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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… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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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,… Continue reading
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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,… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 75: Pitterova
Originally published on Twitter on 7 July 2022. Pitterova was part of Chelčického (coming up in a few days) from 1885 until 1996, when it was given a name of its own. Přemysl Pitter was born in Smíchov in 1895. He studied typography in Leipzig in 1911-2, and, after his father’s death a year later,… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 74: Ke Kapslovně
Originally published on Twitter on 6 July 2022. Ke Kapslovně was built in 1975, but was called U Stadionu (Stadium) until 2008. Louis Sellier and Jean Maria Nicolaus Bellot founded a company, Sellier & Bellot, in Žižkov in 1825, which made cartridges for infantry, as well as matches (up to 60 million per year). The… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 73: Olšanská
Originally published on Twitter on 5 July 2022. Olšanská was built in 1947. Olšany, a village located where the road now is, was built in 1306. It was named after ‘olše’, the alder tree. It’s hard to believe now, but there were several ponds and a stream here. The manors here had various owners, before… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 72: U Nákladového nádraží
Originally published on Twitter on 4 July 2022. U Nákladového nádraží was built in 1935 but not given a name until 1947. Nákladové nádraží Žižkov, or Žižkov freight railway station, is the biggest functionalist industrial building in Prague and a notorious Destroyer of Neighbourhoods (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/21/prague-3-day-70-na-viktorce/ and https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/22/prague-3-day-71-k-cervenemu-dvoru/). It also gets to have *two* tram stops… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 71: K Červenému dvoru
Originally published on Twitter on 3 July 2022. K Červenému dvoru was built in 1925. Červený dvůr (Red Court) is another local settlement that no longer exists. It’s recorded that there were vineyards here as early as the mid-15th century. By the mid-18th century, there was a farming estate called Direktorka. Direktorka was renamed Červený… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 70: Na Viktorce
Originally published on Twitter on 2 July 2022. Na Viktorce was built in 1925. A farming settlement was founded here in 1873. From the end of the nineteenth century onwards, it was owned by one Viktor Kos (1858-1911), hence the name. Kos set up a brickyard here… which now has me playing a game of… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 69: U Staré cihelny
Originally published on Twitter on 1 July 2022. U Staré cihelny was built in 1925. A cihelna is a brickyard, or a brick plant. So this street is ‘at the old brickyard’. This particular brickyard was possibly the one owned by Josef Vacek – see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/20/prague-3-day-57-na-vackove/. Indeed, that brickyard is why the surrounding area was… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 68: Ambrožova
Originally published on Twitter on 30 June 2022. Ambrožova was built in 1932. Ambrož of Hradec, or Ambrož Hradecký, was pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Hradec Králové, until he was banished from the town in 1419 for his Hussite beliefs. In 1420, he founded the Orebites, the Hussites’ followers in Eastern… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 67: Jilmová
Originally published on Twitter on 29 June 2022. Jilmová was built in 1933. Did you really think we were done with the trees? This is one case where the Czech and English words are actually quite similar – a jilm is an elm. Elms have been in Czech territory for 12,000 years, i.e. even longer… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 66: Hořanská
Originally published on Twitter on 28 June 2022. Hořanská was built in 1961. Hořany is a village on the River Elbe in the Nymburk region, first mentioned in writing in 1282. It is probably so called because it’s located on a hill (hora). In 1420, the village was registered by Emperor Sigismund; from 1531-47, it… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 65: Biskupcova
Originally published on Twitter on 27 June 2022. Biskupcova was built in 1930. Mikuláš z Pelhřimova, or Nikolaus von Pelgrims, *or* Mikuláš Biskupec (1385-1459 approx.) was born in, yes, Pelhřimov, but started studying in Prague around 1406. Around this time, he became a devoted follower of Jan Hus. In 1415, he was ordained as a… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 64: Olgy Havlové
Originally published on Twitter on 26 June 2022. Olgy Havlové was built in 2012. I normally try to get a photo where you can actually read the street sign, but isn’t this one awesome despite completely failing on that count? Olga Šplíchalová was born in Žižkov (specifically Vackov) in 1933. In the early 1950s, she… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 63: Rixdorfská
Originally published on Twitter on 25 June 2022. Rixdorfská was built in a very recent 2012. Český Rixdorf, or Böhmisch-Rixdorf, was a community founded by Protestant refugees from Bohemia in 1737. It’s located in what is now the Neukölln district of Berlin. Like other Bohemian Protestants, these exiles left the country as they were being… Continue reading
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What's in a Prague street name 