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: Prague 4
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Ludvíkova was built in 1935. Josef Myslimír Ludvík was born in Dolany, near Náchod, in 1796. After studying theology at the seminary in Hradec Králové, he was ordained as a priest in 1819. A year later, he became chaplain of Náchod Castle, staying in that role until 1832. He devoted much of his time to…
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Vítovcova was named in 1973. From 1927 to 1935, the street was called U rybníka, after a nearby and erstwhile pond. From 1935 to 1973, it was called V Hodkovičkách, which presumably caused confusion, as it’s not directly connected to the other street in the area called that. More on that name when we get…
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Vavřenova was built in 1968. In 1878, Alois Jirásek (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/) published a novel called Filosofská historie (Philosophical History). It’s set in Litomyšl, where Jirásek was living and working as a teacher at the time, and a key theme is the use of Czech and German in everyday life. Tellingly, it is set in 1847 (the…
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Jílovská was built in 1947. The earliest mention we have of Jílová is from the 1200s, when it was a mining settlement (the writer wanted us to think the document was from 1045, but it turns out that it’s a forgery). In the 1320s, it was described as a ‘royal gold-mining town’; around 1350, Charles…
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Němčická was built at some point between 1973 and 1982 (warning: today’s post is going to remain about this vague). The street is likely to be named after a village called Němčice (whose name, in turn, I assume comes from the fact that its inhabitants were once predominantly German). Unfortunately, there are at least nine…
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Nad lesním divadlem was built in 1968. Behind this street, you’ve got Velký háj (‘The big grove’), a forested area with parkland. Only a small portion is owned by the City of Prague; the rest is in the hands of various private individuals. In 1913, Jan Šimsa, a local doctor, established a ‘lesní divadlo’ – a…
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Ohnivcova was built in 1933. We’re still in ‘novels by Alois Jirásek’ territory: between 1887 and 1890, Jirásek published a trilogy called Mezi proudy (Between the Currents), based on real events which occurred between 1381 and 1409. Those real events concerned Czech resistance against German oppression during the reign of Wenceslas IV. As this was…
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Poberova was built in 1935. We’ve been on a bit of a break, so let’s recap some key information. Alois Jirásek was a writer of historical novels and plays; these were written at a time when the Czech nation was seriously (re-)discovering itself. He has a square named after him in Prague 2: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/. As…
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Údolní was built in 1925. At one end of this street, you’ve got a hill with Braník Brewery (no longer brewing) on top of it (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/13/prague-4-day-258-nad-branickym-pivovarem/). At the other end, I’m going to assume we’re also on a hill, but will confirm that when we get to the streets around there. Hills or not, the street…
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Aksamitova was built in 1932. We don’t know anything about Petr Aksamit’s life before 1440, when he was put in command of the Brotherhood / bratříci troops in Upper Hungary (present-day Slovakia). These bratříci were former Hussite fighters, operating as independent units, from 1445 to 1467, not only in today’s Slovakia but in its neighbouring…
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Zálesí was built in 1925. Zalesí is behind (za) a forest (les). If you want to know what to call that forest, you’re kind of spoiled for choice: you can call it Kunratický les (colloquially: Kunraťák), Krčský les (colloquially: Krčák) or, in its northwest, Michelský les. As we’ll be going through Krč, Michle and Kunratice…
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Na výstupu was built in 1925. Anybody who’s ever taken the Prague Metro will know that ‘výstup’ is one of the two things that you have to complete when the doors are closing (or, ideally, slightly before), the other one being ‘nástup’. Anybody who’s ever taken public transport to or from Braník will also know…
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Psohlavců was built in 1933. ‘Psohlavci’ would translate as ‘dog-heads’, which may have you hoping that I’m going to write about a film from 1994 or thereabouts which has some of the lowest ratings possible on Rotten Tomatoes, ČSFD, etc., but which you loved when you were ten years old. In which case, sorry to…
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Věkova was built in 1933. After a brief detour, we’re back in ‘characters from novels by Alois Jirásek’ territory. František Ladislav Věk is a Czech patriot in the novel titled, well, F. L. Věk, and described (to an extent) on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/02/prague-4-day-247-vrbova/. He is a student – and, later in the novel, a merchant from Dobruška,…
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Pikovická was built in 1991. Well, I say ‘built’ – it’d be more accurate to say it already existed in 1991, which was the year it was separated from Modřanská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/29/prague-4-day-185-modranska/). Pikovice is a village on the bank of the Sázava river; the earliest written mention that we have dates back to 1310. It changed hands…
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Kamenitá was built in 1925. Another one that describes the street’s physical features – ‘kamenita’ translates as ‘stony’, ‘rocky’, or ‘pebbly’.
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Nad branickým pivovarem was built in 1925. In 1899, thirteen Prague brewers, feeling that industrialisation had caused them to lose their competitive edge, decided that Prague needed a new, modern brewery. In 1900, the Společenský pivovar pražských sládků – Prague Brewers’ Community Brewery – opened. The complex consists of seven Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau buildings,…
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Pod Jiráskovou čtvrtí was built in 1935. Also having its construction completed in 1935? Jiráskova čtvrť, i.e. the entire district (a primer is on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/02/prague-4-day-247-vrbova/). Clearly, this was a popular idea: there’s also a Jiráskova čtvrť in Kyje (Prague 9), as well as in Doksy (near Liberec) and Meziměstí (near Náchod). Brno had one too…
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Žalmanova was built in 1969. First of all, your almost-daily reminder that we’re in Jiráskovo čtvrť (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-154-jiraskovo-namesti/). Second of all, your reminder that Jirásek wrote a novel called F.L. Věk (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/12/02/prague-4-day-247-vrbova/). Žalman is a character in said novel; he’s an old man and closet Protestant, whose tales of hardship and persecution have a…
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V závitu was built in 1945. A ‘závit’ is a coil or a whorl, and the street is so named due to its shape.
What's in a Prague street name 