What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

Pagans

  • Prague 4, day 201: U dubu

    U dubu was built in 1925. A ‘dub’ is an oak tree. Once upon a time, Slavs venerated oak trees which were dedicated to Perun, who was the god of the sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war and, yes, oak trees (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/12/23/prague-3-day-183-perunova/). But oaks aren’t just important to the Slavs – the oak is Continue reading

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  • Prague 4, day 30: Svatoslavova

    I can’t say with certainty when Svatoslavova was built, but it’s had its name since 1900. There are Svatoslavs that the street could be named after. I’ll get the more Czech – but less interesting – one out of the way, and then I’ll move on to option two. Option 1 Svatoslav was an alleged Continue reading

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  • Prague 2, day 147: Na Moráni

    Originally published on X on 6 April 2023. Na Moráni was built centuries ago, but was extended in the 19th. Until that extension, the street was called Emauzská ulička (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/31/prague-2-day-143-namesti-pod-emauzy/). Morana is a pagan Slavic goddess whose super-multitasking father Perun has a street relatively nearby (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/12/23/prague-3-day-183-perunova/). Well, sort of – the rituals around her Continue reading

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  • Prague 3, day 183: Perunova

    Originally published on Twitter on 23 October 2022. Perunova was built in 1889. Perun is a Slavic god and quite the multitasker, being the god of the sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. He’s analogous to Thor and Mars. There are multiple potential origins for his name – for example, Continue reading

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