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: Gates
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Originally published on X on 14 June 2024. Vojtěch Lanna was born in Čtyři Dvory, now part of České Budějovice, in 1805. He was the son of a shipmaster. When he was sixteen, he moved to Prague to study mechanical engineering at what is now ČVUT (the Czech Technical University). However, he was expelled for…
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Originally published on X on 9 June 2024. Soběslav I, Duke of Bohemia from 1125 to 1140 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/24/prague-2-day-96-sobeslavova/), started the process of fortifying Prague (‘hradby’ are fortifications). However, the process of fortifying the Old Town (and Malá Strana) really got going during the rule of Václav I (1230-1235, and, unlike Soběslav, as King), and would…
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Originally published on X on 16 February 2024. In the Middle Ages, this street was known as ‘U písku’ (‘By the sand’), because the terrain nearby consisted of sandy fields. Charles IV ordered that a monastery and church be built on those fields, and you can read about the result on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-112-jungmannovo-namesti/. There was a…
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Originally posted on X on 14 February 2024. A most is a bridge; a můstek is still a bridge, but a smaller one. In the 13th century, there was a bridge near here, leading from the Old Town fortifications across the moat that is now https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/22/prague-1-day-137-na-prikope/. Also in the 13th century, there was a town…
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Originally published on X on 7 February 2024. An underwhelming post (if you’re reading), or a nice and easy one (if you’re me): Senovážná leads directly off Senovážné náměstí: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/19/prague-1-day-132-senovazne-namesti/ That said, for a street that’s less than 140 metres long, Senovážná serves us some pretty good views. Namely of Obecní dům and Prašná brána…
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Originally published on X on 23 January 2024. Between 1348 and 1350, Charles IV arranged for the construction of Gothic-style walls all around the (then brand) New Town. Like pretty much every settlement in Bohemia, the New Town had an incredibly rough time of it during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48). Therefore, new, improved fortifications…
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Originally published on Twitter on 12 December 2022. Žitná was built between the 15th and 18th centuries, possibly making this one 400 years older than any other street we’ve covered so far. Žitná is the feminine form of the adjective stemming from žito, rye. (I guess I’ve never mentioned that these streets are almost all…
What's in a Prague street name 