-
Prague 1, day 125: Opletalova
Originally published on X on 27 January 2024. Jan Opletal was born on either 31 December 1914 or 1 January 1915 to a poor family in Lhota nad Moravou, near Olomouc. He was the youngest of eight children. He had to work from a very early age to support his family, but also excelled at Continue reading
-
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
-
Prague 1, day 123: Václavské náměstí
Originally published on X on 24 and 25 January 2024 (it’s a two-partner). Václav (Wenceslas, as in ‘Good King’) was born around 907, the son of Vratislav (Wrocław-founding) and Drahomíra (pagan; murderous), and the granddaughter of Ludmila (Christian; victim of said murderousness; later saintly) and Bořivoj (the first verifiable Czech leader). He became Prince of Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 122: Mezibranská
Originally published on X on 23 January 2024. Between 1348 and 1350, Charles IV arranged for the construction of Gothic-style walls all around the (then brand) New Town. Like pretty much every settlement in Bohemia, the New Town had an incredibly rough time of it during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48). Therefore, new, improved fortifications Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 121: Krakovská
Originally published on X on 22 January 2024. You know where Kraków is. Like me, you may also be wondering when people stopped spelling it ‘Cracow’ in English (full disclosure: I was never a fan of that spelling). Kraków is named after Krakus, the alleged founder of the city (and its castle, Wawel), who apparently Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 120: Ve Smečkách
Originally published on X on 21 January 2024. A smečka is a pack (e.g. of dogs or wolves), or a pride (of lions). It originally meant ‘loop’ or ‘dog-collar’, before being attributed to a whole group of animals rather than simply to one animal’s neck. This could be the reason for the street’s name, but Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 119: Příčná
Originally published on X on 20 January 2024. Příčná is the feminine form of příčný, which means ‘transverse’ or ‘cross(wise)’. And Příčná runs across three streets – Navrátilova and Řeznická, which were also the two most recent threads, and Žitná, which I’ll link to here because I wrote about it ages ago: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/27/prague-2-day-36-zitna/. Příčný is Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 118: Řeznická
Originally published on X on 19 January 2024. A řezník is a butcher. And butchers were a well-respected group round this area in the Middle Ages. So much so that they formed a guild and ended up purchasing the church on nearby Lazarská: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/01/prague-2-day-165-lazarska/. The name has been in place since the 1400s; before then, Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 117: Navrátilova
Originally published on X on 18 January 2024. And the prize for ‘most numerous and least helpful Google results for a Prague street name’ goes to… Josef Matěj Navrátil was born in Slaný in 1798, but lived in Prague from 1801. As a child, his father taught him how to paint rooms. So logically, after Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 116: Školská
Originally published on X on 17 January 2024. In the very early days of Prague’s New Town, this was known as Jáma, V jámě or Nad jámou (see yesterday’s https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-115-v-jame/). As there was a Jewish cemetery nearby (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/14/prague-1-day-107-charvatova/), the local Jewish population moved here, and the street was renamed Židovská. However, they were pushed Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 115: V Jámě
Originally published on X on 16 January 2024. A jáma is a pit, a hole, or a hollow; a synonym for this is a prohlubeň. And, expectedly, pits/hollows are what the terrain round here once consisted of. The hollows round here had water in them, and, in the early days of the New Town, were Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 114: Vodičkova
Originally published on X on 15 January 2024. Helena Vodičkova, a singer, was born in 1947 in… no, sorry, my mistake. The street was founded around the same time as the New Town (1348), and was originally known as Pasířská (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/14/prague-1-day-102-mikulandska/ to find out what a ‘pasíř’ is). The name later changed to Stará Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 113: Palackého
Originally published on X on 14 January 2024. Again, I get to direct you to one I wrote earlier: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/31/prague-2-day-145-palackeho-namesti/. Palacký spent his final years – and, in 1876, died – at number 7. The street was first mentioned in 1383, under the name of Tandléřská – a tandléř, derived from southern German, being a Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 112: Jungmannovo náměstí
Originally published on X on 13 January 2024. I promise this is a square, and not a pair of glasses or a bikini top. On the one hand, I can cheat a bit on this one and send you back 24 hours: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/15/prague-1-day-111-jungmannova/. On the other hand, the square itself deserves some attention. In 1347, Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 111: Jungmannova
Originally published on 12 January 2024. Josef Jungmann was born in Hudlice, near Beroun, in 1773. His family wanted him to make a career in the church, and sent him to attend the local Piarist school. However, he transferred to a grammar school on Panská in Prague’s New Town, graduating in 1792 and then studying Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 110: Magdalény Rettigové
Originally published on X on 11 January 2024. Magdalena Artmann was born at the castle in Všeradice, near Beroun, in 1785. After the premature deaths of her father and siblings, she moved to Plzeň with her mother. Until she was 18, Magdalena only spoke German, but then she fell in love with a law graduate Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 109: Vladislavova
Originally published on X on 10 January 2024. Vladislav/Władysław/Vladislaus/Ulászló was born in 1456, as the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. His mother was Elizabeth of Austria, granddaughter of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (and King of Bohemia from 1419 to 1437). Elizabeth’s brother, Ladislaus the Posthumous (Ladislav Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 108: Purkyňova
Originally published on X on 9 January 2024. Jan Evangelista Purkyně was born on the noble estate at Libochovice (near Litoměřice) in 1787. He joined the Piarists as a monk in 1804, but quit at the age of twenty and became a tutor to a noble family before studying medicine at Prague University from 1813 Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 107: Charvátova
Originally published on X on 8 January 2024. Prague’s New Town was founded in 1348; of its early citizens, we know that there was one called Jakub Charvát. We can also assume he was quite well-off, because, in 1378, he bought two houses (now at numbers 33 and 34 on this street), as well as Continue reading
-
Prague 1, day 106: Národní (‘National’)
Originally published on X on 7 January 2024. Until 1781, there was a moat here, which had the somewhat inconvenient effect of separating the Old Town and the New Town. Therefore, it was decided to fill the ditch and create a street in its place. Originally called Nové Aleje (New Avenue), this later turned into Continue reading
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
What's in a Prague street name 