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Prague 1, day 145: Perlová
Originally published on X on 16 February 2024. In the Middle Ages, this street was known as ‘U písku’ (‘By the sand’), because the terrain nearby consisted of sandy fields. Charles IV ordered that a monastery and church be built on those fields, and you can read about the result on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-112-jungmannovo-namesti/. There was a Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 144: 28. října
Originally published on X on 15 February 2024. That street sign needs a clean. On 28 October 1918, a delegation of the Czechoslovak National Committee was in Geneva, as was Edvard Beneš, not a member, but the most prominent member of the anti-Austrian resistance. They agreed that a Czechoslovak Republic should be created, with Tomáš Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 143: Na Můstku
Originally posted on X on 14 February 2024. A most is a bridge; a můstek is still a bridge, but a smaller one. In the 13th century, there was a bridge near here, leading from the Old Town fortifications across the moat that is now https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/22/prague-1-day-137-na-prikope/. Also in the 13th century, there was a town Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 142: Provaznická
Originally published on X on 13 February 2024. A provaz is a rope. And, therefore, a provazník is a rope-maker or rope-weaver. And, to add to the many craftsmen and tradesmen we’ve dealt with recently, rope-weavers set up shop around here, forming their own guild in 1410. The name of the street can be traced Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 141: Havířská
Originally published on X on 12 February 2024. A havíř is a ‘coal miner’, or, in ‘I didn’t realise that was a specifically British word’ news, a ‘collier’. It’s actually a borrowing from the German Hauer, which is also how we get the English profession name, and surname, ‘hewer’. This house, at number 2, is Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 140: V Cípu
Originally published on X on 11 February 2024. A cíp is a tip or a corner. And, as this is basically an extension of Panská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/23/prague-1-day-139-panska/) which doesn’t lead anywhere, this seems quite apt. First referred to as ‘in vico dicto Czyp’ in 1395, it was also known as Heršova for a time, as a Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 139: Panská
Originally published on X on 10 February 2024. The oldest documented name for this street, around 1380, is Nová (New) – because, sometimes, these street names just aren’t that creative. On the corner with Na Příkopě, there was once land and gardens belonging to – great word alert – a maltman called Kříž or Křížalova, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 138: Nekázanka
Originally published on X on 9 February 2024. Prague’s New Town was founded by Charles IV in 1348, which I *may* have mentioned 1,348 times to date. Charles was a busy man, what with also having been crowned King of the Romans in 1346, and also experiencing the death of his first wife (Blanche of Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 137: Na Příkopě
Originally published on X on 8 February 2024. A příkop is a ‘ditch’ or a ‘moat’. Way back in the 1230s, work was underway to create the walls of the Old Town, and, during the process, a moat was excavated here. The moat wouldn’t be filled in until 1760, when the street was created. Originally Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 136: Senovážná
Originally published on X on 7 February 2024. An underwhelming post (if you’re reading), or a nice and easy one (if you’re me): Senovážná leads directly off Senovážné náměstí: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/19/prague-1-day-132-senovazne-namesti/ That said, for a street that’s less than 140 metres long, Senovážná serves us some pretty good views. Namely of Obecní dům and Prašná brána Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 135: Dlážděná
Originally published on X on 6 February 2024. Dlažba means ‘pavement’, ‘cobbles(tones)’ or ‘paving’, whereas something that is dlážděný is ‘paved’. Paving didn’t happen anywhere in Prague at all until 1329, and, when the New Town was founded just under twenty years later, was still the exception rather than the rule. As well as looking Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 134: Hybernská
Originally published on X on 5 February 2024. In the pre-New Town was founded, this street was called Horská, because it led to Kutná Hora. It then became known as Na Dlážděném from 1348, and if I explain that now, I’ll ruin tomorrow’s post. In 1355, a church was built, and dedicated to St Ambrose, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 133: Bolzanova
Originally published on X on 4 February 2024. Bernard Bolzano was born in Prague in 1781. His father was an Italian-born arts dealer, while his mother came from a German-speaking family which had arrived in Prague from Austria around 1700. Graduating from the Piarist gymnasium in 1796, he then studied mathematics and philosophy, switching to Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 132: Senovážné náměstí
Originally published on X on 3 February 2024. Your regular reminder that a ‘náměstí’ is a square, but doesn’t necessarily have to be square in shape. Let’s start with a language lesson: seno is ‘hay’, while váha means both ‘weight’ and ‘weighing machine’. So, a senováha is a hay scale, and this is Hay Scale Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 131: Jindřišská
Originally published on X on 2 February 2024. ‘Jindřich’ is Henry, and the two don’t seem so different once you realise that one of the German versions of ‘Henry’ is ‘Heinrich’. And one famous German Henry was Henry II (973-1024), Holy Roman Emperor, also known as Saint Henry the Exuberant. He essentially incorporated Bohemia into Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 130: Jeruzalémská
Originally posted on X on 1 February 2024. Back in the early days of the New Town, this street was called Sedmihrady, which is Czech for Transylvania (see also: the German ‘Siebenbürgen’), and if you want to know a little bit about Czechs in Romania, take a look at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/06/30/prague-2-day-52-rumunska/. However, it’s more likely that Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 129: U Půjčovny
Originally published on X on 31 January 2024. In the early days of the New Town, written sources refer to the street as ‘nová ulice faráře svatojindřišského’, or the ‘New Street of the parish priest of St Henry’s’. This was partly because the street was next to the church on Jindřišská (coming up on day Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 128: Růžová
Originally published on X on 30 January 2024. ‘Růžová’ means two things: firstly, it’s the feminine adjective from růže (rose); secondly, it’s a colour which is prominent in Barbie, a film which there were one or two or three million op-eds about on this site last week. Before the New Town was founded in the Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 127: Politických vězňů (Political prisoners)
Originally published on X on 29 January 2024. When the New Town was founded, this street was named Angelova, after Angelo of Florence (died 1408), court apothecary under Charles IV and his son, Wenceslas IV. In 1757, it was renamed Bredovská after the noble Bredow family (Josef Breda was the governor of Prague’s Old Town, Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 126: Olivova
Originally published on X on 28 January 2024. Alois Oliva was born in Kutná Hora in 1822, but went to school in Dresden, where he had relatives. Going straight into employment after he finished school, he was, by the age of 20, a procurator. He then joined a sugar factory in Ruzyně, eventually becoming a Continue reading
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What's in a Prague street name 