Painters
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Prague 4, day 203: Stará cesta
Stará cesta was named in 1911. Which may also be when that street sign was last cleaned. Goodness. ‘Stará cesta’ translates as ‘old path’, and this is exactly what you have here. A bit further down the path, you’ve got the Marold Villa, where the painter Luděk Marold (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/02/23/prague-4-day-43-maroldova/) was brought up here by his Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 176: Sitteho
Sitteho was built in 1955. This is one of those cases where I’d like my (brief) research to tie in with itself a little bit better. The Pražský uličník – AKA my usual first port of all – says that Jindřich Sitte was the progressive headmaster of a school in Braník. It doesn’t say which Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 174: Kubištova
Kubištova was built in 1991. Bohumil Kubišta was born Vlčkovice near Hradec Králové in 1884; he was an illegitimate child, and his family was poor. Developing an interest in fine arts while at secondary school in HK, he started studying at Prague’s School of Applied Arts in 1903, but moved to the Academy of Fine Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 43: Maroldova
Maroldova was built in 1910. Luděk Marold was born in Malá Strana in 1865; he was illegitimate and took his mother’s family name. He lost both parents by the age of seven, and was then raised by his aunt, Josefa Maroldová. At the age of sixteen, he was accepted into Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 210: Alšovo nábřeží (Aleš Embankment)
Originally published on X on 26 April 2024. Mikoláš Aleš was born in Mirotice, in Southern Bohemia, in 1852. He started drawing at the age of four, later taking up painting. In 1869, he enrolled in Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts. He was later expelled (in 1876) after taking part in a demonstration against a 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 117: Navrátilova
Originally published on X on 18 January 2024. And the prize for ‘most numerous and least helpful Google results for a Prague street name’ goes to… Josef Matěj Navrátil was born in Slaný in 1798, but lived in Prague from 1801. As a child, his father taught him how to paint rooms. So logically, after Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 80: Hellichova
Originally published on X on 27 November 2023. Josef Vojtěch Hellich was born in Choltice, 15 kilometres south-west of Pardubice, in 1807. He studied drawing and painting at Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts from 1825 to 1829, and then continued his studies in Vienna until 1833. After that, he went on a study tour, starting Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 57: Mánesův most
Originally published on X on 2 November 2023. I’m going to be mildly lazy now and point you towards Vinohrady: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/18/prague-2-day-11-manesova/ The bridge was meant to replace Rudolf’s Footbridge (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-56-u-zelezne-lavky/), and was meant to be named after him too. However, when it opened in March 1914, it was called the Archduke Franz Ferdinand Bridge, for Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 54: Kosárkovo nábřeží
Originally published on X on 30 October 2023. Adolf Kosárek was born in Herálec, near (Havlíčkův) Brod, in 1830, and went to school in Kutná Hora before working as a clerk. He did drawing and painting in his spare time, eventually attracting the attention of Friedrich Prince zu Schwarzenberg, who had become Archbishop of Prague Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 65: Čermákova
Originally published on Twitter on 10 January 2023. Čermákova was built in 1896. Jaroslav Čermák was born in Prague’s Old Town in 1830. Born into a family of doctors, he suffered a major hip injury in his youth, and was confined to bed at times because of this – which may be why he developed Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 