Nové Město
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Prague 2, day 142: Dřevná
Originally published on X on 1 April 2023. Dřevná was built in 1920. Dřevná is the adjective deriving from dřevo, wood, and that noise you can hear right now is me realising I’ve already unwittingly written about this one, because the people of the district used to make a living by trading in wood: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-121-na-vytoni/ Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 141: Na Poříčním právu
Originally published on X on 31 March 2023. Na Poříčním právu was built in 1925. A řeka is a river. This leads to the adjective říční, as in říční koryto (riverbed), říční síť (river system) and říční přístav (river port). Put a prefix onto říční, and you get poříční, another adjective which also means ‘river’ 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 139: Na Hrádku
Originally published on X on 29 March 2023. Na Hrádku was built in 1890. One of the important Czech noble families of the era was known as the Páni z Valdeka, the Lords of Valdek; the first one of them to be mentioned in writing is Oldřich Zajíc, who died in 1271. As of the Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 138: U Nemocnice
Originally published on X on 28 March 2023. U Nemocnice was built before 1750. Until 1750, this was Dobytčí. That’s the adjective coming from dobytek – livestock – and recalls the market that used to exist here. Then it was named Ústavní (‘institutional’), after a local institute for noblemen. This lasted until 1800, when the Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 137: Salmovská
Originally published on X on 27 March 2023. Salmovská was built in the 15th century or earlier. Until the 15th century, the street was called Krupná, after which it changed slightly to Krupičná. There used to be a market here, and the names are presumably linked to what was on sale – krupice is semolina, Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 136: Pod Větrovem
Originally published on X on 26 March 2023. Pod Větrovem was built in 1894. We’ve touched on this one briefly before: Větrník, Větrná hora or Větrov is the (windy) hill which the Church of St. Apollinaire was built on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/25/prague-2-day-113-apolinarska/. In a mildly desperate bid to pump this thread up a bit, let’s look at Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 135: Lípová
Originally published on X on 25 March 2023. Lípová was built in the 14th century. Until the 17th century or so, this was Svaté Kateřiny (St Catherine’s), after the convent-then-monastery: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/28/prague-2-day-128-katerinska/ It then became Lípová or U Lip until about 1800, before turning into Zadní Lipová until 1880, at which point the name ‘Lípová’ stuck. A Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 134: Ječná
Originally published on X on 24 March 2023. Ječná was built a long time ago. In 1348, Karel IV founded Prague’s New Town. There was a barley market (barley = ječmen) in this location, whereas, just to the north, there was a rye market (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/27/prague-2-day-36-zitna/). However, the (former) market sold pork as well as barley, Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 133: Náměstí I. P. Pavlova
Originally published on X on 23 March 2023. Náměstí I. P. Pavlova was built in 1897; nowadays, it’s home to Prague’s busiest metro station. Until 1925, this was Komenského náměstí, and was presumably changed because there already was one in Žižkov: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-82-komenskeho-namesti/ It then became náměstí Petra Osvoboditele. Petr Osvoboditel is King Peter the Liberator, Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 132: Tyršova
Originally published on X on 22 March 2023, when I also forgot to take/add a photo of the street sign. Maybe I’ll go out and take one now. Tyršova was built in 1893. Fridericus Emanuel Tirsch was born into a German-speaking in Děčín in 1832. By the age of six, he had lost both parents Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 131: Na bojišti
Originally published on X on 21 March 2023. Na bojišti (On the battlefield) was built in the Middle Ages. Called Bojiště until 1822, it was then renamed U blázince (‘At the madhouse’) until 1880, after the institution on Kateřinská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/28/prague-2-day-128-katerinska/). Thank goodness it’s not called that anymore. In the mid-to-late 12th century, Henry II, Duke Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 130: Melounová
Originally published on X on 20 March 2023. Melounová was built in 1890. Confession: I sometimes get *really* nervous about getting the diacritics on these street names wrong. So it was something of a comfort to find out that, until 2019, the street sign here was incorrect (Melounova): https://encyklopedie.praha2.cz/ulice/75-melounova Melounova would imply the existence of Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 129: Viničná
Originally posted on X on 19 March 2023. Viničná was first mentioned in 1869. This is a remarkably quick one: a vinice is a vineyard, and readers of the Prague 2 posts won’t be too surprised to know that there were once several of these round here. Once upon a time, pre-Viničná, there was another 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 127: Benátská
Originally published on X on 17 March 2023. The original Benátská was built as far back as 1489. By the 19th century, there was a Velká Benátská, which ceased to exist when the Botanical Gardens were built. There was also a Malá Benátská, and the present-day street more or less follows that street’s pattern. Benátky Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 126: Trojická
Originally published on X on 16 March 2023. Trojická was built around 1850. Trojická translates as ‘Trinity’, and the street is named after the Church of the Holy Trinity in Podskalí / Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice v Podskalí. A chapel is documented as having stood here in 1358, dedicated either to St Antony or to St Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 124: Ladova
Originally published on X on 14 March 2023. Ladova was built in 1925. Until 1961, this was ‘V Ohradách’, ‘In the Enclosures’ (approx). Until the 19th century, there were warehouses here where firewood and wood for construction purposes were stored. Josef Lada was born in Hrusice (nowadays in Prague-East) in 1887. An accident at the Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 123: Plavecká
Originally published on X on 13 March 2023. Plavecká was built centuries ago, but wasn’t named until the mid-19th century. We’ve covered the fact that the people of this district, Podskalí, made their living by trading in wood: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-121-na-vytoni/. And then we covered the history of Podskalí itself yesterday: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-122-podskalska/. Plavecká, meanwhile, is named after Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 122: Podskalská
Originally published on X on 12 March 2023. Podskalská was built in 1870. We touched briefly on the settlement of Podskalí yesterday: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-121-na-vytoni/. It was incorporated into Prague’s New Town in 1348, and then burned down in 1420 during fighting over Vyšehrad. After the Hussite Wars, three of Podskalí’s four churches were rebuilt. The district Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 