Monasteries
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Prague 1, day 61: Josefská
Originally published on X on 6 November 2023. You’ll know who St Joseph was. The kid in his arms ended up being a pretty big deal too. In 1655, the Discalced Carmelites, as founded by St Theresa of Avila, were called to Prague by Ferdinand III (a quick lesson about the Carmelites is here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-39-karmelitska/). Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 39: Karmelitská
Originally published on X on 13 October 2023. This story starts in Mount Carmel, a mountain range on the northern coast of Israel in which the city of Haifa is located. In the 13th century, a group of men settled here and founded the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, living in Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 30: Strahovské nádvoří (Strahov Courtyard)
Originally published on X on 28 September 2023. For the beginnings of Strahov, take a look at yesterday’s thread and pretend it’s 1143: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-29-strahovska/. A little bit of tribute should also be paid to Jindřich Zdík, bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150, who was as instrumental in founding the monastery as Vladislav II was. Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 29: Strahovská
Originally published on X on 27 September 2023. In 1143, Vladislav II, the second King of Bohemia, founded a monastery. I don’t want to say huge amounts about that right now, because it’ll leave me with nothing to say tomorrow. Originally known as Sion (i.e. Zion), its name had changed to Strahov within a few Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 16: Kapucínská
Originally published on X on 10 September 2023. The Ordo Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum / Order of Friars Minor Capuchin was founded in 1525, when a friar called Matteo Serafini decided that friars should go back to behaving in a way which their founder, St Francis of Assisi, would’ve approved of. Persecuted for this, they were Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 10: Chotkova
Originally published on X on 1 September 2023. Carl Bernhard Graf Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin was born in Vienna in 1783. His father, Johann Nepomuk Rudolph Graf Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, after serving as finance minister in Vienna, became Supreme Burgave of Bohemia from 1802 to 1805; in this role, he was responsible Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 160: Na Zbořenci
Originally published on X on 19 April 2023. Na Zbořenci was built in 1897. Prior to 1897, the western part of the street was called Zderazská, and the eastern part was called Na Zderaze, and, for a potted history of Zderaz, please take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-159-na-zderaze/. Yesterday’s thread mentioned a not very catchily named Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 159: Na Zderaze
Originally published on X on 18 April 2023. Na Zderaze was built in 1869 and replaced a square which had been there before that. Zderaz is the name of a settlement that used to stand here. Legend has it that it was named after Zderad, who was a favourite attendant of 11th-century Bohemian ruler Vratislav Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 143: Náměstí Pod Emauzy
Originally published on X on 2 April 2023. Náměstí Pod Emauzy was built in 1925. In 1347, a year after the founding of Prague’s Old Town, Karel IV received permission from the Pope to found a Benedictine monastery in Podskalí. In the 1370s, the monastery was supplemented by a church: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/31/prague-2-day-140-pod-slovany/ Karel wanted the monastery Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 140: Pod Slovany
Originally published on X on 30 March 2023. Pod Slovany already existed by the 18th century; it was probably built much earlier than that. Until the 18th century, the street was called Ozerov, named after V Ozerově, a local garden, whose name, in turn, is probably related to ostrov (island). Until 1850, the road was Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 128: Kateřinská
Originally published on X on 18 March 2023. Until about 1870, the street was known as Zahradnická, because the area, at that time, consisted mainly of gardens. Karel IV founded the Convent of St Catherine (Klášter sv. Kateřiny), including a church, in 1355. It was burnt down by the Hussites in 1420, and I should Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 85: Pod Karlovem
Originally published on X on 30 January 2023. Pod Karlovem was built in 1896. Pod Karlovem is literally under Karlov, which is an area in Prague’s New Town, directly north of the Nusle valley. In 1350, Karel IV ordered the building of the Klášter augustiniánů kanovníků / Monastery of Augustinian Canons (located on what is Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 31: Sázavská
Originally published on Twitter on 7 December 2022. Sázavská was built in 1889. Sázava is the name both of a river in the Vysočina and Central Bohemian regions, and of a town of 3,700 people on its banks, in the Benešov district. The proto-Slavic verb sázeti means something like ‘to depose a lot of sediment’. Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 