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: Praha 1
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Originally published on X on 29 November 2023. A lanová dráha is a funicular, i.e. a type of cable railway whose track goes along a steep slope. Which could mean that this street name needs no further explanation, but there’s no fun in that, so I’ll continue. In 1891, Prague held a world’s fair, called…
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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…
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Originally published on X on 26 November 2023. František Martin Pelcl was born in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, in Hradec Králové Region, in 1734. In 1755, he started studying theology in Prague, soon switching to law. After escaping to Vienna for a few months in 1757, he returned, but his father died and studying was no…
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Originally published on X on 25 November 2023. Malá Strana was founded as a royal town in 1257, but the surrounding area had been inhabited for centuries. And that surrounding area had several villages, including, among others, Újezd and Nebovidy, the latter of which was located around where the street is now. A nebovid would…
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Originally published on X on 24 November 2023. Kryštof Harant z Polžice a Bezdružice was born in Klenová, now in Plzeň Region, in 1564. He grew up in North Tyrol, and worked as a courtier for Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. Returning to Bohemia in 1584, he tried to get a job at the court…
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Originally published on X on 23 November 2023. Prokop was born around the year 1000 in Chotouň, near Kouřim (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/03/08/prague-3-day-170-kourimska/) in Kolín District. He worked as a priest, but then left the profession and became a hermit. Despite his reclusive life, he became known to Oldřich, Prince of Bohemia (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/20/prague-2-day-80-oldrichova/). How do we know this?…
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Originally published on X on 22 November 2023. A lázeň is a bath or a spa. You may know of Mariánské Lázně in western Bohemia, or, a bit closer to home, Karlovy Lázně, formerly a spa but now the biggest nightclub in Central Europe. And, from 1345, there was at least one bath house here.…
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Originally published on X on 21 November 2023. For brief bits and pieces about the Knights of Malta in the Czech Lands, see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/10/prague-1-day-71-velkoprevorske-namesti/. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in Bohemia in the 12th century (when their headquarters were still in Jerusalem). The Grand Priory was created in 1626, and they moved into their palace here…
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Originally published on X on 20 November 2023. The Nostitz / Nostic family were first mentioned in 1280, originating in Upper Lusatia (now in Germany – take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/14/prague-2-day-28-luzicka/ for a primer). Around 1600, the family started to make a career at the Bohemian court; their conversion to Catholicism would be useful to…
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Originally published on X on 19 November 2023. As has been covered a few times in the last few days, the island of Kampa came into being when a canal, Čertovka, was created, aiming to increase the water supply for the mills round here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/09/prague-1-day-69-na-kampe/. In Renaissance times, there was a miller called Václav Sova…
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Originally published on X on 18 November 2023. A převor is a prior – a word whose meaning differs depending on what kind of monastery they’re in. Among Dominicans, Augustinians, Brothers of Mercy and other Catholic orders, a prior is any monastic superior. Among Premonstratensians, Benedictines and Cistercians, however, a prior would be directly subordinate…
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Originally published on X on 16 November 2023. Hrozny are ‘grapes’, not to be confused with hrozný, which means ‘awful’. And hroznová is the feminine adjective from hrozny, meaning that this is Grape Street. We’re not in a vineyard here – though come to Kampa during one of its French markets and you’d be forgiven…
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Originally published on X on 15 November 2023. he island now known as Kampa was first mentioned in writing in 1169, and it became an island as a result of the creation of this canal: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/09/prague-1-day-67-certovka/ However, until the 18th century, people would merely refer to the island as ostrov, meaning, yes, ‘island’. (I can’t…
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Originally published on X on 13 and 14 November 2023 (there was quite a lot to get through, as you’ll see). No street sign, but I could hardly get away with not writing a post about this one. In 1172, Prague got its first stone bridge, built by King Vladislav II and named Juditin Most…
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Originally published on X on 12 November 2023. Čertovka may get a street sign – but it’s actually a canal which separates Kampa Island from the rest of Malá Strana. Kampa (which is getting a post of its own soon) was created in the 12th century, when the Knights of Malta (ditto) ordered the building…
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Originally published on X on 11 November 2023. No, we’re not escaping Germany just yet, as we’re close to both https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-58-u-luzickeho-seminare/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/09/prague-1-day-65-misenska/. And saská is the adjective from Sasko, AKA Saxony. For those not living nearby, Saxony is the German state on the north-west border of the Czech Republic. You may have been to…
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Originally published on X on 10 November 2023. In 928, Henry the Fowler (German: Heinrich der Vogler; Czech: Jindřich I. Ptáčník), Duke of Saxony and King of East Francia, who was fighting the Glomatians, a Slavic tribe, built a fortress to secure Saxony’s border, and called it Misni, after the nearby stream. In the following…
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Originally published on X on 9 November 2023. For info on the lack of street sign, read on. For info on Jan z Dražic, read https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/09/prague-1-day-63-drazickeho-namesti/. When I went here to take pics, it wasn’t entirely clear where Dražického: The Square ends and Dražického: The Street begins, not helped by the fact that the latter…
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Originally published on X on 8 November 2023. Jan IV. z Dražic was born into a noble family around 1260. Jan II (died 1236) and Jan III (died 1278) were bishops in Prague, so you might already have guessed what Jan IV ultimately became. After his investiture by King Wenceslas II, he was ordained as…
What's in a Prague street name 