Praha 4
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Prague 4, day 139: Rybářská
Rybářská was built in 1930. Recent posts such as https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/07/05/prague-4-day-137-podolske-nabrezi/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/07/06/prague-4-day-138-podolsky-pristav/ remind us that we are by the Vltava. Also historically spending a lot of time by the river? Fishermen, or, in Czech, rybáři. If you’re into a bit of fishing/angling (rybářství) yourself, you will need a rybářský prut (a fishing rod), a fishing Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 138: Podolský přístav
Podolský přístav was built between 1867 and 1872. A ‘přístav’ is a port. This one was originally built for rafts; around 1890, it gained a protective dam, and started to be used for sports vessels. In 1894, the Czech Yacht Club set up a floating shipyard at the port. A German rowing club, Regatta, then Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 137: Podolské nábřeží
Podolské nábřeží has existed in its current form since 1990. From 1904 to 1906, the part of the embankment leading from the Vyšehrad Tunnel (mentioned on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-122-podskalska/) to Podolská (which will get its own post in a couple of days) was called Vyšehradské nábřeží, ie the Vyšehrad Embankment. From 1906 to 1924, it was named Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 136: U podolského sanatoria
U podolského sanatoria was named in the 1940s. In 1909, a notable Czech doctor, Rudolf Jedlička (more on him on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/05/15/prague-4-day-95-u-jedlickova-ustavu/) decided to build a modern institute – the Prague Sanatorium – to serve wealthy clients. Designed by architect Rudolf Kříženecký, it consisted of five interconnected buildings, with specialist institutes, operating rooms and various baths. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 135: Podolské schody
Podolské schody were built in 1925. There may be a proper street sign up at the top. These are the ‘Podolí Steps’, built around the same time as much everything else round here, when Podolí was newly part of Prague and expanding. The steps got a bit of attention in late 2023, when railings were Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 134: Brabcova
Brabcova was built in 1938. It’s not been easy to find information on this one. Apparently, Karel Brabec was born in 1909, was a labourer, and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He was executed in 1942 for taking part in resistance activities. Before 1952, the street was named after Hynek Krušina z Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 133: Ve svahu
Ve svahu was built in 1925. A ‘svah’ is a slope or a hillside, and this street is, as you’ve already guessed, located on one. For vocabulary fans, a ‘lyžařský svah’ is a ski slope, whereas a steep slope would be a ‘příkrý svah’. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 132: Procházkova
Procházkova was built in 1933. The street is believed to be named after a soldier called Josef Procházka, killed during World War One. However, at least ten men with that name died during battle, and so it’s not possible to get more specific. This means it was not named after the composer and pianist Josef Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 131: Hoffmannova
Hoffmannova was built in 1925, but remained nameless until 1955. The whole namelessness thing starts to make sense when you see that it feels more like a ye olde village road than anything else. Karel Hoffmann was born to a poor family in Smíchov in 1872, initially living near Anděl, then at Bertramka. As a Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 130: Nad spádem
Nad spádem was built in 1925. ‘Spád’ can be translated as ‘momentum, ‘speed’, ‘cadence’, ‘flow’ and much else besides. In the context of this street, it would be a ‘gradient’, ‘slope’, etc., and ‘Nad spádem’ denotes that the street is above one. Continuing the theme of publishing companies quite liking setting up their headquarters in Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 129: Lopatecká
Lopatecká was built in 1929. Once upon a time, there was a homestead where the street is now. Its name was Lopatecká. In the 1920s, a modernist villa was built on the spot where the homestead had stood (at number seven). It was designed by the architect Eduard Hnilička. I’d love to talk about who Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 128: Voráčovská
Voráčovská was built in 1925. Apparently a previous name for the immediately surrounding area – presumably because of someone whose surname was Voráček, but all the ones listed on Czech Wikipedia were born too late for it to be them. I’m going to assume there was a villa, a farm or a vineyard involved. Based Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 127: Na sypčině
Na sypčině was built in 1938. The Czech for ‘sand’ is ‘písek’ (see also: a street named after the town of Písek: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/03/19/prague-3-day-175-pisecka/). ‘Písčina’, meanwhile, would translate as ‘sands’, a ‘sandy area’ or a ‘sandbank’, and ‘písčitý’ would translate as ‘sandy’. The name of the street derives from the nature of the ground on which Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 126: Na lysině
Na lysině was built in 1931. ‘Lysina’ isn’t in common use as a word in modern Czech, but it exists in present-day Slovak, where it’s a bald spot. In Czech, that would be a ‘pleš’. ‘Łysina’, in Polish, means the same thing, but can also be used colloquially to denote an area devoid of vegetation. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 125: Doudova
Doudova was built in 1925. Václav Douda was born in Podolí in 1886. He qualified as a teacher, while also training, and acting in a management capacity, at the Podolí Sokol (guide to the Sokols on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-114-sokolska/). In 1913, he was part of the Czech team at the 6th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which took Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 124: Pod Klaudiánkou
Pod Klaudiánkou was built in 1925. A pleasingly short one today, as I can just point you in the direction of https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/14/prague-4-day-117-na-klaudiance/. So, let’s take advantage of that and tell another story, that of the ‘číslo popisné’, literally ‘descriptive number’, AKA the unique number assigned to each building in Prague in addition to its street-specific Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 123: Na vápenném
Na vápenném was built in the late 1930s, but not named until a few years later. Same limestone story as yesterday, so please take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/20/prague-4-day-122-vapencova/. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 122: Vápencová
Vápencová was built in 1931. ‘Vápenec’ is limestone. If you’re looking to me for advice on anything scientific, you need to get off the internet now, but here goes: Limestone is a fine-grained to solid sedimentary rock, of which over 80% is composed of of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of calcite or aragonite. Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 121: U podolského hřbitova
U podolského hřbitova was named in the 1940s. Yesterday’s street name could be mistaken for being about a cemetery (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/06/17/prague-4-day-120-nad-cementarnou/); today’s is. There’s a street in Podolí which is called Pod Vyšehradem; it’ll get its own post soon enough, but for now it’s enough to say two things. Firstly, it is, indeed, below Vyšehrad. Secondly, Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 120: Nad cementárnou
Nad cementárnou was built in 1935. False friend alert: a ‘cementárna’ is not a cemetery, even though one is nearby and has given its name to a street in the area. It’s a cement factory. Such a factory was opened in Podolí in 1871. It soon ran into financial difficulties, as the Vienna Stock Exchange Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 