parts of Hodkovičky are quite barren (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/28/prague-4-day-293-na-lysinach/), you can go a tiny bit further to the north and find yourself just above a forest. Or, in Czech, ‘nad lesem’. The forest is on the border between Hodkovičky and Braník. I mean, this is based on…
-
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…
-
Zálesí was built in 1925. Zalesí is behind (za) a forest (les). If you want to know what to call that forest, you’re kind of spoiled for choice: you can call it Kunratický les (colloquially: Kunraťák), Krčský les (colloquially: Krčák) or, in its northwest, Michelský les. As we’ll be going through Krč, Michle and Kunratice…
