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: Hussites
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Originally published on Twitter on 10 August 2022. Jeronýmova was built in 1896. Jeroným Pražský, or Jerome of Prague (1379-1416), studied at Charles University, as well as at Oxford, where he read the teachings of John Wycliffe (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-26-viklefova/). He later distributed Wycliffe’s works in Bohemia. In 1409, he was heavily involved in the Decree of…
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Originally published on Twitter on 9 August 2022. Řehořova was built in 1897. Řehoř Krajčí (died 1474) was a knight, and possibly the nephew of Jan Rokycana (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-19-rokycanova/). In 1457, he founded the Unity of Brethren in Kunvald (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-83-ceskobratrska/). The group’s popularity led to significant tension with Uncle, an Utraquist. From 1897 to 1940,…
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Originally published on Twitter on 8 August 2022. Orebitská was built in 1885. The Orebites (Orebité) were a radical branch of the Hussites, named after a procession that they took part in on Mount Oreb, which is located in Třebechovice. Oreb itself was named after Horeb, the mountain at which Moses received the Ten Commandments.…
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Originally published on Twitter on 3 August 2022. Trocnovská was built in 1889. Trocnov, population 112, is a village in the České Budějovice district. Before 1949, the name ‘Trocnov’ only referred to the court there, and the village itself was called Záluží (approx. ‘Behind the Floodplain’). Jan Žižka was born less than two kilometres from…
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Originally published on Twitter on 2 August 2022. Husitská was built before 1872, and has had its current name since 1947. Husitská is named after its most famous resident, the architect, philosopher, politician, nuclear physicist and adult film actress Kateřina ‘CoCo’ Husitská. A woman so impressive that the street was named after her 24 years…
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Originally published on Twitter on 1 August 2022. Day 100 already. Huh. Kališnická was built in 1910. A kališník is an Utraquist. The Utraquists were a branch of the Hussites who believed that Eucharist in both kinds (i.e. bread and wine) should be administered to churchgoers. They constituted a majority of Hussites. They were also…
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Originally published on Twitter on 26 July 2022. Basilejské náměstí – Basel Square – was built in 1932. The Swiss city of Basel, as well as being a very nice place to walk around (which the square is currently not – see later on) has a special significance for Czechs. The Council of Basel was…
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Originally published on Twitter on 21 July 2022. Náměstí Barikád was built in 1904, bearing its current name (Barricade Square) since 1952. Until 1952, this was Perštýnovo náměstí, named after the Pernštejn family, a distinguished noble family from south-western Moravia. Recent followers of these posts will be *stunned* to know that they were Hussites. The…
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Originally published on Twitter on 19 July 2022. Tovačovského was built in 1904. Jan Tovačovský z Cimburka st. (1400-ish to 1464) was a Moravian nobleman. Born a Catholic, he converted to the Kalisz faith and became a faithful follower of Jiří z Poděbrad. He took part in the battles of Ústí nad Labem (1426) and…
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Roháčova was built in 1872. A ‘roháč’ is a stag beetle. Sadly, this is not the insect section of Žižkov, and Roháčova is named after – who else? – a Hussite. Jan Roháč z Dubé / Jan Roháč of Dubá was a Taborite, appointed as a hetman by Jan Žižka in Lomnica nad Lužnicí in…
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Prokopova was built in 1872. Prokop Holý (the Bald) was born around 1380 in Prague. The identity of his family is unclear, but it’s known that he was born into wealth and was able to travel extensively around Europe as a young man. His uncle ordained him as a priest, but, no later than 1420,…
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Originally published on Twitter on 30 June 2022. Ambrožova was built in 1932. Ambrož of Hradec, or Ambrož Hradecký, was pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Hradec Králové, until he was banished from the town in 1419 for his Hussite beliefs. In 1420, he founded the Orebites, the Hussites’ followers in Eastern…
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Originally published on Twitter on 27 June 2022. Biskupcova was built in 1930. Mikuláš z Pelhřimova, or Nikolaus von Pelgrims, *or* Mikuláš Biskupec (1385-1459 approx.) was born in, yes, Pelhřimov, but started studying in Prague around 1406. Around this time, he became a devoted follower of Jan Hus. In 1415, he was ordained as a…
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Kunešova was built in 1977, making it the newest street to date. And we’re back on the Hussites! Kuneš z Bělovic (born in the 14th century) was a comrade of Jan Žižka. The first written mention of him is from 1422, when he tried to overthrow Sigismund Korybut (Zikmund Korybutovič), who was acknowledged as governor of…
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Originally published on Twitter on 20 May 2022. Loudova was built in 1930. Matěj Louda z Chlumčan (died 1460) was commander of Písek, a Hussite warrior and diplomat, and owner of a farm in Chlumčany near Louny. He studied at Charles University. He didn’t complete his studies, but he did became aware of Jan Hus’s…
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Originally published on Twitter on 19 May 2022. Viklefova was built in 1930. It’s named after John Wycliffe (1320-1384-ish), an English theologian, and one of the first to translate the Bible into Middle English, though historians say he may not have done much of the translation himself. Wycliffe also wrote that papal claims of temporal…
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Originally published on Twitter on 18 May 2022. Buchovcova was built in 1930. Zbyněk Buchovec z Buchova (died 1436?) was a Hussite warrior and commander (hejtman). Coming from a peasant family, he was elected one of the four governors of the newly founded town of Tábor in 1420 (one of the other three being Jan Žižka).…
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Originally posted on Twitter on 16 May 2022. Jana Želivského was built in 1931. It was originally named Mladoňovicova, after Petr z Mladoňovic (died 1451), a Hussite writer and scribe to Jan z Chlumu (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-18-chlumova/). Jan Želivský (1380-1422) was a priest during the Hussite Reformation, with a taste for somewhat apocalyptic sermons. On 30 July…
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Originally published on Twitter on 13 May 2022. Ostromečská was built in 1896. Ostromeč is a former castle, located north of the village of Hrazany in the Příbram district. Its foundations were laid in 1424 under the Hussite leadership of Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice. It was raided and demolished just four years later, but was…
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Originally posted on Twitter on 12 May 2022. Rokycanova was built before 1875. Jan Rokycana, or John of Rokycany (c. 1390 to 1471), was a priest, archbishop and chief organiser in the Hussite church. He entered the Augustinian monastery in his hometown in his youth, then moved to Prague to study at Charles University and…
What's in a Prague street name 