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: Vltava
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Lodnická was built in 1998. We’re ending our walk around Hodkovičky with some very similar content to, among others, https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/11/30/prague-4-day-245-ledarska/, https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/24/prague-4-day-289-sifarska/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/02/12/prague-4-day-308-senacka/. Because we’re still by the Vltava (on which: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/01/21/prague-4-day-286-vltavanu/), and a ‘lodník’ is a sailor, a seaman, or – in ‘words in my own language I’d never heard until today’ news –…
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Šenácká was built in 2023. Making it younger than this series. The internet tells me that a ‘šenák’ is a small rowing boat which is manned by two or three ‘plavci’, literally ‘swimmers’, or, in the Vltava context, the people responsible for floating wood across the Vltava when this was a mainstay of the local economy.…
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V Náklích was built in 1927. Until 1947, the street was called U kapličky (By the chapel), after the Chapel of St. Bartholomew on Modřanská (note to self to take a photo when I’m next there). ‘Náklí’ is young willow growth by a river, cut down annually so that it can be used to weave…
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Šífařská was built in 1998. In Czech, a ‘ship’ is a ‘loď’. For those wondering, yes, ‘łódź’ is also Polish for ‘ship’, but there’s no consensus that that’s the reason why Łódź has its name. But it gives me a nice excuse to share some pictures of my 2013 trip to Łódź all the same.…
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Barrandovský most (Barrandov Bridge) was built between 1978 and 1988. In the 1700s already, there was a pontoon bridge here – a pontoon bridge being a bridge that uses floats, or shallow draft-boats to continuously support traffic. For those of you wanting to see an example and also dream of warmer weather, here’s a picture…
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Vltavanů was named in 1998. In 1871, an association was formed in Podskalí (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-122-podskalska/). Its full name was ‘Vzájemně se podporující spolek plavců, rybářů a pobřežných Vltavan’, translating loosely as ‘The Mutually Supportive Association of Swimmers, Fishermen and Coastal Guards: Vltavan’. One of the founding members was František Dittrich, a Podskalí native who had once…
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U ledáren was built in 1981. Quick one today, as we’re talking about the same ledárny – icehouses – as we were yesterday (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/11/30/prague-4-day-245-ledarska/).
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Ledařská was built in 1998. A ‘ledař” is someone who works with ice (and so you’d most likely hear the word, these days, in connection with ice hockey). A ‘ledárna’, meanwhile, would be an ‘icehouse’ or an ‘iceworks’. At the turn of the 20th century, the innkeepers of Prague were using the icehouse on Štvanice…
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Za mlýnem was named in 1938. ‘Za mlýnem’ translates as ‘Behind the mill’, and so we need to talk about Kunratický potok. In Praha-Kunratice (south-east of here, and a separate urban district from the Prague 4 urban district, but part of the Prague 4 municipal district – it’s complicated), a stream (potok) originates. Eleven kilometres…
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Pobřežní cesta was named in 1938. I couldn’t find a street sign, so here’s the nearby tram stop instead. ‘Pobřežní cesta’ translates as ‘coastal road’ if you’re by the sea. We’re not. So I guess we can make do with ‘river bank road’. And this street – more of a path – does exactly what it…
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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…
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Rybářská was built in 1930. Recent posts such as https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/07/05/prague-4-day-137-podolske-nabrezi/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2025/07/06/prague-4-day-138-podolsky-pristav/ remind us that we are by the Vltava. Also historically spending a lot of time by the river? Fishermen, or, in Czech, rybáři. If you’re into a bit of fishing/angling (rybářství) yourself, you will need a rybářský prut (a fishing rod), a fishing…
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Podolský přístav was built between 1867 and 1872. A ‘přístav’ is a port. This one was originally built for rafts; around 1890, it gained a protective dam, and started to be used for sports vessels. In 1894, the Czech Yacht Club set up a floating shipyard at the port. A German rowing club, Regatta, then…
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I can’t say with certainty when Svatoslavova was built, but it’s had its name since 1900. There are Svatoslavs that the street could be named after. I’ll get the more Czech – but less interesting – one out of the way, and then I’ll move on to option two. Option 1 Svatoslav was an alleged…
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Originally published on X on 7 July 2024. This is the closest you’re getting, and if you were there, you’d understand. Back in the 15th century, there was a royal spa here. It was owned by a Jakub Holba, who I can’t find any more information about. Between then and its current status as what…
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Originally published on X on 22 June 2024. In the early Middle Ages, this area was a settlement called Poříčí (which means ‘riverside’). I’ll try not to give too much commentary on that today, as I’m saving it for a future thread. It was mainly inhabited by German merchants, who, around 1150, had a church…
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Originally published on X on 21 June 2024. We’ve spoken about how this was once an area of mills: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/11/10/prague-1-day-258-nove-mlyny/. Specifically, ship mills, also known as ‘škrtnice’ (cutters) in Czech, existed on the Vltava as far back as the 1300s, and survived until 1818. A ‘ship’ in Czech is a ‘loď’, and, while ‘lodní’ is…
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Originally published on X on 16 June 2024. Before the New Town was founded in 1348, Prague got its water from public and private wells (there were aqueducts too, but these were only used for royal buildings and churches). Later, four waterworks were set up; the ones serving this part of the New Town were…
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Originally published on X on 15 June 2024. ‘Nábřeží’ = ‘Embankment’. Ludvík Svoboda was born in Hroznatín, a village in Vysocina Region, in 1895. His father died a year later (apparently after being kicked by a horse), and his mother remarried in 1898. He attended the Agricultural School in Velké Meziříčí, and was then called…
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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…
What's in a Prague street name 