What's in a Prague street name
Every street in Prague, one by one.
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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: Parks
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Park Adolfa Borna was opened in 2020. Adolf Born was born in České Velenice in 1930 – which was formerly one town along with Gmünd, which is now not only a separate town but is across the border in Austria. In his late teens, he started studying art education at the Faculty of Education at…
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Park Antonína Engela was named in December 2023. Antonín Engel was born in Poděbrady in 1879; his family moved to Prague shortly after, and he went to school on Malá Strana, graduating in 1897. After that, he studied architecture and engineering at both ČVUT and its German-speaking counterpart, as well as at the Vienna Academy,…
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U Jezerky was named in 1952. We’re entering repetition territory again: U Jezerky is located next to Jezerka, which we gave due attention on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/03/19/prague-4-day-51-na-jezerce/. And which is also the source (pun intended) of the stories behind https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/02/27/prague-4-day-47-pod-pramenem/, https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/03/22/prague-4-day-54-pod-lazni/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/03/26/prague-4-day-58-u-libusinych-lazni/.
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U Libušiných lázní was built in 1934. Libuše has been discussed in some detail before – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/23/prague-2-day-93-libusina/ – but the short version is that she was a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty. She is also said to have predicted the future existence of a city you might have heard of. It’s called Prague.…
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Pod lázní was built in 1925. This street is under a ‘lázeň’, which we can translate as ‘bath’. To find out where that is (sorry, was), we need to head back to Jezerka (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/03/19/prague-4-day-51-na-jezerce/) Once upon a time, a clean spring of water used to flow from Jezerka to Vyšehrad (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-118-vysehradska/). As far back as…
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Na Jezerce was built in 1925. A spring called Jezerka is mentioned way back in Cosmas’ Chronica Boemorum (written from 1119 to 1125). Apparently, Libuše – she who predicted the founding of the city of Prague (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/23/prague-2-day-93-libusina/) – used to go here to get water to bathe in. In the Middle Ages, there was a…
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Pod pramenem was built in 1932. It translates as ‘under the spring’, and the spring in question is called Jezerka, as is the park that you can see in the map above. I would go into more detail, but it’s really more of a day 51 kind of story.
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Na Fidlovačce was built in 1906. A fidlovačka is a tool that a cobbler – i.e. a person who makes or repairs shoes – uses to smooth leather. The tool then gave its name to a spring festival which took place in the Nusle valley, by the Botič stream (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-115-boticska/). At this festival – which…
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Originally published on X on 29 June 2024. It’s likely that Florenc first appeared in or soon after 1348, when Charles IV founded the New Town and needed traders to settle in it – so he invited people from, among other places, Florence. The name is first documented in 1392. Florenc became an important transport…
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Originally published on X on 14 June 2024. Vojtěch Lanna was born in Čtyři Dvory, now part of České Budějovice, in 1805. He was the son of a shipmaster. When he was sixteen, he moved to Prague to study mechanical engineering at what is now ČVUT (the Czech Technical University). However, he was expelled for…
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Originally published on X on 7 June 2024. A street with a name, but without a sign. Malá Klášterní translate as ‘Little Convent Street’, so let me take you back to here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/05/prague-1-day-243-anezska/. But what the street (all 30 metres of it) lacks in street signs, it makes up for in open spaces, specifically Zahrada…
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Originally published on X on 2 September 2023. Jelení was named in 1870. A jelen is a stag. The street is named after Jelení příkop – the Deer Moat – a moat which separates the promontory of Prague Castle and the castle’s northern forecourt. In 1534, Ferdinand I had had the Královská zahrada / Royal…
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Originally published on X on 1 September 2023. Carl Bernhard Graf Chotek von Chotkowa und Wognin was born in Vienna in 1783. His father, Johann Nepomuk Rudolph Graf Chotek von Chotkow und Wognin, after serving as finance minister in Vienna, became Supreme Burgave of Bohemia from 1802 to 1805; in this role, he was responsible…
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Originally published on X on 23 April 2023. Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square, or Karlák if you’re a local) was built in 1348. The square promptly became the centre of the New Town, being called Dobytčí trh (Livestock Market) until 1848. Upon its construction, it was the largest town square not only in Prague, but also…
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Originally published on X on 22 January 2023. Na Folimance was built in 1930. Folimanka, a vineyard, was first mentioned in writing way back in 1353. It was owned by one Jakub Foliman. An orchard of apricots was added within the following century, and, in the 19th century, a homestead was created here. In 1918,…
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Originally published on Twitter on 16 January 2023. U Havlíčkových sadů was built in 1908. From 1940 to 1945, the street was Grébovky. Which leads us to the fact that the park is known as both Havlíčkovy sady and Grébovka (with Gröbovka also being an option). It will surprise precisely nobody that area where the…
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Originally published on Twitter on 28 November 2022. U Kanálky was built in 1905. It was called Kanálská until 1961. Kanálka is a garden that used to exist here, between Polská and Vinohradská, built by the Czech gardener Václav Teisinger. Czech philanthrope and botanist Josef Emanuel Canal ordered its construction in the 1780s, after purchasing various…
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Originally published on Twitter on 29 August 2022. U rajské zahrady was built in 1895. It translates as ‘At the Garden of Paradise’. The street was Přemyslova, after one or more of the Přemyslid dynasty, until 1930. There were vineyards around here in the 15th century; four centuries later, a popular garden restaurant opened, complete…
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Originally published on Twitter on 23 July 2022. Pod Parukářkou was built in 1997. Parukářka is the name of a former vineyard and farm, founded in the 15th century and located on the eastern part of Vrch svatého Kříže / Hill of the Holy Cross, though it was initially called Hejtmánka. From 1804, the homestead…
What's in a Prague street name 