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Prague 3, day 22: Zelenky Hajského
Zelenky Hajského was built, with a different name (see later), in 1908. Jan Zelenka (1895-1942), born in Kamenný Újezd, but spending most of his life in Prague, was a primary school teacher, and, later, member of the Czech resistance in WW2. From 1925, he worked in a newly-built school in Háj u Duchcova, where he… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 21: Černínova
Originally posted on Twitter on 14 May 2022. Černínova was built before 1875. Diviš Černín z Chudenic (1565-1621) was a member of the Czernin family, one of the most prominent in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Diviš presumably converted to Catholicism to further his career, and became a commander (hejtman) at Prague Castle, maintaining the role… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 20: Ostromečská
Originally published on Twitter on 13 May 2022. Ostromečská was built in 1896. Ostromeč is a former castle, located north of the village of Hrazany in the Příbram district. Its foundations were laid in 1424 under the Hussite leadership of Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice. It was raided and demolished just four years later, but was… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 19: Rokycanova
Originally posted on Twitter on 12 May 2022. Rokycanova was built before 1875. Jan Rokycana, or John of Rokycany (c. 1390 to 1471), was a priest, archbishop and chief organiser in the Hussite church. He entered the Augustinian monastery in his hometown in his youth, then moved to Prague to study at Charles University and… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 18: Chlumova
Originally published on Twitter on 11 May 2022. We’ve reached the western end of Koněvova, so now we’re crossing the road and it’s time for Chlumova, built in 1872. Jan Kepka z Chlumu / John of Chlum (date of birth unknown) came from the Česká Lípa region (the modern village of Chlum has 259 inhabitants).… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 17: Tachovské náměstí
Originally published on 10 May 2022. Tachovské náměstí / Tachov Square, which has had this name since 1958. It’s home to the southern entrance to Žižkov Tunnel. Between 1875 and 1958, it was Žižkovo náměstí / Žižkov Square. There’s now another square called that instead, 800 metres away. The Battle of Tachov took place in… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 16: Lukášova
Originally posted on Twitter on 9 May 2022. Lukášova was built in 1875 or before. It’s named after Lukáš Pražský / Luke of Prague. Lukáš (d. 1528) was a bishop of the Unitas Fratrum (Jednota bratrská), otherwise known as the Moravian Church. He joined the UF shortly after graduating from Charles University in 1481, and… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 15: Hájkova
Originally published on Twitter on 8 May 2022. Hájkova was built in 1908. Václav Hájek z Libočan – or, if you prefer, Wenceslaus Hájek of Libočany (died 1553) was a chronicler and author of the Czech Chronicle (Kronika česká, 1541). Originally a Protestant, he converted to Catholicism in 1521; from 1524, he worked as a… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 14: Domažlická
Originally posted on Twitter on 7 May 2022. Domažlická was built in 1904, which counts as old compared to what we’ve covered so far. Domažlice, population 11,000, is a town in the Plzeň region, converted into a fortified royal town in 1265 by Otakar II of Bohemia. Its German name is Taus. At the Battle… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 13: Pražačka
Originally posted on Twitter on 6 May 2022. Pražačka was built in 1947. It’s named after *another* farmstead (and vineyard) that no longer exists. The origin of the name ‘Pražačka’ isn’t clear, but original maps list the name as ‘Brasatscha’ – so, surprisingly, the name probably doesn’t have anything to do with ‘Praha’. The vineyard… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 12: Pod Krejcárkem
Originally published on Twitter on 5 May 2022. Pod Krejcárkem was built in 1962, and translates as ‘Under Krejcárek’. Krejcárek was an emergency colony (i.e. a residential area, akin to a shanty town, built to deal with a large influx of workers moving to Prague). It was established as a garden centre in 1922 (when… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 11: Na Ohradě
Originally published on Twitter on 4 May 2022. Built in 1975, Na Ohradě the newest street that I’ve written about to date. Like yesterday’s Vápenka, Ohrada is a former homestead, founded somewhere around the year 1400, and containing a large vineyard. An ohrada is a fence, a barrier or an enclosure. Presumably there was one… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 10: Na Vápence
Originally published on 3 May 2022. Na Vápence was built in 1925. Vápenka translates as ‘lime works’ or ‘limekiln’; it was also the name of a farmstead lying where the street is now. Presumably there was formerly a limestone quarry in the area, hence the name of the settlement. Apparently it stretched across Židovské pece… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 9: Za Žižkovskou vozovnou
Originally published on Twitter on 2 May 2022. Za Žižkovskou vozovnou was built in 1925. The name is fairly unambiguous this time: ‘behind Žižkov Depot’. Vozovna Žižkov / Žižkov Depot is one of Prague’s seven tram depots, and the second-oldest, as it was built in 1912. It’s the only depot to have a circular track… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 8: Na Hlídce
Originally published on Twitter on 1 May 2022. Na Hlídce was built in 1925. It’s the same story as yesterday’s: when this area of Prague (Balkán) was urbanised after World War I, many of the inhabitants were state employees and the street name reflected their jobs. Na hlídce means ‘on watch’ or ‘on guard’. The… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 7: Strážní
Originally posted on Twitter on 30 April 2022. Strážní was built in 1925. It’s also the name of a nearby tram stop. The area to the north-east of here (and immediately north of all the streets we’ve covered so far) is known as ‘Balkán’. It wasn’t urbanised until after World War I and most of… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 6: Hraniční
Originally published on Twitter on 29 April 2022. Hraniční was built in 1925. ‘Border Street’ is so called because it lies on the border between the districts of Žižkov and Vysočany. I’m very much guilty of assuming that Praha 3 = Žižkov and Žižkov alone, but no, it’s got parts of Vinohrady, Vysočany and Strašnice… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 5: Šikmá
Originally posted on Twitter on 28 April 2022. Šikmá was built in 1930. This street heads north-west off of Koněvova, whereas the streets we’ve covered so far point north-east. So it’s appropriate that ‘šikmý’ is an adjective that translates as ‘oblique’, ‘slanting’ or ‘inclined’. The most famous thing that uses the adjective is not this… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 4: Na Vrcholu
Originally published on Twitter on 27 April 2022, when I’d just tested positive for COVID. This may get mentioned a couple of times. ‘Na vrcholu’, built in 1962, means ‘at the top’. You would think this was the top of something quite momentous. But it seems it’s just at the top of Koněvova. This isn’t… Continue reading
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Prague 3, day 3: K Lučinám
Originally posted on Twitter on 26 April 2022. K Lučinám was built in 1962. Like ‘luka’, a ‘lučina’ is a meadow, but the word is archaic enough to not even appear on Seznam Slovník. But it does appear in the Czech national anthem: ‘voda hučí po lučinách’ (water streams across the meadows), otherwise knows as… Continue reading
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What's in a Prague street name 