United States
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Prague 4, day 173: Bohuslava Martinů
Bohuslava Martinů was built in 1966. Bohuslav Martinů was born in a church in Polička (near Pardubice) in 1890. From 1906 to 1910, he attended the Prague Conservatory, studying the violin, the organ and composition, but didn’t complete his studies, partly because he was much more interested in exploring Prague (Bohuslav, I hear you). However, Continue reading
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Prague 4, day 110: Kischova
Kischova was built in 1900. It was originally named Třebízského, after the historical novelist Václav Beneš Třebízský, who still has a street named after him in Vinohrady: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/27/prague-2-day-17-trebizskeho/. Egon Erwin Kisch was born into a Jewish family in 1885, and grew up on Melantrichova in Prague’s Old Town, where his father, a cloth merchant, ran Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 221: Dvořákovo nábřeží
Originally published on X on 7 May 2024. Antonín Leopold Dvořák was born in Nelahozeves, in Mělník District, in 1841, as the eldest of nine children. He started learning the violin at the age of six, also studying music theory, piano and organ during his schooldays. In 1857, he went to Prague to study at Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 159: Náprstkova
Originally published on X on 2 March 2024. The road was originally called Zlatá (Golden), and a neighbouring street still is. You can still see evidence of the goldsmiths who lived on the street in the names of number 9 (U zlaté hrušky – The Golden Pear) and number 4 (U zlaté lodi – The 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 2, day 50: Americká
Originally published on Twitter on 26 December 2022. Americká was built in 1884. Until 1926, this was Krameriova, after Václav Matěj Kramerius (1753-1808), writer, publisher and journalist who was one of the early figures of the National Revival. Then, the Big Vinohrady Allied Renaming Extravaganza happened in 1926 (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/12/23/prague-2-day-1-italska/). Interestingly, it took until 1943 – Continue reading
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Prague 2, day 9: Wilsonova
Originally posted on Twitter on 15 November 2022. Wilsonova was built in stages from about 1870 onwards. I couldn’t find a street sign to confirm that part of Wilsonova is in Prague 2, and would’ve caused a traffic accident if I’d kept trying. So here’s a sign from a car park instead. And on top Continue reading
What's in a Prague street name 