Hodkovičky
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Prague 4, day 293: Na Lysinách
Na Lysinách was built in 1925. When talking about humans and their heads, a ‘lysina’ is a bald spot. When talking about landscapes, a ‘lysina’ is a forest area without vegetation, and so the area around here was once known as such. Based on my walk around the area last weekend (and a new record for… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 292: V mokřinách
V mokřinách was built in 1925, and separated from another street (V Zátiší) in 1938. ‘Mokřina’ means ‘marsh’, ‘fen’, or ‘bog’, and reflects the surroundings. The area got a bit of a glow-up in 2019: https://www.praha-priroda.cz/vodni-plochy-a-potoky/vodni-toky/zatissky-potok/revitalizace-a-opravy-na-zatisskem-potoce/revitalizace-v-mokrinach/. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 291: Pod kopcem
Pod kopcem was built in 1938. Its name translates as ‘under the hill’, and the hill in question is the one above Braník train station (as today’s post is brief, here’s a link to a little bit more about that station: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/15/prague-4-day-260-pikovicka/). Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 290: V Náklích
V Náklích was built in 1927. Until 1947, the street was called U kapličky (By the chapel), after the Chapel of St. Bartholomew on Modřanská (note to self to take a photo when I’m next there). ‘Náklí’ is young willow growth by a river, cut down annually so that it can be used to weave… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 289: Šífařská
Šífařská was built in 1998. In Czech, a ‘ship’ is a ‘loď’. For those wondering, yes, ‘łódź’ is also Polish for ‘ship’, but there’s no consensus that that’s the reason why Łódź has its name. But it gives me a nice excuse to share some pictures of my 2013 trip to Łódź all the same.… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 288: Branický most
Branický most was named in 1969. In 1920, the Prague Railway Commission received a proposal for a railway bridge for freight transport. Construction began, somewhat abruptly, in 1949, before the design of the bridge had even been agreed on (this doesn’t sound like a great idea). It’s thought that part of the reason for the… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 286: Vltavanů
Vltavanů was named in 1998. In 1871, an association was formed in Podskalí (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-122-podskalska/). Its full name was ‘Vzájemně se podporující spolek plavců, rybářů a pobřežných Vltavan’, translating loosely as ‘The Mutually Supportive Association of Swimmers, Fishermen and Coastal Guards: Vltavan’. One of the founding members was František Dittrich, a Podskalí native who had once… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 285: Na dlouhé mezi
Na dlouhé mezi was built in 1900 and, despite the pic, is partially in Braník. Until 1941, the street was called V Zátiší, which we’ll discuss in a few days. A ‘mez’ is a ‘limit’ or a ‘boundary’; it can also be translated as ‘balk’ or ‘baulk’ (a ‘narrow strip of uncultivated land between cultivated fields’).… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 284: Klánova
Klánova was built in 1925. Václav Klán was born in Černošice (nowadays in Prague-West) in 1839. He was working as a clerk in Zbraslav when an aunt left him some rocky land in Radotín (nowadays in Prague 16). He later sold this to a mining company (Radotín is famed for its limestone), making a nice… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 280: Korandova
Korandova was built in 1925. We don’t know when Václav Koranda was born, but we do know that, by 1414, he had founded a Hussite community in Plzeň, taking part in and often leading pilgrimages to the mountains. Leaving Plzeň in 1419, he joined Jan Žižka’s forces, and took part in the Battle of Sudoměř… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 279: Polední
Polední was built in 1925. ‘Polední’ is the adjective from ‘poledne’, midday or noon. You might be reading this on your ‘polední přestávka’ (lunch break). In Polish (but not in Czech), ‘południe’ means not only ‘noon’ but ‘south’ (and, yes, the word for ‘midnight’, ‘północ’ also means ‘north’). This is the first in a series of… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 278: Na výspě
Na výspě was built in 1930. No historical novels today: a ‘výspa’ is a promontory, outpost or headland, and the street is located on one. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 277: Havlovického
Havlovického was built in 1935. Josef Regner was born in Havlovice, near Trutnov, in 1794, the son of a miller (his mill, Regnerův mlýn, is still standing) and fervent Czech patriot. He studied philosophy at Charles Ferdinand University in Prague, and then theology at the seminary in Hradec Králové. He first served as a priest in… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 274: Vítovcova
Vítovcova was named in 1973. From 1927 to 1935, the street was called U rybníka, after a nearby and erstwhile pond. From 1935 to 1973, it was called V Hodkovičkách, which presumably caused confusion, as it’s not directly connected to the other street in the area called that. More on that name when we get… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 267: Údolní
Údolní was built in 1925. At one end of this street, you’ve got a hill with Braník Brewery (no longer brewing) on top of it (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/13/prague-4-day-258-nad-branickym-pivovarem/). At the other end, I’m going to assume we’re also on a hill, but will confirm that when we get to the streets around there. Hills or not, the street… Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 185: Modřanská
In 1178, Soběslav II, Duke of Bohemia, declared that he was giving the Vyšehrad Chapter (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/24/prague-2-day-94-k-rotunde/) a gift – some land in Modřany. This is the earliest confirmed mention of the place. The origin of the name isn’t clear, but experts think it may have been named after the ‘hyacint modrý’, the blue hyacinth. Further… Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 