Old Town
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Prague 1, day 205: Mikulášská
Originally posted on X on 21 April 2024. And once again, I remind myself that ‘Mikuláš’ is Czech for ‘Nicholas’. Saint Nicholas (of Bari) died in 343, and was known for secret gift-giving, hence Dutch folklore coming up with Sinterklaas, who is one of the sources for Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas is also the patron Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 204: Náměstí Franze Kafky
Originally published on X on 20 April 2024. Franz Kafka was born in a house on the present-day square in 1883. It was called U Věže (At The Tower), and was destroyed as part the ‘clean-up’ operation in the Old Town in 1897. His father, Hermann, was originally from Osek, a South Bohemian village with Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 203: U Radnice
Originally published on X on 16 April 2024. In the 14th century, this street became part of the marketplace that we now know as Old Town Square (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/12/prague-1-day-190-staromestske-namesti-old-town-square/). Sellers of bridles (Czech: uzdy) operated here, and the street became known as V uzdářích or Pod uzdáři for a couple of hundred years. Back on current-day Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 202: Linhartská
Originally published on X on 15 April 2024. Svatý Linhart is Leonard of Noblac (died 559), who is closely associated with the Limousin region of France, where he lived as a hermit. He’s the patron saint of imprisoned people, including political prisoners and prisoners of war. As well being the patron saint of horses, and Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 201: Mariánské náměstí
Originally published on X on 14 April 2024. A long time ago, there was a village here called Na Louži. A ‘louže’ is a puddle or a pool, and the name possibly came from the fact that the area, not being too far from the Vltava, was vulnerable to flooding. In what is now the Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 200: Platnéřská
Originally published on X on 13 April 2024. Originally, the street was called ‘Ostrožná’ or ‘Ostrožnická’, because an ‘ostroh’ is a spur, and spur-makers set up shop in this area. A ‘plát’, meanwhile, is, yes, a plate, as in an iron or a steel one. Therefore, a ‘platnéř’ would be a platemaker, but, rather than Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 199: Křižovnická
Originally published on X on 12 April 2024. For the name of the street, see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/16/prague-1-day-198-krizovnicke-namesti/. And, for evidence of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star – including the Red Star itself – see this close-up of the monastery building. The monastery takes up a large part of one side of the Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 198: Křižovnické náměstí
Originally published on X on 11 April 2024. If you’ve got a vague memory of standing somewhere and thinking it must be the most crowded place in Prague, you may have been in this spot. In 1233, the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star / Rytířský řád Křižovníků s červenou hvězdou – Bohemia’s Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 197: Seminářská
Originally published on X on 10 April 2024. So I guess anyone who felt I only mentioned the Klementinum very briefly yesterday will feel better now. The name comes from the Church of St Kliment, which the Dominicans moved into in 1227, when they also created a monastery. The monastery was severely damaged by fire Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 196: Karlova
Originally published on X on 9 April 2024. Charles/Karel/Karl was born in 1316, as the son of John of Bohemia and his wife Elizabeth. Because these family trees aren’t confusing enough, his birth name was actually Václav, but he chose the name Charles at his confirmation. In 1323, his father sent him to France, where Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 195: Malé náměstí
Originally published on X on 8 April 2024. A street sign that accessorises. I approve. ‘Malé náměstí’ translates as ’Small square’ (and the map above is another excellent reminder that we might translate náměstí as ‘square’, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be shaped like one. And the name – already fairly self-explanatory – makes Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 194: Melantrichova
Originally published on X on 7 April 2024. Jiřík Černý was born around 1511 in Rožďalovice, near Nymburk, but there are no written mentions of him until 1534, when he gained a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. At some point (the years after his graduation aren’t well documented either), he Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 193: Kožná
Originally published on 6 April 2024. ‘Kůže’ means skin, but also leather. There are two modern-day adjectives derived from this: kožní and kožený. ‘Kožná’ is the feminine form of… well, neither, actually. Anyway, in the 18th century, number 8 in the street was a kožnice, i.e. a warehouse and shop for leather goods. Indeed, from Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 192: Kamzíková
Originally published on X on 5 April 2024. A ‘kamzík’ is a chamois, i.e. a goat-antelope mainly found in the Alps, but also in the Tatras, Carpathians, Balkans and Pyrenees. One has to assume they like mountains. Closer to home, they were planted (can one plant an animal?) into the Sudetes (AKA the Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 191: Železná
Originally published on X on 4 April 2024. On one end of Železná, you had the Old Town’s most important medieval market (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/12/prague-1-day-190-staromestske-namesti-old-town-square/)… …and, on the other end, you had another one which was almost as important (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/08/prague-1-day-175-havelska/). So, it made sense for people with an interest in trade and selling to settle here. Such Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 190: Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)
Published on X on 2 and 3 April 2024 (there was a fair amount to say). Part 1: the history In 1338, John of Luxembourg (King of Bohemia from 1310 to 1346) gave the Old Town permission to build itself a town hall. This seemed like the perfect location, as a major market had existed Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 189: Týnská
Originally published on X on 1 April 2024. In 965, Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, an Arabic-speaking, Sephardi Jewish traveller (and probable merchant) whose family came from what is now Tortosa in Catalonia, travelled to Prague. He wrote about his trip – and what he wrote is the oldest written reference to Prague that we have. He Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 188: Malá Štupartská
Originally published on X on 31 March 2024. Yesterday, I gave you the brief things that we know about Mr Štupart: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/12/prague-1-day-187-stupartska/. Today, I’m able to give you the address where he once owned a house (from 1664), but not the house itself, as that was demolished in 1911. The street was originally called Štupartská, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 187: Štupartská
Originally published on X on 30 March 2024. According to one source, Petr Štupart z Löwenthal was a hetman (i.e. a military commander) in the imperial army for fifteen years, after which he moved to Prague and worked in the Royal Chamber for three decades. In 1664, Štupart purchased a house in the vicinity, and Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 186: Templová
Originally published on X on 29 March 2024. Shirley Tem…, no, wait, it’s not 1 April just yet, is it. For the briefest of lessons about the Knights Templar and their time in Prague, take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/03/prague-1-day-163-anenske-namesti/. While their main stomping ground was on Anenské náměstí, it seems that they also owned a Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 