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Prague 1, day 58: U Lužického semináře
Originally published on X on 3 November 2023. Before I get onto the seminar itself, here’s a (not terribly brief) guide to who would qualify as lužický: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/02/14/prague-2-day-28-luzicka/ If you don’t want to read that: Sorbs are a Slavic ethnic group who currently live in Lusatia, which is in Saxony and Brandenburg in Germany. They… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 57: Mánesův most
Originally published on X on 2 November 2023. I’m going to be mildly lazy now and point you towards Vinohrady: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/01/18/prague-2-day-11-manesova/ The bridge was meant to replace Rudolf’s Footbridge (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-56-u-zelezne-lavky/), and was meant to be named after him too. However, when it opened in March 1914, it was called the Archduke Franz Ferdinand Bridge, for… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 56: U Železné lávky
Originally published on X on 1 November 2023. Street name translates as ‘By the Iron Bridge’. Before 1868, Prague only had two bridges across the Vltava. Other than the very famous one which is still there, there was the Emperor Francis I Bridge, which isn’t. It was built in 1841, and replaced in 1898 (there’ll… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 55: U Plovárny
Originally published on X on 31 October 2023. A plovárna is an outdoor swimming pool, or, for Brits of a certain age, a lido. Until the 1780s, this was the site of a Jesuit church and its garden, inevitably closed down as a result of Josef II’s reforms. Around 1810, one Arnošt z Pfuolu founded an… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 54: Kosárkovo nábřeží
Originally published on X on 30 October 2023. Adolf Kosárek was born in Herálec, near (Havlíčkův) Brod, in 1830, and went to school in Kutná Hora before working as a clerk. He did drawing and painting in his spare time, eventually attracting the attention of Friedrich Prince zu Schwarzenberg, who had become Archbishop of Prague… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 53: Nábřeží Edvarda Beneše
Originally published on X on 29 October 2023. Eduard Beneš was born as the tenth of ten children in Kožlany, near Plzeň, in 1884. He attended the gymnasium in Vinohrady (on Londýnská – https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/03/03/prague-2-day-41-londynska/), then studying at Prague University, followed by the Sorbonne, Berlin and Dijon. In Paris, he became engaged to Anna (later Hana)… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 51: Klárov
Originally published on X on 27 October 2023. Alois Klar (no á) was born in Úštěk in 1763. He went to school in Litoměřice, and then went to Prague to study languages, graduating in 1782. Four years after that, he became a professor back in Litoměřice, before returning to Prague University after being appointed professor… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 50: Staré zámecké schody
Originally published on X on 26 October 2023. These supposed ‘old castle steps’ have been around since the 17th century. Which, sure, makes them old, but doesn’t make them older than the supposedly ‘new’ castle steps discussed on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-40-zamecke-schody/. They were given a reconstruction in 1835-7, and have had their current name since then. They’re… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 49: Na Opyši
Originally published on X on 25 October 2023. An opyš is ‘a narrow ridge rising from a flat hill into a valley’. It’s not entirely clear how the word came about; there are those who believe that the word originally meant ‘tail’ (ocas in modern Czech). Anyway, Opyš has become the name given to the… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 48: Pod Bruskou
Originally published on X on 24 October 2023. In the Middle Ages, there was a path here, known as ‘Myší díra’ (Mouse hole) due to its winding nature. In the 1600s, a certain Albrecht z Valdštejna (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-46-valdstejnske-namesti/) had the path converted into a proper road, capable of being used by heavy goods vehicles. The name… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 47: Valdštejnská
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… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 46: Valdštejnské náměstí
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… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 45: U Zlaté Studně
Originally published on X on 21 October 2023. U Zlaté Studně translates as ‘At the Golden Well’. ‘So, where’s the well?’, I heard you ask. And, erm, it isn’t. Or, at least, not anymore, and I don’t know when/if it existed. Although an actual well isn’t here, if you zoom in on the façade of… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 44: Tomášská
Originally published on X on 20 October 2023. The earliest mention of a church round here dates from 1228. In 1285, King Václav II invited a group of Augustine monks to Prague and decided they needed a new, better church in the same location. It was devoted to Thomas the Apostle (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/07/prague-1-day-8-na-baste-sv-tomase/). The altar was… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 43: Sněmovní
Originally published on X on 19 October 2023. Buckle up, kids, this one probably has a link to many of your least favourite Czechs. Because sněmovna is short for Poslanecká sněmovna, or ‘Chamber of Deputies’. In 1650, one Countess Markéta Anna Thunová purchased a building here, and the family bought two more in 1662 and… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 42: Zámecká
Originally published on the other place on 18 October 2023. A short one today, as befits a short street (only six addresses or thereabouts). Until the 19th century, the street was known as Ke stupňům (‘Towards the stairs’), with said stairs being these: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/08/prague-1-day-40-zamecke-schody/). From 1829, it had the same name as the steps did… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 41: Thunovská
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… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 40: Zámecké schody
Originally published on X on 16 October 2023. You’ll have been down these (if you planned your sightseeing round Prague sensibly), or up them (if you didn’t). Back in the Middle Ages, there was a road here, aptly called Strmá cesta (Steep Road). At some point, these were replaced by the steps (which have basically… Continue reading
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Prague 1, day 39: Karmelitská
Originally published on X on 13 October 2023. This story starts in Mount Carmel, a mountain range on the northern coast of Israel in which the city of Haifa is located. In the 13th century, a group of men settled here and founded the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, living in… Continue reading
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What's in a Prague street name 