What's in a Prague street name
Every street in Prague, one by one.
recent posts (search bar on main page for about a gazillion more)
I could talk about myself for ages, or I could point out that https://english.radio.cz/ed-ley-englishman-recording-stories-pragues-streets-one-one-8806941 is over two years old but still largely stands (other than the Twitter links).
Category: Palaces
-
Originally published on X on 30 June 2024. Poříčí – meaning ‘Riverside’ – existed as a settlement by the year 1000 (its local church was mentioned in writing in 993: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/10/prague-1-day-261-klimentska/). It was mainly settled by German merchants, as demonstrated by the name of the trade route leading through it – Vicus Teutonicum. A second…
-
Originally published on X on 27 June 2024. Originally, part of the street was called Florenc – more on that tomorrow – and another part was called Slaměná (‘sláma’ is straw, which was sold round here). In the 1700s, the street became known as Blátivá, then as Na blátě, after the surrounding gardens – ‘bláto’…
-
Originally published on X on 13 June 2024. The street is located where the easternmost part of the Old Town walls once stood (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/09/prague-1-day-251-hradebni/). In the 1700s, the part nearer the river was called Náplavní or Náplavka, both referring to the riverbank. The southern part was called Trubní or Rourová – ‘trubka’ and ‘roura’…
-
Originally published on X on 27 May 2024. When I first drafted my post about Týn / Ungelt (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/12/prague-1-day-189-tynska/), I didn’t realise that the courtyard is also treated as its own street, and therefore has its own street sign. So it was quite nice to pop in and get some proper pictures of Týn, too.…
-
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…
-
Originally published on X on 21 March 2024. The New Market / Nové tržiště was founded round here in 1232, and, for a time, all the streets covered in the last few days were named after it (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/08/prague-1-day-175-havelska/ for the start of the story). The street then underwent market-related name changes: in the early…
-
Originally published on X on 8 February 2024. A příkop is a ‘ditch’ or a ‘moat’. Way back in the 1230s, work was underway to create the walls of the Old Town, and, during the process, a moat was excavated here. The moat wouldn’t be filled in until 1760, when the street was created. Originally…
-
Originally published on X on 5 February 2024. In the pre-New Town was founded, this street was called Horská, because it led to Kutná Hora. It then became known as Na Dlážděném from 1348, and if I explain that now, I’ll ruin tomorrow’s post. In 1355, a church was built, and dedicated to St Ambrose,…
-
Originally published on X on 29 January 2024. When the New Town was founded, this street was named Angelova, after Angelo of Florence (died 1408), court apothecary under Charles IV and his son, Wenceslas IV. In 1757, it was renamed Bredovská after the noble Bredow family (Josef Breda was the governor of Prague’s Old Town,…
-
Originally published on X on 24 and 25 January 2024 (it’s a two-partner). Václav (Wenceslas, as in ‘Good King’) was born around 907, the son of Vratislav (Wrocław-founding) and Drahomíra (pagan; murderous), and the granddaughter of Ludmila (Christian; victim of said murderousness; later saintly) and Bořivoj (the first verifiable Czech leader). He became Prince of…
-
Originally published on X on 14 January 2024. Again, I get to direct you to one I wrote earlier: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/31/prague-2-day-145-palackeho-namesti/. Palacký spent his final years – and, in 1876, died – at number 7. The street was first mentioned in 1383, under the name of Tandléřská – a tandléř, derived from southern German, being a…
-
Originally published on X on 7 January 2024. Until 1781, there was a moat here, which had the somewhat inconvenient effect of separating the Old Town and the New Town. Therefore, it was decided to fill the ditch and create a street in its place. Originally called Nové Aleje (New Avenue), this later turned into…
-
Originally published on X on 5 November 2023. Letná, originally called Leteň, or Letná pole (Summer Fields), was originally an area of vineyards and gardens, first mentioned in writing in 1261, when Přemysl Otakar II, who had just been crowned, held a banquet there. A future king, Sigismund of Luxembourg / Zikmund Lucemburský, would use…
-
Originally published on X on 23 October 2023. You can read the long, devious, side-swapping story of Albrecht z Valdštejna here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-46-valdstejnske-namesti/. But I’m also going to suggest that you take a look at the story of Johannes Kepler: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-19-keplerova/. Because, in 1608, a young Valdštejn was in Prague and, as was customary for anyone…
-
Originally published on X on 22 October 2023. Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna – usually called Albrecht von Wallenstein in English texts – was born in the Heřmanice Fortress, near Jaroměř, in 1583. His father was a nobleman who had fallen on hard times, and, by the age of eleven, Albrecht had become an orphan…
-
Originally published on X on 20 September 2023. We talked about Loreto and The Loretas recently: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-17-loretanske-namesti/. But this is Hradčany, so we can happily move on to talking about beautiful buildings instead. Number 1 is Hradčany Town Hall, built around 1600. It fulfilled this role until 1784, when the four historical districts of Prague…
-
Originally published on X on 12 September 2023. Černínská was built around or before 1700. From the 1700s, this was known as Nový Svět (New World), as were current-day Nový Svět and Kapucínská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-16-kapucinska/). It then became Zadní (Lower) Nový Svět in the early 1800s, later being treated as part of Kapucínská before gaining its…
-
Originally published on X on 7 September 2023. In the 1230s, Prague’s Old Town became a municipality. In the 1250s, the Lesser Town, better known as Malá Strana, would follow. Meanwhile, the area to the west of Prague Castle remained forested, with a road leading to Strahov, and then to Břevnov. This would change in…
-
Originally published on X on 2 August 2023. And, like yesterday’s (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/02/prague-1-day-1-u-svateho-jiri-st-georges-square/), the street also had similar but not identical names before 1870: U sv. Jiří (as the square is called now), Proti klášteru sv. Jiří (Against St George’s Convent, which sounds a bit like a protest) and Svatojiřská. It was also once known as…
What's in a Prague street name 