Transport
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Prague 4, day 226: U Ryšánky
U Ryšánky was built in 1935. Until 1957, U Ryšánky was part of Na usedlosti (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/11/05/prague-4-day-220-na-usedlosti/). For the story of Ryšánka, see yesterday’s post: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/11/10/prague-4-day-225-k-rysance/. Ryšánka has also given its name to the surrounding area. The number 13 tram ran round here from 1938 to 1970, when it was closed, as the red line of Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 210: Nad přívozem
Nad přívozem was built in 1926. A ‘přívoz’ is a ferry. Czech Wikipedia lists 17 current ferry routes across the Vltava – and 85 which are no more. Of the 17 remaining ones, only six are in Prague, and one is just for tourists. Two ferries used to cross the Vltava to/from Braník: one, sailing Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 184: Veslařský ostrov
Veslařský ostrov was first mentioned in 1420. A ‘veslař’ is a rower or oarsman; an ‘ostrov’ is an island. Around here, the riverbed of the Vltava used to get blocked by ice; sand accumulated as a result and, ultimately, this island was formed. The noble Schwarzenberg family set up a raft port and warehouse here; Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 84: Na Pankráci
Na Pankráci was built in 1900. Even as an ex-Londoner who used to travel to Brussels an awful lot, it somehow took me until 2024 to put two and two together and work out that Pankrác is St Pancras. Pancras of Rome converted to Christianity, and was beheaded for this around 303, aged just fourteen. Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 256: Lannova
Originally published on X on 14 June 2024. Vojtěch Lanna was born in Čtyři Dvory, now part of České Budějovice, in 1805. He was the son of a shipmaster. When he was sixteen, he moved to Prague to study mechanical engineering at what is now ČVUT (the Czech Technical University). However, he was expelled for Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 82: U lanové dráhy
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 Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 103: Pernerova
Originally published on Twitter on 4 August 2022. Pernerova was built before 1850. The street sign says Pernerova is in Karlín – and it mainly is – but its westernmost parts are in Žižkov. Jan Perner (1815-45) was a designer and builder of railways. He studied at Prague Technical College from 1831 to 1833. In Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 72: U Nákladového nádraží
Originally published on Twitter on 4 July 2022. U Nákladového nádraží was built in 1935 but not given a name until 1947. Nákladové nádraží Žižkov, or Žižkov freight railway station, is the biggest functionalist industrial building in Prague and a notorious Destroyer of Neighbourhoods (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/21/prague-3-day-70-na-viktorce/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/22/prague-3-day-71-k-cervenemu-dvoru/). It also gets to have *two* tram stops Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 33: Spojovací
Originally published on Twitter on 26 May 2022. Spojovací was created in 1933. The literal translation would be ‘connecting’, although Google Translate seriously wants me to consider ‘syndetic’. Which is awesome. Spojovací was created by literally joining two other roads: Lipanská (there is another Lipanská in Žižkov, of course) and Husova. Not That Lipanská was, Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 12: Pod Krejcárkem
Originally published on Twitter on 5 May 2022. Pod Krejcárkem was built in 1962, and translates as ‘Under Krejcárek’. Krejcárek was an emergency colony (i.e. a residential area, akin to a shanty town, built to deal with a large influx of workers moving to Prague). It was established as a garden centre in 1922 (when Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 11: Na Ohradě
Originally published on Twitter on 4 May 2022. Built in 1975, Na Ohradě the newest street that I’ve written about to date. Like yesterday’s Vápenka, Ohrada is a former homestead, founded somewhere around the year 1400, and containing a large vineyard. An ohrada is a fence, a barrier or an enclosure. Presumably there was one Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 10: Na Vápence
Originally published on 3 May 2022. Na Vápence was built in 1925. Vápenka translates as ‘lime works’ or ‘limekiln’; it was also the name of a farmstead lying where the street is now. Presumably there was formerly a limestone quarry in the area, hence the name of the settlement. Apparently it stretched across Židovské pece Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 9: Za Žižkovskou vozovnou
Originally published on Twitter on 2 May 2022. Za Žižkovskou vozovnou was built in 1925. The name is fairly unambiguous this time: ‘behind Žižkov Depot’. Vozovna Žižkov / Žižkov Depot is one of Prague’s seven tram depots, and the second-oldest, as it was built in 1912. It’s the only depot to have a circular track Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 