What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

Category: Wallenstein

  • Durychova was built in 1976. Until 1995, the street was called Dolejšího, after Vojtěch Dolejší (1903-1972), a Communist journalist who worked for Rudé právo, among other publications, and was chairman of the Czechoslovak Union of Journalists from 1957 to 1963. Jaroslav Durych was born in Hradec Králové (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/06/24/prague-3-day-176-hradecka/). He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine…

  • Originally published on X on 23 October 2023. You can read the long, devious, side-swapping story of Albrecht z Valdštejna here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-46-valdstejnske-namesti/. But I’m also going to suggest that you take a look at the story of Johannes Kepler: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-19-keplerova/. Because, in 1608, a young Valdštejn was in Prague and, as was customary for anyone…

  • Originally published on X on 22 October 2023. Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna – usually called Albrecht von Wallenstein in English texts – was born in the Heřmanice Fortress, near Jaroměř, in 1583. His father was a nobleman who had fallen on hard times, and, by the age of eleven, Albrecht had become an orphan…

  • Originally published on X on 17 October 2023. In the 1300s, this area was given the hugely creative and cryptic name of ‘Pod stupni Pražského hradu’ (Under the steps of Prague Castle), and you can read about those steps here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-40-zamecke-schody/ At some point, the name ‘Kavčí hora’ also appears, which will be hugely distracting…

  • Originally published on Twitter on 28 September 2022. Jičínská was built in 1910. Jičín is a town of 16,000 people in the Hradec Králové Region. Initially a royal town, Jan Lucemburský sold it to the Vartenberk family in 1337. It really started to expand in 1621, when it was purchased by the military leader Albrecht von…