What's in a Prague street name

Every street in Prague, one by one.

recent posts (search bar on main page for about a gazillion more)

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 3, day 121: Miličova

    Originally published on Twitter on 21 August 2022. Also, this was actually day 120, and Lipanská, which I’ve posted as day 120, was actually day 121. Like any of this matters.

    Miličova was built before 1875.

    Milíč z Kroměříže was born around 1325 in Tečovice, and was educated in Olomouc.

    From 1358 to 1362, he worked in the royal office, going from registrar to proofreader to notary in this time.

    In 1362, he became a canon at Prague Cathedral, but became a lay preacher the year after.

    He predicted that the Antichrist would take over the government, and that it would take the form of Karel IV. As it wasn’t possible to simply ban him from Twitter for spreading this information (what with it being 1366), he got put in prison.

    In 1372, he founded a preacher’s school and a refuge for penitent prostitutes in the Old Town and called it Jerusalem.

    He served Eucharist at every mass – this was unique, as the laity elsewhere only received Eucharist once a year. The practice would become increasingly popular in Bohemia in the late 14th century.

    Somewhat inevitably, he was accused of heresy. He went to Avignon in 1374 to defend himself. His defence was a success, but he died shortly afterwards and is buried there.

  • Prague 3, day 120: Lipanská

    Originally published on Twitter on 22 August 2022.

    Lipanská was built before 1875.

    The Battle of Lipany, also known as the Battle of Český Brod, was fought on 30 May 1434.

    On one side, you had the Táborites (radical Hussites), led by Prokop the Great (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/24/prague-3-day-80-prokopovo-namesti/), and the similarly radical Sirotci (Orphans), led by Jan Čapek ze Sán. This was the more experienced side.

    On the other side, you had the moderate Hussites, AKA the Utraquists or Calixtinists (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/28/prague-3-day-100-kalisnicka/), led by Diviš Bořek z Miletínka, in coalition with the Catholics. This was the side with a numerical advantage.

    When shelling between the two sides’ wagon forts began, the Coalition feigned confusion and started to retreat. The Radicals became convinced that victory was theirs – until the Coalition started to fire at them.

    The Coalition entered the Radicals’ camp, and the Orphans fled to nearby Kolín. A massacre ensued, with the Radicals suffering 1,300 deaths, including that of Prokop, versus 200 deaths for the Coalition.

    The Orphans largely ceased to exist. In 1436, the Compacts of Basel were signed (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-94-basilejske-namesti/), allowing Hussite priests to administer wine to laymen during the Eucharist. Shortly afterwards, all major factions acknowledged Zikmund Lucemburský as King of Moravia.

    The last significant Táborite, Jan Roháč z Dubé (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/25/prague-3-day-81-rohacova/) was hanged in 1437 after refusing to recognise Zikmund. The Hussite Wars were officially over.

    Moderate Hussites would constitute the majority of the Czech population for approximately two centuries, until the Thirty Years’ War.

  • Prague 3, day 119: Cimburkova

    Originally published on Twitter on 20 August 2022.

    Cimburkova was built before 1875.

    Ctibor Tovačovský z Cimburka was born around 1437. His father, Jan Tovačovský z Cimburka, was a supporter of the Hussites and also governor of Moravia from 1437 to 1460 (and has his own street at https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-87-tovacovskeho/).

    Upon his father’s death in 1464, Ctibor was appointed a court judge in Moravia. A supporter of Jiří z Poděbrady, he led an unsuccessful crusade in Silesia in 1466, and his army was also defeated at Olomouc in 1468.

    In 1469, when Jiří’s son was captured, Ctibor was appointed governor of Moravia in his place.

    He was also Supreme Chancellor of the Kingdom of Bohemia from 1471 to 1479.

    In 1480, he wrote the first Moravian law book, Kniha Tovačovská, outlining the system of Moravian law and the division of society.

    He also reconstructed the Tovačov fortress in 1492, with its tower being the oldest Renaissance building north of the Alps.

    He died, childless, in 1494; his cousin, also childless, died in 1502, meaning the Cimburka family ceased to exist.

    Confession: I have no intention of stopping these tweets like, ever, but I have significant Hussite Fatigue right now.

  • Prague 3, day 118: Štítného

    Originally published on Twitter on 19 August 2022.

    Štítného was built before 1875.

    Tomáš Štítný ze Štítného was born into the lower nobility at the  Štítná fortress (now part of Žirovnice, Vysočina Region) around 1333.

    He moved to Prague to study at the Art Faculty of Charles University, where he became acquainted with reform preachers and started his literary activities.

    In the 1350s, he returned to Štítný, but settled in Prague again in 1381 after the death of his wife, and became one of the first writers to use the local vernacular.

    He wrote the Klementinum Codex, which prescribed some of the essential practices of Christianity and daily life. He is often regarded as the first person to teach the science of ethics in Bohemia.

    While he slightly predated the Hussite movement, his thoughts – including his opposition to excessive worshipping of saints and veneration of relics – certainly became a major influence on it.

  • Prague 3, day 117: Blahníkova

    Originally published on Twitter on 18 August 2022.

    Blahníkova was built in 1883.

    Until 1952, this was Švihovského, named after Půta Švihovský (died 1504), a Bohemian nobleman who was the highest regional judge of the Kingdom of Bohemia for 25 years.

    According to German Wikipedia, he was a bit of a prick, though, and – rather incoherently given where his street was – a hater of Hussites.

    Vojtěch Kristián Blahník (1888-1934), meanwhile, was a theatre historian and critic.

    After dropping his studies in mechanical engineering, he spent 1907 to 1909 working as a teacher in his native Pardubice region, before moving to Prague and becoming an editor.

    His connection to the theatre was strengthened by his marriage to Růžena Wenigová, sister of the writer Adolf Wenig and stage and costume designer Josef Wenig.

    After WWI, he became head of the library at the Ministry of National Defense. He also contributed to several newspapers, wrote several books, and lectured on the history of theatre at the Prague Conservatory.

    In nearby Štítného street (coming to Twitter… tomorrow, actually), he directed at the Masaryk Hall, where Jára Cimrman’s Žižkov Theatre is now located.

    In 1934, Blahník shot himself in Litoměřice. He was 45.

  • Prague 3, Day 116: Krásova

    Originally published on Twitter on 17 August 2022.

    Krásova was built in 1885.

    Jan Krása was a merchant from Prague, who was an alderman for the New Town from 1390 to 1413.

    A fervent supporter of Jan Hus, he was one of the leaders of an uprising in Wrocław in 1418, where seven councillors were killed by local craftsmen.

    On 1 March 1420, a papal bull was published by Pope Martin V, ordering Sigismund of Luxembourg, who had become King of Bohemia in 1419, to launch a crusade again the Hussites.

    On the 15th, Sigismund sentenced Krása to death in Wrocław. He was burned at the stake.

    Conflict between the Hussites and Catholics, already at war since the previous year, accelerated, with the Battle of Vítkov Hill taking place less than three months later.

    Material on Krása is relatively thin in the ground – his only Wikipedia page is in Polish, and consists of three sentences. But he gets a pretty long street, so, you know, swings and roundabouts.

  • Prague 3, day 115: Husinecká

    Originally published on Twitter on 16 August 2022.

    Husinecká was built in 1889.

    In 1898, a nearby street, Ambrožova (not the current one which is discussed under https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/21/prague-3-day-68-ambrozova/) was merged into Husinecká.

    Husinec (current population approx. 1,400) is a village in the Prachatice district in South Bohemia.

    It’s best known as the supposed birthplace of… oh, guess, in 1369.

    However, Jan Hus was named after the village, not vice versa – a ‘hus’ is a place where geese (‘husy’) breed. The village was first mentioned (as ‘Hussenecz’) in 1291.

    There was a castle here until 1441. As is so often the case, it changed hands multiple times, and was ultimately burned down.

    Hus’s family home can still be visited. I’d post a link to the website but Twitter has randomly deemed it potentially harmful.

  • Prague 3, day 114: Dalimilova

    Originally published on Twitter on 15 August 2022.

    Dalimilova was built before 1875.

    Dalimil’s Chronicle is the oldest existing verse chronicle in the Czech language.

    It is based on five older chronicles which were written in Latin: the Boleslav, Prague, Břevnov, Opatovice and Vyšehrad Chronicles.

    In its 106 chapters, it goes from the construction of the Tower of Babel all the way up to the reign of John of Luxembourg (around 1314).

    There are sections after that, but they were probably added by a different writer.

    Speaking of the writer… we don’t actually know who it was (or who they were). Baroque historiography connected the work to one Dalimil Meziříčský, but it’s not clear if he even existed.

    The Chronicle was first published in book form in 1620. After the Battle of Bilá Hora, it fell into oblivion and was not republished until 1786, in time to play its role in strengthening the Czech national consciousness.

  • Prague 3, day 113: Kostnické náměstí

    Originally published on Twitter on 14 August 2022.

    Kostnické náměstí was built in 1889.

    Kostnice is the Czech name for the German town that we’re allowed to call either Konstanz or Constance in English.

    It lies on Lake Constance, which you’ll hear many people calling Bodensee instead.

    Konstanz became a major spiritual centre in the late 6th century; in 1192, it was granted a certain amount of autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire by being declared an Imperial City.

    In the Czech/Bohemian context, it was the Council of Constance, held between 1414 and 1418, at which Jan Hus was burned at the stake.

    There is a Jan Hus Museum in Konstanz to this day: https://www.konstanz.de/kultur++freizeit/museen++ausstellungshaeuser/hus-haus.

    Not inappropriately, Konstanz has been twinned with Tábor since 1984. And Richmond upon Thames, for the Londoners among us.

    It was also the birthplace of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the eponymous airship.

    Back on the square, the centre was revitalised in 2018 and 2019.

    I went and sat at the outdoor cafe there last weekend and would recommend doing so to anybody.

  • Prague 3, day 112: Příběnická

    Originally published on Twitter on 13 August 2022.

    Příběnická was built in 1899.

    It was called Chodská until 1947, after the old name for the area around Domažlice (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-14-domazlicka/).

    The Chodové, who lived in the region, were direct subjects of the King, and were responsible for guarding the border between Bohemia and Bavaria.

    Příběnice, meanwhile, is a derelict castle in the Tábor district, established by the  Rožmberk family in the 13th century.

    The owner of the castle in the early 1400s, Oldřich II z Rožmberka, was initially a Hussite, but later moved over to the Catholic side, presumably out of fear of the nearby Táborites.

    He was probably right to fear them, as they took over the castle in 1420 and destroyed the town of Příběnice in 1428.

    After the Táborites were defeated at the Battle of Lipany in 1434, they were gradually forced to come to terms with the Rožmberks. A peace treaty was signed in 1437, one of the conditions of which was that the castle should be destroyed.

    The ruins of the castle can still be accessed as part of a hiking trail from Tábor.

  • Prague 3, day 111: Pod Vítkovem

    Originally published on Twitter on 12 August 2022.

    Pod Vítkovem was built in 1872.

    It was known as Vítkov until 1947, and as ‘under Vítkov’ ever since.

    So here are the new facts about the memorial as promised during https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/12/04/prague-3-day-106-u-pamatniku/.

    The Nazis seized the lower buildings of the Museum in 1939, but somehow didn’t bother seizing the Monument until 1942, enabling the resistance to remove everything of value in the meantime.

    The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the statue, was established in 1949. It includes remains of soldiers who died at the Battle of Zborov in 1917, the first major action of the Czechoslovak Legions on the Eastern Front.

    Since 2006, the monument also houses the remains of Alois Eliáš, the prime minister of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia from 1939 to 1942, executed by the Nazis for secretly participating in the resistance.

    You can read more about the Memorial – and get tickets to visit its various components – on https://nm.cz/en/visit-us/buildings/the-national-memorial-on-the-vitkov-hill….

  • Prague 3, day 110: U Božích bojovníků

    Originally published on Twitter on 11 August, 2022.

    U Božích bojovníků was built in 1885.

    Boží bojovníci are ‘warriors of God’.

    Yes, we’re obviously talking about Hussites again. But today I get to compensate for that with music!

    Ktož jsú boží bojovníci (written ‘Ktoz jsu bozi boyownici’ back in the day) / ‘Ye who are warriors of God’ was the Hussites’ song of choice during their wars.

    Its authorship was unclear for centuries, although the discovery in 1872 of the Jistebnický kancionál, a collection of spiritual songs, indicated that the most likely composer was Jan Čapek z Klatov, a priest.

    You can hear the song – and read a translation in the subtitles – here:

    There’s also a version on YouTube with 1.1 million hits, but the singer is not somebody I want to promote. Feel free to look, but don’t say that I sent you.

    Here’s an orchestral version at Prague Castle in 2008, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Castle Guard.

  • Prague 3, day 109: Jeronýmova

    Originally published on Twitter on 10 August 2022.

    Jeronýmova was built in 1896.

    Jeroným Pražský, or Jerome of Prague (1379-1416), studied at Charles University, as well as at Oxford, where he read the teachings of John Wycliffe (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-26-viklefova/).

    He later distributed Wycliffe’s works in Bohemia.

    In 1409, he was heavily involved in the Decree of Kutná Hora, which, for the first time, gave Czechs a majority of votes over the affairs of Charles University.

    Spending time in Vienna in 1410, he was found guilty of perjury and excommunicated for spreading Wycliffe’s ideas.

    When Jan Hus was arrested at the Council of Constance in 1415, Jeroným rushed there to defend him.

    He started to flee back to Prague when he realised he was about to be arrested – but only made it as far as Hirschau (in Bavaria) before being caught.

    In a bid to save himself, he denied his support of Wycliffe and Hus’s teachings before the Council, but remained imprisoned.

    In May 1416, he distanced himself from his recantation, and condemned the pride, luxury and pomp of the Church.

    He was condemned as a heretic on 30 May, and was tortured and burnt at the stake on the same day.

  • Prague 3, day 108: Řehořova

    Originally published on Twitter on 9 August 2022.

    Řehořova was built in 1897.

    Řehoř Krajčí (died 1474) was a knight, and possibly the nephew of Jan Rokycana (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/19/prague-3-day-19-rokycanova/).

    In 1457, he founded the Unity of Brethren in Kunvald (see https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-83-ceskobratrska/). The group’s popularity led to significant tension with Uncle, an Utraquist.

    From 1897 to 1940, and again from 1945 to 1947, this was Havlíčkova. The presence of a photo of Havlíčkovo náměstí on my phone means I won’t explain this one any further for now.

    Under the Nazi occupation, the street was called Ochranovská, or Herrnhuterstraße.

    Ochranov, or Herrnhut, is a town near Görlitz in Saxony, founded by German-speaking refugees from Bohemia in the early 18th century.

    Its name means something like ‘shelter’ in both languages.

    The Moravian Church was founded in Ochranov / Herrnhut by Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf of Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, in 1722.

  • Prague 3, day 107: Orebitská

    Originally published on Twitter on 8 August 2022.

    Orebitská was built in 1885.

    The Orebites (Orebité) were a radical branch of the Hussites, named after a procession that they took part in on Mount Oreb, which is located in Třebechovice.

    Oreb itself was named after Horeb, the mountain at which Moses received the Ten Commandments.

    Their ideological leader was Ambrož Hradecký – who has his own street in Žižkov too (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/21/prague-3-day-68-ambrozova/).

    The Orebites played a key role in the burning of the monastery at Mnichovo Hradiště in 1420.

    Three years later, they merged with Žižka’s faction, which named itself the ‘Sirotci’ after his death in 1424.

  • Prague 3, day 106: U Památníku

    Originally published on Twitter on 7 August 2022.

    U Památníku was built in 1933, and translate as ‘at the memorial’.

    The ‘memorial’ in question is the National Monument on Vítkov Hill. It contains the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a ceremonial hall, and an exhibition on Czech/Czechoslovak statehood.

    However, it’s most famous for its statue of Jan Žižka, towering over the neighbourhood that bears his name.

    An association was founded in 1882 for construction of the monument, and a memorial tablet was placed on the hill in 1910.

    The monument was ultimately built between 1928 and 1938, honouring Czechoslovakian legionaries. Until 1940, this street had the more specific name of U památníku osvobození (‘At the liberation monument’).

    From 1940 to 1945, it went by the distinctly less patriotic name of ‘Na Vítkově’. It then reverted to ‘U památníku osvobození ‘ until 1961.

    After several unsuccessful attempts, the Žižka statue was commissioned in 1931 from the sculptor Bohumil Kafka (1878-1942). He completed the plaster model in 1941, but died shortly afterwards. The statue itself was unveiled in 1950.

    By then, the authorities had decided that the monument should celebrate Communism, and, from 1954 to 1962, it housed the Klement Gottwald mausoleum.

    There are other Vítkov factoids, obviously, but if I reveal them all now, one of my upcoming posts will be very short indeed.

    The Army Museum here reopened on 28 October after reconstruction. The reopening appears to have been a success, at least according to the MoD: https://mocr.army.cz/informacni-servis/zpravodajstvi/armadni-muzeum-zizkov-otevreno-pro-verejnost–proudy-navstevniku-hned-prvni-den-240096/

  • Prague 3, day 105, sort of: Trocnovské náměstí

    Originally published on Twitter on 6 August 2022.

    Trocnovské náměstí was presumably built before 1875.

    We’ve covered nearby Trocnovská on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/30/prague-3-day-102-trocnovska/, but otherwise we have a reversal of Dovcovagate (Dovcova being the street that exists on Google Maps but nowhere else, as covered on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/26/prague-3-day-86-dovcova/).

    My atlas, Google Maps and http://mapy.cz all confidently state that this is part of Husitská (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2022/11/28/prague-3-day-101-husitska/).

    And yet there are at least two street signs claiming that this is a separate square.

    But campuj.online/blog/praha-zitra-navrh-florence… provides the answer – the new square is part of a project to better connect Florenc with the areas of Prague immediately around it. Which can only be a good thing.

    No official date for when this will be a ‘real’ square yet.

  • Prague 3, day 104: Prvního Pluku

    Originally published on Twitter on 5 August 2022.

    Prvního Pluku has had this name since 1947. It translates as ‘(the street of) the First Regiment’.

    In 1877, three pre-existing streets – Anenská, Křížová and Mlýnská – were joined together to form a street called Vinohradská (not that one).

    This became Pibranser Straße – Příbram Street – under the Nazi occupation, before becoming Vinohradská again until 1947.

    The Karlín barracks, with a capacity of up to 2,000 men, were built here in the 1840s, with the location chosen partly because it was above the highest point the Vltava had ever reached.

    They were known as Ferdinand’s Barracks until 1918.

    During the Second World War, they were used by the Wehrmacht and known as the Hindenburg Barracks.

    In 1968, they were used for some of the anti-occupation broadcasts made by Czechoslovak Radio.

    The barracks hosted various units and facilities of the Prague garrison until 2008.

    In 2017, on the 200th anniversary of the founding of Karlín, the barracks were reopened as a cultural centre that I am going to make a point of visiting: https://kasarnakarlin.cz/en/o-nas.

    From 1906, Infantry Regiment no. 91 was housed here. This was the battalion that Jaroslav Hašek’s Švejk belonged to.

    I really need to reread Švejk.

    Update, June 2024: Unfortunately, the cultural centre was forced to close by the local building authority, apparently because it hadn’t received permission to carry out its activities within the interior spaces: https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/popular-kasarna-karlin-cultural-center-ordered-to-close-with-immediate-effect.

    Good piece about the situation here: https://balkaninsight.com/2024/07/18/the-sound-and-the-fury-reasoned-debate-over-social-noise-in-prague-drowned-out/.

  • Prague 3, day 103: Pernerova

    Originally published on Twitter on 4 August 2022.

    Pernerova was built before 1850.

    The street sign says Pernerova is in Karlín – and it mainly is – but its westernmost parts are in Žižkov.

    Jan Perner (1815-45) was a designer and builder of railways.

    He studied at Prague Technical College from 1831 to 1833.

    In 1836, he went to Russia and worked on the construction of the first Russian railway (Petrograd to Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk).

    Returning home, he worked on construction of the Břeclav-Brno line in 1839, and then designed the route for the Prague-Vienna line.

    By 1842, he was chief engineer of the state railways, and the Emperor approved his proposal for a route from Prague to Dresden. Perner also helped choose the location of Prague’s Main Station.

    He died at the tragically early age of thirty when his head hit a pole when he was looking out of the window of a moving train. He was the first person to die in a railway accident in Bohemia.

    The square outside the station in Pardubice is named after him, as is the Faculty of Transport at the city’s university.

    His name has also been given to several EuroCity trains over the years, including one that left Pardubice for Prague at 06:09 this morning.

    Former names of the road were:

    • Žižkova (which I doubt needs explaining) from 1839-1940 and again from 1945-7;

    • Olmützer Straße (Olomouc Street) from 1940 to 1945; and

    • UNRRA (i.e. United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) from 1947 to 1951.

  • Prague 3, day 102: Trocnovská

    Originally published on Twitter on 3 August 2022.

    Trocnovská was built in 1889.

    Trocnov, population 112, is a village in the České Budějovice district. Before 1949, the name ‘Trocnov’ only referred to the court there, and the village itself was called Záluží (approx. ‘Behind the Floodplain’).

    Jan Žižka was born less than two kilometres from the village.

    According to legend, he was born in the forest under an oak tree, next to fields which belonged to one of the two Meierhofs of the village.

    A Meierhof is a farm or building, occupied by the administrator of a noble or ecclesiastical estate.