What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

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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).

  • Prague 2, day 8: Legerova

    Originally published on Twitter on 14 November 2022.

    Legerova was built in 1885 (the other side of the road is in Prague 1, and the street sign pic is from that side).

    It was called Legerova from 1923 to 1940, from 1945 to 1978, and since 1990.

    (also: excellent hat on the other sign)

    Until 1923, it was Táborská – here’s a quick guide to how Tábor was founded: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/01/13/prague-3-day-124-taboritska/

    From 1940 to 1945, it was Havlíčkova. Old Karel still has a square in Prague 3, which I covered here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/26/prague-3-day-122-havlickovo-namesti/

    And, from 1978 to 1990, it was Třída Lidových milicí – Road of the People’s Militia. They were the militia organisation of the communists from 1948 to and 1949 and, unsurprisingly, do not have a street in Prague these days.

    Louis Léger was born in Toulouse in 1843.

    He became a Slavophile, initially mostly into Polish (whose literature was reaching new heights at the time), but also visiting Prague in 1864 and becoming fluent in Czech.

    In 1885, he became professor of Slavic languages ​​and literature at the Collège de France in Paris, where he had also studied.

    He was made an honorary citizen of Prague in 1913.

    In 1923, just before his 80th birthday (and, indeed, his death), the street was named after him in thanks for his support of the Czech national cause.

    I’m going to assume that nobody pronounces ‘Legerova’ the French way, and that anybody who does gets a lot of eye-rolls at parties.

    Legerova contains several impressive buildings – but the one that always impacts me most is derelict. It’s Borůvkovo Sanatorium, a former medical facility, which, in Communist times, was the Prague State Sanatorium.

    It’s most known for being the location where Jan Palach died of his burns on 19 January 1969, just months after a similar act by the Pole Ryszard Siwiec (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/01/13/prague-3-day-127-siwiecova/).

    Also commemorated on the building’s façade is Josef Toufar, a parish priest in the village of Číhošť who was tortured so badly by the secret police that he also died here on 25 February 1950, at the age of 47.

    The reason he was interrogated at all? A cross on the altar moved in an unexplained way during a sermon he gave in 1949, and the Communists wanted to use this apparent miracle to discredit the Church.

    The StB tried to get Toufar to admit that he had orchestrated the incident, which he hadn’t even been told about until a few days after it happened.

    Horrifically, the authorities created a 13-minute film, Běda tomu, skrze něhož přichází pohoršení (‘Woe on he who causes outrage’), to discredit both Toufar and the Church:

    Toufar was meant to appear in the film in a reconstruction, but, already near death, collapsed after one scene was filmed.

    The film was released anyway.

    Toufar was rehabilitated by the Regional Court in Hradec Králové in October 2024: https://english.radio.cz/czech-court-rehabilitates-parish-priest-toufar-tortured-death-stb-8831298.

  • Prague 2, day 7: Na Smetance

    Originally published on Twitter on 13 November 2022.

    Na Smetance was built in 1889.

    Smetanka (translation: ‘Dandelion’) is a homestead and vineyard that used to lie in this spot.

    It’s old enough for it to be unclear when it was built. What we do know is that it housed a pub, and, from 1859, was also the location of the Novoměstské divadlo / New Town Theatre.

    Made of wood, the theatre was the creation of Josef Niklas, a technology professor, who designed it as a replica of the first theatre in Dresden.

    It presented pieces in both Czech and German; as it couldn’t be heated, it generally only operated in the warmer months.

    The theatre was demolished in 1886, and the New German Theatre – now the State Opera – was built in its place. More on that one in a couple of days.

    The photo is taken from the book Divadla a divadelní sály v českých krajích by Alfred Javorin (1949).

    Back to Smetanka, part of the settlement was destroyed in 1871 to make way for Praha hlavní nádraží (the train station).

    The owner, Františka Bachheiblová, started selling the estate off in the 1880s. A few years into the 20th century, Smetanka was no more.

    The most impressive building in the street is probably the kindergarten and elementary school at number 1, built in 1896 as a secondary school.

    A plaque recalls the building’s role in the Battle for Czech Radio (Boj o Český rozhlas) during the Prague Uprising in May 1945, when it was used by the German SS artillery to shell nearby streets.

    Since May 2021, there’s also a plaque to two British soldiers, William Greig and Thomas Vokes.

    They escaped from a prison camp in the Third Reich, hiding in forests in Bohemia and then being helped to get Prague by locals.

    Both joined the battle, fighting in and around Balbínova, keeping patrol near the Czech Radio studios. Grieg also requested Allied assistance on the airwaves.

    On 7 May, Grieg and Vokes, travelling house-to-house via interlinking cellars, managed to reach a house next to the school, where the SS were stationed and causing multiple civilian deaths.

    They pretended to be from a British parachute unit, and told the SS that other British troops were about to arrive in Prague and would liquidate the SS fighters upon their arrival.

    The SS fighters believed this and surrendered, handing their weapons over to the insurgents.

    In May 1945 as in November 2022, then: invading forces are often not that smart and that’s a fact worth taking advantage of.

    Слава Херсону, слава Україні.

  • Prague 2, day 6: Helénská

    Originally published on Twitter on 12 November 2022.

    Helénská was built in 1910.

    Until 1937, this was Doudlebská, after Doudleby, a village in České Budějovice District that was the centre of its region until České Budějovice was founded in 1265.

    The Helénové, meanwhile, are the Hellenes – the inhabitants of Ancient Greece.

    ‘Greece’ itself, as a term, comes not from Greek but from Latin; the Greeks call their country Ελλάδα (Hellada), or, more officially, Ελληνική Δημοκρατία (Helliniki Dimokratia), the Greek Republic. The H is silent in both cases.

    The term is derived from Hellen (Έλλην), a mythological figure.

    His father survived a flood created by Zeus with the purpose of wiping out humanity (I don’t Noah bout you, but this sounds familiar), and Hellen’s three sons founded the Greek race between them.

    This is the only Greek Street in Vinohrady (although there’s an Athénská in Prague 15), so let’s see if there are any famous Greek Czechs.

    Politician Jana Michailidu, who finished fourth in the leadership contest for the Pirate Party in early 2022, is of Greek origin: https://www.pirati.cz/lide/janka-michailidu/ (strong suspicion that link won’t work anymore, given she left the party in November 2024, following her disagreement with the results of a further leadership election).

    Martha and Tena Elefteriadu are a singing duo whose Greek parents settled in Czechoslovakia in 1950. Here they are in 1982, giving their all to a Czech version of Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz:

    And Tena is the mother of successful rapper Ektor:

    It seems that Czech-Greek relations have traditionally been quite calm, except when you put the words ‘Zeman’, ‘speaks’ and ‘debt crisis’ together: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-greece-diplomacy-idAFKBN0U51X620151222/

    Fittingly, the Greek Embassy is on the south-east of the street.

    Flags really like not flying just when you’re trying to take a photo of them, don’t they?

    Finally, I hope nobody takes it badly that the first photo that I think of whenever I think of trips to Greece is this one (hotel breakfast, 2019).

  • Prague 2, day 5: Lichnická

    Originally published on Twitter on 11 November 2022.

    Lichnická was built in 1911.

    It seems we’re not done with the castle ruins just yet – Lichnice is another set, this time located in the Iron Mountains (Železné hory), 15 kilometres south of Chrudim (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/06/24/prague-3-day-177-chrudimska/).

    It was founded by Smil ze Žitavy, a Czech nobleman, in 1250. The name of the hill, Světlice (meaning a brightly burning light), gave the castle its German name, Lichtenburg, which also became the name of the dynasty that Smil founded.

    Only in the 16th century would the Czech name, Lihnice, come into use.

    In 1350, Karel IV stated that the castle was crown property; in 1377, it became a dowry for widowed Czech queens (see also how Hradec Králové got its name: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/06/24/prague-3-day-176-hradecka/).

    Things then followed a pretty familiar pattern: it was conquered by the Hussites in 1421, and besieged by the East Bohemian Orphans (followers of the late Jan Žižka) in 1428.

    (do I have to mark this as a parody of a previous post? just checking)

    A nearby oak tree, 750 years old, is dedicated to Žižka despite his never having been involved in any Lihnice-specific activity, and is called Žižkův dub (Žižka’s Oak).

    The castle was acquired by the Trčka of Lípa family in 1490, who repaired it in late Gothic style.

    In 1637, Ferdinand II set up a military garrison at the castle, which was besieged by the Swedes in 1646. Ferdinand III issued an order to demolish castles in 1649, and Lichnice fell into disrepair. By 1700, it was already classified as a ruin.

    Here’s a painting of the castle from 1914, by Jindřích Prucha.

    Repairs started in 1989, and an observation tower was opened in the north tower in 2017.

    A pretty hardcore-looking festival called Rockfest Lichnice appears to have been a thing in the mid-00s, but the main thing I can find about it is an article from 2005 about how many of the the attendees didn’t bother using the portaloos.

  • Prague 2, day 4: Španělská

    Originally published on Twitter on 10 November 2022.

    Španělská was built in 1895.

    Until 1934, this was Božetěchova, after Božetěch, a Benedictine monk, painter and sculptor who was the last Slavic abbot of the Sázava monastery in the 10th century.

    There’s still a street with this name in Nusle, Prague 4.

    Meanwhile, you might notice that the street was renamed eight years after the other streets of Vinohrady got their Allied country/city-based names.

    Because Spain wasn’t actually an ally – it remained neutral throughout WW1.

    Spain’s neutrality is also why the Spanish flu got its name despite the first case occurring in Kansas.

    The censors in the belligerent countries, feeling there was enough bad news already, banned any reporting about the virus; Spain and its journalists, however, had no such qualms. And inadvertently made it sound like the flu was all Spain’s fault.

    In Spain itself, 1934 was the year of the October 6 events (Fets del sis d’octubre), when Lluis Companys, President of Catalonia, declared Catalonian independence. Cue a military crackdown, arrests and Catalonia losing its autonomy.

    And what of Spaniards of Czech origin?

    Manolo Blahnik, founder of the eponymous (and high-end) shoe brand, was born to a Spanish mother and Czech father in the Canary Islands in 1942. https://manoloblahnik.com/int/

    And Eduardo Propper de Callejon (1895-1972), a diplomat who helped thousands of Jews escape from France during WW2 (and who was the grandfather of Helena Bonham Carter), was the son of a Bohemian Jewish father: https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/propper-de-callejon.html

    And, other than the inevitable ‘robot’, the Czech language has given Spanish the word ‘obús’, meaning ‘artillery shell’ or ‘howitzer’, but it was quite a process to get there.

    The Czech houfnice (catapult) became Haubitze when it it entered German, then underwent serious reduction when it became ‘obus’ in French, and then found its way into Spanish.

    Proving that several languages have the exact opposite attitude to consonants that Czech does.

    I have about a billion photos that I’ve taken in Spain, and I’m going to go with this one (Seville, August 2015).

    Y los hispanohablantes probablemente disfrutarán este artículo de Radio Praga sobre los falsos amigos: https://espanol.radio.cz/las-palabras-traicioneras-del-checo-y-espanol-8156213

    Views from this street are also superb (though you need to stick your phone through the railings).

  • Prague 2, day 3: Kunětická

    Originally published on Twitter on 9 November 2022.

    Kunětická was built in 1911.

    Kunětická hora is the name of both a hill near Pardubice and the ruins of a castle standing on it.

    Traces of fortifications indicate that the hill was already inhabited in prehistoric times.

    Václav Hájek of Libočany’s Chronicle (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-15-hajkova/) – admittedly not seen as a hugely accurate source – states that the hill was named in the 800s by Kunak, a courtier of the mythical Bohemian prince Křesomysl.

    The castle was founded around 1300.

    In 1420, the Hussites gathered a camp here from which they marched to Hradec Králové. Fourteen years later, the castle was given to Diviš Bořek by Emperor Sigismund, following the former’s success at the Battle of Lipany (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/23/prague-3-day-120-lipanska/).

    It was purchased in 1491 by Vilém of Pernštejn, who started renovating it in a Gothic style. Ownership passed within the Pernštejn family until 1560, when debts forced them to sell the the castle to Maximilian II.

    The Swedes burned the castle in 1645; the ruins continued to fall into disrepair despite plans to salvage them.

    Parts of the castle had to be closed in the 1970s, and it didn’t become accessible to the public again until 1993.

    Reconstruction, overseen by the Pardubice Museum Society, was completed in 1996 – 73 years after it had started. It’s now open as a museum.

    This painting from 1819 is by Joann Venuto.

    And there are some great views from the air on https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/landmarks/castles-and-ruins/c-kuneticka-hora-castle.

  • Prague 2, day 2: Dudova

    Originally published on Twitter on 8 November 2022.

    Dudova was built in 2019.

    Josef Duda was born into a military family in Pohořelec in Hradčany in 1905.

    In 1923, he joined the Czechoslovak army, graduating from the Military Academy in Hranice in 1925.

    He then studied at the Military Aviation Academy in Cheb, and at the equivalent institution in Prostějov, where he subsequently worked as a flying instructor and pilot.

    When the Nazis occupied Bohemia and Moravia, Duda escaped to Poland, then to France, where he joined the French Air Force and trained Czech fighters in Chartres.

    Duda left France in 1940, when it became obvious that the Nazis were going to occupy northern and western France; having travelled via Algeria, Morocco and Gibraltar, he arrived in Cardiff in August.

    During his years in the UK, he joined the Royal Air Force, and worked in various locations, most notably the Bristol Flying School for Instructors and the Czechoslovak Inspectorate General.

    He was awarded the CBE for his service in 1947.

    However, he had already returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945, just days after the Prague Uprising.

    When the communists took over in 1948, he was demoted and worked as a manual labourer and driver at the Hanáck Ironworks in Prostějov until the mid-1960s.

    He died in 1977, and was rehabilitated shortly after the Velvet Revolution.

    Since 2020, the 533rd Unmanned Systems Battalion in Prostějov has been named after him, and it’s less than three months since he was reburied there with full ceremony: https://acr.army.cz/informacni-servis/zpravodajstvi/dustojne-misto-posledniho-odpocinku–general-duda-nove-pochovan-na-prostejovskem-mestskem-hrbitove-237870/

    The Battle of Britain London Monument has a page in Duda’s honour: https://bbm.org.uk/airmen/Duda.htm

    (Duda, on the right, in Britain in 1940)

    If you live in Prague 2 or Prague 3, Dudova can be used to exit the main train station without having to go into it or through the park outside it.

    That park is referred to as Sherwood by some locals, and… I’m certainly grateful that this street was built, let’s just say that.

    Cracking views, too.

  • Prague 2, day 1: Italská

    Originally published on Twitter on 7 November 2022.

    Italská was created (though not built) in 1926.

    Italská was formed by joining parts of two other streets – Žižkova (built in 1889 – see multiple Prague 3 posts if you want to learn about Jan Žižka), and Divišova, built in 1884.

    Prokop Diviš (1698-1765) was a canon and scientist who invented one of the first lightning rods.

    Italy, meanwhile, is a Mediterranean country that dresses better than you and can’t believe you have the nerve to cook pasta like that and then go out into society as if you deserve to be part of it.

    (Photo taken by me in Venice in 2015)

    You’re probably already familiar with the fact that many streets round here are named after countries and cities.

    They obtained their names in 1926, four years after Vinohrady (then Královské Vinohrady) had become part of Prague.

    All the countries and cities involved had either fought on the Allied side until the end of WW1, or were / were in places that had come into existence as independent states as a result of said war.

    Interestingly, these streets maintained (or reverted to) these names after WW2, even if the countries in question had become part of The Evil West, or if they’d been on the wrong side during WW2 itself.

    Italská would have been a candidate for renaming on both counts (albeit with the largest communist party in post-war Western Europe).

    The Allied States of WW1 get a much snappier name in Czech – they’re the Státy Dohody (literally ‘states of the Entente’).

    Taking this to the modern day, who are the most famous Czech Italians or Italian Czechs?

    Well, Wonderbra model and, erm, ‘face’ of one of the most iconic images of the 1990s, Eva Herzigová, was born in Litvínov, but is now an Italian citizen.

    Five-time Italian national champion in figure-skating Karel Zelenka was born in Louny, but moved to Italy at the age of six.

    And, in football, there’s Patrizio Stronati, Czech but with an Italian father, who currently plays for Puskás Akadémia and was on the bench in CZ’s game against Wales in March 2021.

    One of the most famous buildings on Italská is the AGEL Polyclinic at number 37, originally called the Železniční nemocnice as it was first established in the 1920s by Czechoslovak State Railways to take care of its employees.

    (pic from http://Firmy.cz)

    It turns out that part of Italská is in Prague 3 and could therefore have been covered in my previous series. But it’s a better thematic fit for this new one.

    I mentioned earlier that Vinohrady became part of Prague in the 1920s, specifically on 1 January 1922.

    As did Břevnov, Dejvice, Karlín, Košíŕe, Liboc, Nusle, Smíchov, Vokovice and Žižkov.

    Quite a day.

    Pic from https://prahapress.cz/praha/velka-praha-1922-1939.html

  • Prague 3, day 1, version 2.0: Hartigova

    Originally published on Twitter on 2 October 2023, one day after the street, formerly Koněvova (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/18/prague-3-day-1-konevova/) , was officially renamed.

    Karel Hartig was born in Sedlčany, near Příbram, in 1833, and trained as a bricklayer, working, amongst other places, on the George of Poděbrady / Jiří z Poděbrad barracks, which we now know better as the Palladium shopping centre.

    In 1865, he married one Amálie Stomeová, whose parents owned a good bit of land, including the farmstead described here: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-13-prazacka/.

    Hartig bought these up, as well as neighbouring land, building houses on what was then the Vienna Road (Vídeňská cesta). This is considered to be the moment at which Žižkov was founded.

    In 1869 – 500 years after the birth of Jan Hus – Hartig had a flagpole placed on Vítkov Hill – a deed which got him a ten-day prison sentence, ultimately quashed on appeal.

    In 1875, Royal Vinohrady (Královské Vinohrady) split into two – Královské Vinohrady I (today’s Žižkov) and II (today’s Vinohrady). Hartig became the first mayor of the former in 1876 (it officially became known as Žižkov a year later).

    In 1878, the Civic Credit Union, which Hartig had founded, went bankrupt, an event which would ultimately force Hartig to resign his position (and move to Vinohrady).

    However, in 1882, he was responsible for the creation of a monument to Jan Žižka on Vítkov Hill (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/04/prague-3-day-106-u-pamatniku/).

    And, if you haven’t already guessed, it was Hartig who was behind the naming of so many of the streets round here after Hussites (insert any number of links to previous posts here).

    But what’s really interesting is that Hartig was the first to decide that street signs should be in the national colours, red and white. An idea which eventually spread to the whole of Prague.

    As of yesterday, my gym, favourite barista, nearest tram stop and potraviny that I always have to go to to pick up packages are no longer in a street named after a Soviet general who didn’t give a toss about the Czechs. This is a good thing.

  • Prague 3, day 193: Dagmar Burešové

    Originally published on Twitter on 17 May 2023.

    Dagmar Burešové was definitely built in 2022 but only given a street sign in the last month in the spring of 2023.

    Dagmar Kubištová was born in Prague in 1929. Her father was a lawyer, and the entire family was strongly anti-communist.

    In 1950, she married a paediatrician, Radim Bureš, and moved to his family’s villa in Střešovice. Two years later, she graduated from Charles University’s Faculty of Law.

    Specialising in labour law, she represented people who had been prosecuted by the communists, including Milan Kundera and, most famously, Libuše Palachová, mother of Jan Palach: https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/clanek/domaci/palachovu-matku-jsem-hodiny-ubezpecovala-o-vyznamu-janova-cinu-rikala-dagmar-buresova-71265

    This went down somewhat predictably with the authorities, who confiscated Burešová’s passport and hindered her daughter’s education.

    After the Velvet Revolution, Burešová became Minister of Justice, holding the role until the first free elections in June 1990.

    If you scroll to 5:57, you can see her explaining the meaning of Havel’s general amnesty to the nation on New Year’s Day 1990:

    During her tenure, she advocated for the presidents of the nine regional courts, initiated the release of private letters written by Milada Horáková, and tried to push for the publication of names of those who had served in the StB.

    From 1990 to 1992, she was chair of the Czech National Council; she also ran in the senate elections in 1996 (in Prague 4), ultimately losing to the ODS candidate.

    From 1998 to 2003, she was the chairwoman of the Czech-German Fund for the Future (Česko-německý fond budoucnosti), whose projects aim to build links between the two countries: https://www.fondbudoucnosti.cz/

    Bedridden after a fall in 2010, Burešová died in 2018, aged 88 and still living in the same Střešovice villa that she had moved into in 1950: https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/dagmar-buresova-smrt-jan-palach_1807021059_sam

    Meanwhile, the law practice that she ran until 1989 continues to be run by her daughter, Zuzana Špitálská: https://www.akspitalska.cz/

    Hořící keř (Burning Bush), a three-part HBO mini-series directed by legendary Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, was produced in 2013 and is based on Burešova’s defence of Libuše Palachová.

    It’s still available to stream on HBO.

  • Prague 3, day 192: Orlická

    Originally published on Twitter on 1 November 2022.

    Orlická was built in 1911.

    The Orlické (‘Eagle’) Mountains are in north-east Bohemia; they’re named after the river Orlice, a tributary of the Elbe.

    Part of one of the Orlice’s own tributaries, Divoká Orlice (Wild Eagle), forms the Czech-Polish border.

    The three highest peaks in the range are Velká Deštná (1,116 m), Koruna (1,101 m) and Malá Deštná (1,090 m).

    The majority of the range has been a Protected Landscape Area since 1969.

    Popular spots for visitors include the Zemská brána nature reserve and nature trail, ruins of two castles (Litice and Potštejn), and the Hanička, an artillery fort that was secretly converted into a nuclear bunker in the 1970s.

  • Prague 3, day 191: Velehradská

    Originally published on Twitter on 31 October 2022.

    Velehradská was built around 1860.

    Until 1896, the street was called U židovského hřbitova (At the Jewish Cemetery), as, until 1890, what is now Mahlerovy sady (which includes the Žižkov Television Tower) hosted the cemetery until it was moved (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/28/prague-3-day-99-izraelska/) due to overcrowding.

    Velehrad, meanwhile, is a village in the Uherské Hradiště District (Zlín Region), with a population of 1,100.

    Early mentions of the village are quite confusing – the name appears in 1141, but actually relates to Staré Město, a town about 5 km from Actual Current Velehrad.

    Vladislav Jindřich, Margrave of Moravia, built a Cistercian monastery in the area in 1205.

    (In brief, Cistercians are Catholic monks known for their commitment to manual labour)

    In the least surprising news of all time, the Moravian Hussites burned the monastery down in 1421. It was almost 200 years before it was restored.

    A restoration which was followed by the monastery being ravaged by Transylvanian troops in 1623, then Wallachian ones in 1626.

    Reconstructed in the 1700s, it was closed in 1784 as part of Joseph II’s reforms.

    It was acquired by the Jesuits in 1890, although their activities there were terminated in 1950 as part of Akce K (the communists’ campaign against monasteries).

    The Communists liquidated the monastery and send the Jesuits to ‘concentration monasteries’.

    They returned in 1990; John Paul II paid a visit in the same year.

    The most famous part of the monastery is the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saints Cyril and Methodius / Bazilika Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a svatého Cyrila a Metoděje.

    Consecrated in 1228, it’s been one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country since the 19th century.

    Every July – on the 6th and the 7th – the National Pilgrimage takes place here, commemorating the arrival of Cyril, Methodius and Christianity in the Czech Lands.

    I was looking for footage of the 2022 pilgrimage, but came across some incredible colour footage from the 1940 pilgrimage instead. Sadly, it’s now disappeared from YouTube.

    Velehrad has also given its name to a charity in London whose chief objective is ‘provision of relief, whether financial or otherwise, and assistance of needy migrants from former Czechoslovakia’: http://en.velehrad.org.uk/intro/

  • Prague 3, day 190: Milešovská

    Originally published on Twitter on 30 October 2022.

    Milešovská was built in 1896.

    Milešovka, 837 metres high, is the highest peak in the České Středohoří, the Central Bohemian Uplands, in northern Bohemia.

    Bronze objects and ceramics from the Bronze Age have been found near the mountain; they suggest there was a mountain cult of sorts.

    The mountain’s name is first mentioned in 1521, named after the village of Milešov.

    Its German name, Donnersberg, means ‘Thunder Mountain’ and came about after the region became increasingly Germanised after the Thirty Years’ War.

    By the 19th century, the mountain had become a popular spot for tourists, helped by the existence of spas in Teplice.

    (Painting from 1808 by Caspar David Friedrich)

    Famous Germans who climbed it include Goethe, Friedrich Wilhelm III and Alexander von Humboldt, who described the view as the third most beautiful in Europe (no idea what one or two were, of if this was actually a putdown of the ‘you’re my second best friend’ variety).

    Karel Hynek Mácha also climbed the mountain shortly before his death in 1836.

    Milešovka remains a popular destination for tourists. It has a lookout tower, built in 1905, from which meteorological observations take place: https://www.ufa.cas.cz/struktura-ustavu/oddeleni-meteorologie/observatore/milesovka/

    It’s also the windiest spot in the entire country; one day in January 1967 was so windy that it was off the chart of the mountain’s measuring instrument.

    Virtual views from Milešovka – covering all four seasons – can be seen at https://prohlidky.virtualvisit.cz/milesovka/.

  • Prague 3, day 189: Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad

    Originally published on Twitter on 29 October 2022.

    Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad was built in 1896.

    It was called Krále Jiřího (King George) until 1948, and it’s fften known as Jiřák if you’re Czech, often known as J-zee-P if you’re a foreigner (guilty, and I’m from a country where we say ‘zed’).

    George of Poděbrady / Jiří z Poděbrad was born in 1420; his father was the Hussite warrior Viktorín z Poděbrad, who we can assume was away from home a lot during those early years and died in 1427.

    (Pic of dad below)

    JzP took part in the battle of Lipany (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/23/prague-3-day-120-lipanska/) at the age of 14; in his late teens, he joined the so-called ‘Polish party’ which was strongly opposed to a Habsburg taking the throne.

    He became a governor in the Boleslav region in 1440, and became head of the East Bohemian Utraquists in 1444.

    In 1448, when Bohemia was strongly divided between Hussites and Catholics, JzP marched on Prague, conquering the capital easily. A civil war followed, but Jiří won this without major difficulties.

    In 1451, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III recognised Jiří as governor of Bohemia. The Czech nobility did the same at St. George’s Diet in Prague the following year.

    When Ladislav Pohrobek (Ladislaus the Posthumous) died in 1457, it was clear to everyone that having a Catholic king ruling a largely Hussite population was not the easiest.

    It wasn’t revealed until 500 years later that Ladislav had died of leukaemia; rumours spread saying that JzP or his wife Johana had poisoned him.

    In 1458, the Czech estates elected JzP king. He proved to be a pragmatic ruler, earning the respect of both the Hussites and the Catholics.

    His rule was based on the Compacta of Prague, which promised religious tolerance. However, in 1462, Pope Pius II decided to cancel the Compacts.

    JzP suggested a solution which kind of preempted the EU: he proposed a treaty of all Christian powers, whereby all these countries would settle their previous differences.

    Rome rejected this, as did Louis XI of France.

    In 1465, the Catholic nobility, at Zelená Hora, formed an anti-Jiří alliance, which Pope Paul II encouraged.

    In 1466, Paul ordered that JzP be deposed. The Bohemian War ensued, with Jiří putting the Zelena Horá alliance down in 1468, and then dealing with an attack by Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, a former son-in-law.

    Matthias was declared King of Bohemia by the Catholic nobility in Olomouc in 1469, but the Hussite nobility refused to accept this.

    JzP and Matthias reached an agreement whereby, in the case of the former’s death, he would be succeeded by a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/02/26/prague-3-day-154-jagellonska/).

    This would come into effect in 1471, when Jiří died and was succeeded by Vladimir Jagellonský.

    The distinctive church on the square is the Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord, by Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik.

    The square is also the location of some very good markets.

    Insider tip: on Thursdays, there’s an Armenian stall on Thursdays that not only serves an excellent kebab, but may also happen to sell you very strong red wine when all you asked for was pomegranate juice.

    A tough afternoon at work followed.

    Paintings within this post are by Czech painter Adolf Liebscher (1857-1919).

  • Prague 3, day 188: Laubova

    Originally published on Twitter on 28 October 2022.

    Laubova was built in 1896.

    Nikki Lauba (1949-2019) was a Formula One driver from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.

    No, sorry, wait.

    Until 1952, the street was called Vilímovská, possibly after a vineyard. There’s a street with the same name in Dejvice.

    Ferdinand Laub was born in 1832 on Újezd, the son of a famous (and brilliantly named) music teacher, Erasmus Laub.

    He first performed on the violin in a pub on Václavské náměstí at the age of six; his first solo concert, at Stavovské divadlo, took place when he was ten.

    After studying at Prague Conservatory (where his graduation performance was attended by Berlioz and Liszt), he toured both the Czech Lands and Germany, before becoming a soloist in Vienna’s theatre orchestra.

    In 1851, he played at the inaugural Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace, London. Tours around Europe ensued, although health issues meant that this wasn’t always easy for him.

    From 1855 to 1862, he was a professor at the Stern’sches Konservatorium in Berlin; in 1866, he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where he befriended Tchaikovsky (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/01/14/prague-3-day-135-cajkovskeho/).

    Chronic lung and liver disease forced him to abandon this position in 1874; he died in the following year, when on the way to a spa in South Tyrol.

    He was 43.

    ČT made this documentary about Lauba in 2017: https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/11780457224-ceske-houslove-legendy/217522162500006/

  • Prague 3, day 187: Korunní

    Originally published on Twitter on 27 October 2022.

    Korunní was built in 1889.

    From 1956 to 1990, this was Wilhelma Piecka, after Wilhelm Pieck, first president of the GDR from 1949 until his death in 1960 (i.e. this is a rare case of somebody getting a street named after them during their lifetime).

    The rest of the time, it’s been Crown Street. Not named after the Czech currency, achievements in dentistry or that show about some island on Netflix.

    It’s specifically named after the Crown of St Wenceslas, made for the coronation of Karel IV.

    The crown was made in 1346, which puts it in the unique position of being something that I’ve mentioned in this series that wasn’t made by Přemysl Otakar II.

    It was declared the property of the nation as a whole, not just of the King.

    It’s held at the St. Wenceslas Chapel at St Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, and doesn’t get brought out very often at all; indeed, its exact location is not known by the public.

    There are seven locks that need unlocking before you can access it. The owners of these locks are currently Jan Graubner, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Miloš Vystrčil, Miloš Zeman, Petr Fiala, Václav Malý and Zdeněk Hřib, and there’s a prize if you can name their positions.

    The last outing was (I think) in 2016, on the 700th anniversary of the birth of Karel IV; the next one will presumably be next year, when we’ll have a new president: https://www.metro.cz/praha/narozeniny-cisare-karla-iv-pripomene-vystava-korunovacnich-klenotu.A160503_185804_praha-metro_lupo

    Here’s a video of Zeman two months after his inauguration in 2013. You’re welcome, especially for the comments:

    The crown has 96 precious stones and is made of 21-22 carat gold. I really don’t know my carats, but I do know this makes it 3-4 carats better than the gold that Madonna sang about not needing in ‘Express Yourself’.

    The first person to be crowned with it was Karel IV, in 1347; the last one was Ferdinand I of Austria (who was also Ferdinand V of Bohemia) in 1835.

    Legend has it that anybody who puts the crown on their head without being entitled to will die within a year.

    There’s a totally unsubstantiated story that Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, who was assassinated in June 1942, put the crown on in November 1941: https://plus.rozhlas.cz/stala-se-legenda-o-svatovaclavske-korune-osudnou-i-reinhardu-heydrichovi-6510339

    Counterpoint: he was assassinated because he was a c**t.

    Wikipedia has some great photos of the crown, courtesy of one K. Pacovský: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Crown_of_Saint_Wenceslas

  • Prague 3, day 186: U Vodárny

    Originally published on Twitter on 26 October 2022.

    U Vodárny was built in 1885.

    It was known as Gebauerova from 1940 to 1945, after Jan Gebauer (1838-1907), one of the most important Czech linguists.

    He famously exposed the Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and Zelená Hora (which I really hope I get to write about one day) as a hoax in 1886.

    ‘U Vodárny’, meanwhile, means ‘At the waterworks’, and is named after the Vinohrady Water Tower.

    Side note: yesterday morning, when I took this pic, was glorious.

    The water tower was built in 1882, based on a design by the architect Antonín Turek (1861-1916), in a Neo-Renaissance style.

    It was a reaction to the increasing population and industrialisation of the area.

    Until 1912, the water came from the Vltava; after that it originated in a waterworks in Káraný, a village in Prague-East.

    Until 1962, the waterworks provided H2O to Vinohrady, but also, at different times, to Žižkov, Strašnice, Vršovice, Pankrác, Nusle and Braník.

    Which feels quite appropriate, given that the tower lies at the border of three Prague districts (Prague 2, Prague 3 and Prague 10).

    There used to be a lookout tower here, from which you could see the Krkonoše mountains on a good day, but it hasn’t been accessible to the public for years.

    After 1962, the tower was converted into a residential area, which may be the only reason why we still have it today.

    There are current plans to turn the waterworks into the ‘Hydropolis Centre’ – an education space teaching the public about drinking water, and also containing spaces for leisure. http://hydropolis-praha.cz

    A rather swish-looking video showing plans for Hydropolis – which should be opened in 2024 – is here:

  • Prague 3, day 185: Nitranská

    Originally published on Twitter on 25 October 2022.

    Nitranská was built in 1889.

    Nitra, located 95 km east of Bratislava, is the fifth-largest city in Slovakia, with a population of 79,000.

    It’s also the oldest Slovak city, first mentioned in 828, but archeological items found there have been dated back more than 25,000 years.

    A major Celtic settlement from the 5th century BC onwards, the town was subsequently occupied by the Romans (1st-4th centuries), and the Germanic Quadi, whose capital it may have been.

    The first Slavs arrived around the year 500. In the 8th century, the city became the centre of the Principality of Nitra.

    In 833, Nitra joined the Great Moravian Empire, and occupied a larger territory than it does now; in 880, the first Christian bishopric in Slovakia was founded here.

    Nitra later became part of Hungary, surviving a Mongol invasion in 1241, and also being damaged by Přemysl Otakar II (of ‘everything’ fame) in 1271-2.

    Having become a royal town in 1248 under Béla IV, Nitra lost this privilege in 1288.

    Subsequent centuries weren’t much calmer – the Hussites attacked in the 15th century, and the Ottomans conquered the castle in 1663.

    Nitra was burned down in anti-Habsburg fighting in 1708.

    Following the 1848 Revolutions, it was given the right to self-government.

    From 1883 to 1919, Nitra – which had as many Hungarians as it did Slovaks at the time – was the seat of FEMKE, the Upper Hungarian Magyar Educational Association, an NGO whose basic aim was to make Slovaks speak (and be) Hungarian instead.

    In 2008, the (probable) remains of Jozef Tiso, leader of the First Slovak Republic and Nazi collaborator, were reburied at the Catholic Cathedral in Nitra: https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-svet/v-nitre-pohrbili-ostatky-prezidenta-valecneho-slovenskeho-statu-tisa_200810302252_mhromadka

    Since the Velvet Revolution, Nitra has produced several successful rock bands, of which the most well-known are Horkýže Slíže and Desmod.

    I’m terribly ashamed* to say that I remember reading that the Cheese House, located in Nitra, inspired the design of the UK Big Brother house in 2007: https://www.archiweb.cz/b/polyfunkcny-dom-cheese-house

    * I’m not ashamed at all

  • Prague 3, day 184: Řipská

    Originally published on Twitter on 24 October 2022.

    Řipská was built in 1889.

    Říp is a hill, 461 metres high, located just south of Roudnice nad Labem, in the Ústí Region.

    According to legend, Forefather Čech (Praotec Čech) arrived here with his people and climbed the hill.

    He then told his brothers that this was the promised land.

    According to the Chronicle of Dalimil (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/10/prague-3-day-114-dalimilova/), his words were:

    “Zemi máme po své vůli.
    Budou nám z ní plné stoly
    zvěři, ptáků, ryb, včel dosti,
    proti nepřátelům pevná dosti    “.

    Rough translation:

    “We have a country at our will.
    Our tables will always be full
    (It has) enough beasts, birds, fishes and bees
    And enough hardness against enemies”.

    His brother Lech, meanwhile, went further east, and founded Poland.

    Some versions of the tale state that the main reason Čech was fleeing was because he had been accused of murder.

    The legend of Říp was revived by Václav Hájek z Libočan (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-15-hajkova/) in his notoriously ‘inventive’ Czech Chronicle.

    The Romanesque St. George’s Rotunda, on top of the hill, is one of the oldest buildings in the country, first mentioned in writing in 1128.

    There’s a sign near the rotunda that says ‘Co Mohamedu Mekka, to Čechu Říp’ – i.e. Říp is to the Czechs what Mecca is to a Muslim.

    Říp became a popular pilgrimage site; on 10 May 1868, 20,000 people demonstrated there, an event inspired by similar demonstrations in occupied Ireland.

    On that day, a stone was taken from Říp which would later become the cornerstone of the National Theatre in Prague: https://dvojka.rozhlas.cz/prvni-tabor-lidu-na-ripu-pochazi-odtud-i-kamen-do-zakladu-narodniho-divadla-8481960

    Meanwhile, on this dark Monday morning, my OCD mind is asking itself why it’s Říp with an í but not Řipská with one.

  • Prague 3, day 183: Perunova

    Originally published on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    Perunova was built in 1889.

    Perun is a Slavic god and quite the multitasker, being the god of the sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees.

    He’s analogous to Thor and Mars.

    There are multiple potential origins for his name – for example, ‘perti’ is an old Slavic verb meaning ‘to beat’, and there’s an analogous Baltic god called Perkūnas whose name means ‘oak tree’.

    Perun is first mentioned in the sixth century, though not by name – in his History of the Wars, Procopius states that a South Slavic tribe regarded the ‘creator of lightning’ as their lord.

    The Nestor Chronicle, or the Rus’ Primary Chronicle, composed in Kyiv around 1113, states that Perun was the divine guarantor for multiple treaties between Kievan Rus’ and the Byzantine Empire between 907 and 971.

    When Volodymyr the Great became Grand Prince of Kyiv and ruler of Kievan Rus’ in 980, he erected statues to five pagan gods, including Perun, at his palace. He got rid of them (quite brutally) when he converted to Christianity eight years later.

    Place names which are possibly named after Perun include the Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria, the village of Perná in Břeclav district, and the Austrian village of Parndorf.

    Surnames stemming from his name include Peruničić (in Montenegrin) and Perunovski (in Macedonian).

    Meanwhile, in Slovak, Perun is known as both Perún and Parom; ‘Parom te trestal!’ (‘Parom punished you!’) is used as a curse, as is ‘Do paroma’.

    There’s also the Polish ‘idź do pioruna’ (‘Go to Perun / Go to hell’).

    It’s been reported that the Azov Regiment worships Perun, lighting a fire, asking Perun to bless their weapons, and then walking over the embers.

    Here’s a video of the Azov Regiment erecting a statue of Perun in Mariupol: