Slovakia
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Prague 4, day 230: Jiskrova
A street with this name was founded in Braník in 1935, but was destroyed in 1990 during construction works. In 1991, this street – about a kilometre away from the original Jiskrova – was given the name instead. Internet searches indicate that it was originally part of Modřanská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/09/29/prague-4-day-185-modranska/), but the map above isn’t helping Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 36: Mojmírova
Mojmírova was built in 1892. Slavs started arriving on the territory of present-day Czechia in the 5th century; this was a gradual process, happening in several waves. We know that a king called Sámo formed the first West Slavic state – Samo’s Empire, in the 600s (from 623 or 631 to 658). It was most Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 254: Štefánikův most
Originally published on X on 12 June 2024. Milan Rastislav Štefánik was born in Košariská, a village nowadays in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia, in 1880. He was the son of an evangelical priest, Pavol Štefánik, who raised his children to be interested in Slovak history and culture. Leaving his village at nine, he went Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 180: Celetná
Originally published on X on 23 March 2024. A ‘calta’ is a a type of medieval Bohemian pastry. They had some sort of ‘braided’ design on them, which means I’m currently picturing a hot cross bun, but probably more intricate. Google results for this pastry reveal more hits over in Slovakia than here, where it Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 171: Jilská
Originally published on X on 14 March 2024. ‘Jiljí’ is the Czech version of ‘Aegidius’. This is a name that’s changed more than many others when entering other languages – in English, we know it as ‘Giles’. Saint Giles, meanwhile, was born in Athens and is said to have founded the Abbey of Saint-Gilles in Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 124: Washingtonova
Originally published on X on 26 January 2024. George, not Denzel, Dinah or Poussey. I could tell the George Washington story, but you might already know it quite well and/or feel it’s not got enough/any Czech connections (it won’t shock you to learn that GW never set foot in Bohemia). So let’s go looking for Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 16: Kapucínská
Originally published on X on 10 September 2023. The Ordo Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum / Order of Friars Minor Capuchin was founded in 1525, when a friar called Matteo Serafini decided that friars should go back to behaving in a way which their founder, St Francis of Assisi, would’ve approved of. Persecuted for this, they were Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 104: Františka Lenocha
Originally published on X on 18 February 2023. Františka Lenocha was built in 2009. František Lenoch was born in 1898. Graduating from Charles University’s Faculty of Medicine in 1923, he later qualified in physiatry, balneology and internal medicine. In the 1930s, he worked in Trenčianske Teplice, a spa town in Slovakia, and stayed in Slovakia Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 87: Svatoplukova
Originally published on X on 1 February 2023. Svatoplukova was built in 1892. From 1940 to 1945, this was Gebhardova, after Gebhart (also known as Jaromír), who was the fourth son of Břetislav I and Jitka, and was Bishop of Prague from 1067 until his death in 1090. Svatopluk, meanwhile, was born around 840, and Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 61: Šafaříkova
Originally published on Twitter on 6 January 2023. Šafaříkova was built around 1880. Pavol Jozef Šafárik was born in Kobeliarovo, near Košice, in 1795. The dramatic landscapes and Slovak folk culture here would impact him significantly. By the age of eight, he had allegedly read the entire Bible twice. He then went to school in Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 29: Slovenská
Originally published on Twitter on 5 December 2022. Slovenská was built around 1900. As with Moravia, I don’t want to do a ‘this is the history of […] in 15-20 tweets’ thing. So this seems like a good opportunity to remember that the Velvet Revolution happened in Slovakia too. The Slovaks prefer to call it Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 185: Nitranská
Originally published on Twitter on 25 October 2022. Nitranská was built in 1889. Nitra, located 95 km east of Bratislava, is the fifth-largest city in Slovakia, with a population of 79,000. It’s also the oldest Slovak city, first mentioned in 828, but archeological items found there have been dated back more than 25,000 years. A Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 167: Šrobárova
Originally posted on Twitter on 7 October 2022. There is no day 166, because day 166 on the Twitter version was a spoof post which… well, I don’t feel it particularly landed at the time, and you *really* had to be there for it to even start landing. Anyway, moving on. Šrobárova was built in Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 28: Jeseniova
Originally published on Twitter on 21 May 2022. Jeseniova was built in 1875. Jan Jesenius / Ján Jesenský (1566-1621) was a physician, politician and philosopher, born in Wrocław (then Breslau) to a father of Slovak origin. He studied in Wittenberg, Leipzig and Padua, becoming professor of anatomy at the first of these in 1594. In Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 