What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

Category: Kraków

  • Antala Staška was built in 1935. Until 1952, it was called U krčské vodárny II, which we’ll get onto in an imminent-ish post. Antonín Zeman was born in Stanový, a village near Jablonec, in 1843, as the eldest of ten children. He went to school in Jičín (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-158-jicinska/) and Kraków. He then studied law in…

  • Mečislavova was built in 1892. Mečislav is more commonly known as Měšek in Czech; in English, we use his Polish name, Mieszko. That was long thought to be a diminutive form of Mieczysław – still a common name in Poland – but many modern historians disagree. Mieszko was born… at some point (take your pick…

  • Originally published on X on 22 January 2024. You know where Kraków is. Like me, you may also be wondering when people stopped spelling it ‘Cracow’ in English (full disclosure: I was never a fan of that spelling). Kraków is named after Krakus, the alleged founder of the city (and its castle, Wawel), who apparently…