What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

recent posts (search bar on main page for about a gazillion more)

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: Žižkov

  • Prague 3, Day 96: Na Třebešíně

    Originally published on Twitter on 28 July 2022. Na Třebešíně was built in 1925. It’s mainly in Prague 10, but street signs don’t lie. Also, it was originally designated as a square. Třebešín is the name of the residential district located here on a long hill. It’s significantly more villa-based than the areas that surround…

  • Prague 3, day 95: Pod Kapličkou

    Originally published on Twitter on 27 July 2022. Pod Kapličkou was built in 1925. Yes, I thought we were only going to get more central from here on, but then my atlas kindly reminded me that there’s a few streets on the outskirts of Prague 3 that I forgot about. I found out that Pod…

  • Prague 3, day 94: Basilejské náměstí

    Originally published on Twitter on 26 July 2022. Basilejské náměstí – Basel Square – was built in 1932. The Swiss city of Basel, as well as being a very nice place to walk around (which the square is currently not – see later on) has a special significance for Czechs. The Council of Basel was…

  • Prague 3, day 93: U Zásobní zahrady

    Originally published on Twitter on 25 July 2022. U Zásobní zahrady was built in 1947. A zásobní zahrada is a ‘supply garden’. The garden here provided flowers for Prague’s parks, and for specific events, from 1937 onwards. That’s a lot of flowers. It replaced a previous storage garden, also located in Žižkov, but at Rajská…

  • Prague 3, day 92: Na Parukářce

    Originally published on Twitter on 24 July 2022. Na Parukářce was built in 1947. We explained Parukářka yesterday – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-91-pod-parukarkou/ – so today we can talk about people not quite agreeing what this area should be called. We know about Vrch svatého Kríže / Mount of the Holy Cross, named after a wooden cross…

  • Prague 3, day 91: Pod Parukářkou

    Originally published on Twitter on 23 July 2022. Pod Parukářkou was built in 1997. Parukářka is the name of a former vineyard and farm, founded in the 15th century and located on the eastern part of Vrch svatého Kříže / Hill of the Holy Cross, though it was initially called Hejtmánka. From 1804, the homestead…

  • Prague 3, day 90: V Kapslovně

    Originally published on Twitter on 22 July 2022. V Kapslovně was built in 1997. I’m about to go on annual leave from work for two weeks and have what I can only describe as a Kapsload of work to get through today, so I’m happy to keep this one brief and point you to https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/22/prague-3-day-74-ke-kapslovne/.…

  • Prague 3, day 89: Náměstí Barikád

    Originally published on Twitter on 21 July 2022. Náměstí Barikád was built in 1904, bearing its current name (Barricade Square) since 1952. Until 1952, this was Perštýnovo náměstí, named after the Pernštejn family, a distinguished noble family from south-western Moravia. Recent followers of these posts will be *stunned* to know that they were Hussites. The…

  • Prague 3, day 88: Koldínova

    Originally published on Twitter on 20 July 2022. Koldínova was built in 1904. Pavel Kristián z Koldína (1530-1589) was a lawyer and writer. He held several key positions in Prague: rector of the Latin school, dean of Charles University (from 1561), and chancellor of the Old Town from 1565 to 1584. In 1569, he and…

  • Prague 3, day 87: Tovačovského

    Originally published on Twitter on 19 July 2022. Tovačovského was built in 1904. Jan Tovačovský z Cimburka st. (1400-ish to 1464) was a Moravian nobleman. Born a Catholic, he converted to the Kalisz faith and became a faithful follower of Jiří z Poděbrad. He took part in the battles of Ústí nad Labem (1426) and…

  • Prague 3, day 86: Dovcova

    Originally published – albeit with a more inconclusive (slash wrong) ending – on Twitter on 18 July 2022. Dovcova was built in, well, let’s talk this one through. Google Maps says that Dovcova exists. But there’s no street sign, and the street (is that even the correct word?) looked like this when I went to…

  • Prague 3, day 84: Blahoslavova

    Originally published on Twitter on 16 July 2022. Blahoslavova was built before 1875. Jan Blahoslav (1523-1571) was a writer, translator, and composer, among many other professions. He was a bishop in the Jednota bratrská (see yesterday: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-83-ceskobratrska/), and, in 1564, translated the New Testament into Czech. He also published ‘Muzika’ (a ‘guide to how to…

  • Prague 3, day 83: Českobratrská

    Originally published on Twitter on 15 July 2022. Českobratrská was built before 1875. The Jednota bratrská / Unitas Fratrum was the Bohemian Reformation Church, founded in 1457 in Kunvald. Its principles were based on the teachings of Petr Chelčický, who we dealt with on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/24/prague-3-day-78-chelcickeho/. Unsurprisingly, the Church did not do particularly well out of…

  • Prague 3, day 82: Komenského náměstí

    Originally posted on Twitter on 14 July 2022. Komenského náměstí was built in 1872. Named after John Amos Comenius / Jan Amos Komenský (1592-1670). There’s a lot to say about this guy. Komenský was born into the Moravian Brethren, a pre-Reformation Protestant denomination, whose last bishop he ultimately became. The religious wars forced him to…

  • Prague 3, day 81: Roháčova

    Roháčova was built in 1872. A ‘roháč’ is a stag beetle. Sadly, this is not the insect section of Žižkov, and Roháčova is named after – who else? – a Hussite. Jan Roháč z Dubé / Jan Roháč of Dubá was a Taborite, appointed as a hetman by Jan Žižka in Lomnica nad Lužnicí in…

  • Prague 3, day 80: Prokopovo náměstí

    Originally published on Twitter on 12 July 2022. Prokopovo náměstí (Prokop Square) was built in 1872. We’ve already covered Prokop Holy all of three days ago: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/23/prague-3-day-77-prokopova/. So let’s pad this out with some brief facts about the square itself. It used to be the scene of the largest market in Žižkov, as well as…

  • Prague 3, day 79: Sabinova

    Originally published on Twitter on 11 July 2022. Sabinova was built in 1875. Until 1962, the street was called Jaboukova (named after either Jakoubek ze Stříbra or Jakoubek z Vřesovic, both prominent Hussites in the early 15th century). Karel Sabina (1813-77) was, among other things, a writer, poet, playwright, journalist and politician. Despite growing up…

  • Prague 3, day 78: Chelčického

    Originally published on Twitter on 10 July 2022. Chelčického was built in 1885. Petr Chelčický (1379-1460-ish) was most likely a pseudonym for Petr Záhorka, born in the Chelčice region (in South Bohemia). He was a writer, translator and theologian, one of the most important figures of the Czech Reformation. He didn’t have a university education,…

  • Prague 3, day 77: Prokopova

    Prokopova was built in 1872. Prokop Holý (the Bald) was born around 1380 in Prague. The identity of his family is unclear, but it’s known that he was born into wealth and was able to travel extensively around Europe as a young man. His uncle ordained him as a priest, but, no later than 1420,…

  • Prague 3, day 76: Sauerova

    Originally published on Twitter on 8 July 2022. Sauerova was built in 1975 (apologies for the obvious defects in the street sign). František ‘Franta’ Sauer was born to a poor family in Žížkov in 1882. He trained as a locksmith, spent some time as a journeyman, and then returned to the district. He was the…