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: Schools
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U Šálkovny was built in 1935. Vineyards existed around here at least as far back as 1400. About four hundred years later, a farmstead was set up here by an owner called Mr Šálek. Šálek was Jewish and, for a time, the farmstead included a synagogue. After World War One – by which time the…
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Školní was built in 1911. Školní is named after the elementary school at number 3, which, as implied by its website, has been operating since 1894: https://www.zsskolni.cz/. It seems things have come full circle, and the school is now named after the street. The school got a significant makeover in 2018: https://praha4.cz/rekonstrukce-zs-v-braniku-konci/. This street got…
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Zelený pruh was built in… read on. In 1941, a street, intended to be called Weilburgova, was built. It was named after Jan Weilburg z Widy, who, in the late 1400s, was the highest scribe in the Old Town. We have to assume he was a German speaker, not only because of his name, but…
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U gymnázia was built in the 1930s, and given a name in 1947. A ‘gymnázium’ is a well-known false friend: it’s a grammar school (if you’re British), or a high school (if you’re American). Around the spring of each year, your local friends who have kids may talk about how insanely competitive their entry examinations…
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Originally published on X on 2 July 2024. The original church – a Romanesque basilica – appeared around 1150, and served as the parish church for the village of Poříčí (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/10/prague-1-day-272-na-porici/). Around 1200, Vladislav Jindřich, Margrave of Moravia, allowed the Order of Teutonic Knights to move into the church, where they established a hospital. However,…
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Originally published on X on 10 May 2024. Alžběta Dorota Pechová was born in Prague’s Old Town in 1847, the seventh of her father’s eight children (he was married twice). Her father believed that his family was from Krásná Hora, near Příbram – apparently, this wasn’t actually true, but it did result in the pseudonym…
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Originally published on X on 2 May 2024. According to Christianity, Joachim lived from about 100-75 BC to about 10 BC, i.e. not quite long enough to become the world’s braggiest grandparent, because his daughter was Mary, and his grandson was, therefore, Jesus. Among the more well-known variants of his name, we have Joaquín (Spanish),…
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Originally published on X on 29 April 2024. A ‘rejdiště’ is a riding stable – in modern Czech, we would call this a ‘jízdárna’ – and one was inaugurated around here in 1660. More specifically, ‘around here’ means ‘number 2 Alšovo nabřezí’ (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/22/prague-1-day-210-alsovo-nabrezi-ales-embankment/), which, nowadays, is called Prádlo or Na Prádle, was built in the…
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Originally published on X on 1 April 2024. In 965, Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, an Arabic-speaking, Sephardi Jewish traveller (and probable merchant) whose family came from what is now Tortosa in Catalonia, travelled to Prague. He wrote about his trip – and what he wrote is the oldest written reference to Prague that we have. He…
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Originally published on X on 31 March 2024. Yesterday, I gave you the brief things that we know about Mr Štupart: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/10/12/prague-1-day-187-stupartska/. Today, I’m able to give you the address where he once owned a house (from 1664), but not the house itself, as that was demolished in 1911. The street was originally called Štupartská,…
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Originally published on X on 26 March 2024. Wenceslas/Václav IV became King of Bohemia in 1378, and, like his father, Charles/Karel IV, originally lived at Prague Castle. Václav’s talents included favouritism, being less popular than his father, and not getting on well with his relatives. Such a relative was Charles’s widow, Elizabeth of Pomerania, who…
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Originally published on X on 4 March 2024. Originally, the street was called Svatého Ondřeje, after a church dedicated to St Andrew, consecrated in 1165, abolished in 1785, and destroyed in the 19th century (by which time it was used as a carpentry workshop) so the street could be extended: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostel_svat%C3%A9ho_Ond%C5%99eje_%28Praha%29#/media/Soubor:Kostel_sv._Ond%C5%99eje.jpg. Later on, the central…
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Originally published on X on 22 February 2024. Originally, this street was called U sv. Kříže (St Cross), named after a rotunda which was built around 1125. Pleasingly, it’s still there and was done up in 2022. In the 1600s, the street was renamed ‘Horní Solní’ due to the presence of a nearby salt warehouse.…
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Originally published on X on 21 February 2024. In the 1200s, this area was a poor neighbourhood; one of its most well-known buildings was called ‘Benátky’ (Venice), and so the street’s first name was Benátská. In 1372, Jan Milíč from Kroměříž (Hussite Prague 3 flashback on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/26/prague-3-day-121-milicova/) founded a preacher’s school and refuge for ‘repentant…
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Originally published on X on 18 February 2024. Uhlí is coal; a trh is a market. Coal made from wood is charcoal, and, in Czech, that’s dřevěné uhlí (literally ‘wooden coal’). Sales of charcoal took place until the 1800s, when hard coal became more popular. Uhelný trh became a place you’d go to to buy…
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Originally published on X on 10 February 2024. The oldest documented name for this street, around 1380, is Nová (New) – because, sometimes, these street names just aren’t that creative. On the corner with Na Příkopě, there was once land and gardens belonging to – great word alert – a maltman called Kříž or Křížalova,…
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Originally published on X on 8 February 2024. A příkop is a ‘ditch’ or a ‘moat’. Way back in the 1230s, work was underway to create the walls of the Old Town, and, during the process, a moat was excavated here. The moat wouldn’t be filled in until 1760, when the street was created. Originally…
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Originally published on X on 17 January 2024. In the very early days of Prague’s New Town, this was known as Jáma, V jámě or Nad jámou (see yesterday’s https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-115-v-jame/). As there was a Jewish cemetery nearby (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/14/prague-1-day-107-charvatova/), the local Jewish population moved here, and the street was renamed Židovská. However, they were pushed…
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Originally published on X on 15 January 2024. Helena Vodičkova, a singer, was born in 1947 in… no, sorry, my mistake. The street was founded around the same time as the New Town (1348), and was originally known as Pasířská (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/14/prague-1-day-102-mikulandska/ to find out what a ‘pasíř’ is). The name later changed to Stará…
What's in a Prague street name 