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: Protests

  • Prague 4, day 22: Kongresová

    Kongresová was built in 1986. In 1971, a spatial plan determined that some sort of ‘service centre’ should be built in this location, which was also the site of improved transport links – Nusle Bridge (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/21/prague-2-day-86-nuselsky-most/) would be opened in 1973, and Prague’s first metro line would follow in 1974. After a drawn-out selection procedure…

  • Prague 1, day 212: 17. listopadu

    Originally published on X on 28 April 2024. From the 16th century, this street was called Sanytrová, after ‘sanytr’, an Old Czech word for saltpetre, which is used to make gunpowder. In the 19th century (until 1870), it was known as V krechtách, after the nearby pits and ditches by the Vltava. Sanytrová was used…

  • Prague 1, day 211: náměstí Jana Palacha

    Originally published on X on 27 April 2024. Originally, this area was called Rejdiště (more on that in a few days); the square came into being in the 1870s and was called Na Rejdišti. During WW1, it was named náměstí císařovny Zity after Zita of Bourbon-Parma (1892-1989), the final Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary.…

  • Prague 1, day 190: Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square)

    Published on X on 2 and 3 April 2024 (there was a fair amount to say). Part 1: the history In 1338, John of Luxembourg (King of Bohemia from 1310 to 1346) gave the Old Town permission to build itself a town hall. This seemed like the perfect location, as a major market had existed…

  • Prague 1, day 125: Opletalova

    Originally published on X on 27 January 2024. Jan Opletal was born on either 31 December 1914 or 1 January 1915 to a poor family in Lhota nad Moravou, near Olomouc. He was the youngest of eight children. He had to work from a very early age to support his family, but also excelled at…

  • Prague 1, day 71: Velkopřevorské náměstí

    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…

  • Prague 1, day 60: Letenská

    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…

  • Prague 1, day 52: U Bruských kasáren

    Originally published on X on 28 October 2023. I’m linking to the Brusnice thread far too often lately, but here’s one more reminder: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-12-u-brusnice/ The street itself dates from 1931; the barracks it’s named after closed down a mere 168 years earlier, in 1763, before being converted into military accommodation in 1779. That housing, in…

  • Prague 1, day 29: Strahovská

    Originally published on X on 27 September 2023. In 1143, Vladislav II, the second King of Bohemia, founded a monastery. I don’t want to say huge amounts about that right now, because it’ll leave me with nothing to say tomorrow. Originally known as Sion (i.e. Zion), its name had changed to Strahov within a few…

  • Prague 1, day 13: Hradčanské náměstí

    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…

  • Prague 2, day 166: Omladinářů

    Originally published on X on 25 April 2023. We don’t know when the street was built. What we do know is that the road was known as Malá Lazarská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-165-lazarska/) until 1909, then becoming part of Lazarská itself until 1934. In 1890, an eleven-point plan, known as Punktace, was drawn up, aiming at Czech-German reconciliation.…