The names of Prague's streets, squares, embankments and bridges changed in the modern era with every major change of political regime. According to Václav Ledvinka, director of the Prague City Archives, the names of public spaces in Prague mirrored political conditions and therefore changed often.[2] In 2009 Ledvinka said that roughly three thousand streets had been renamed and that today's Opletalova Street had borne fourteen names in its history.[2] The digital Pražský uličník (Prague Street Register), launched in October 2025 by the Prague City Hall, the Prague City Archives and IPR Praha, records 8,318 street names, including defunct streets and streets that were named but never built.[3]*

Who decides today: the council, the assembly and the place-names commission

Rudolf Blažek, then first deputy mayor and chair of the place-names commission, described the procedure in 2009: under the law, street names are decided by the municipality, which in the case of the capital city of Prague means the city council.[2] Proposals come from citizens, schools, construction firms, city districts or the commission itself, which assesses them and submits them to the council for approval.[2] According to Blažek, the commission rejected proposals to name streets after Václav Klaus or Václav Havel because a street may not bear the name of a living person.[2]

The place-names commission of the Prague City Council has existed since the beginning of 1991 and is set up anew in every electoral term.[1] It acts as an advisory body to the city council.[1] When part of Korunovační Street was renamed in March 2022, councillor Jan Chabr stated that changing street names falls within the powers of the Prague City Assembly, which approved the change.[4] When Koněvova Street was renamed in June 2023, Pražský deník wrote that renaming is decided by the city council on the recommendation of the City Hall's place-names commission.[25]

After 1996 the commission's main task became naming newly built streets, and more than 1,500 new names have been added in Prague over the past thirty years.[7] In October 2014 the council renamed the park Družby in Prague 4 as park Na Pankráci, following a public poll held by the city district.[5]

1787–1898: official names, at first only in German

Street names were officially introduced in Prague from 27 October 1787 as a complement to house numbers, and they were exclusively German.[1] From the mid-19th century islands, bridges and embankments were named after members of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, for example Ferdinandova třída and Františkovo nábřeží, and in 1868 the municipal elders laid down the principle, still valid today, that each name may occur only once in Prague.[1] In 1888 councillors placed only Czech names in newly annexed Holešovice, and a decree of 20 April 1894 ordered bilingual signs to be replaced with Czech ones throughout Prague.[1]

12 February 1919: the Habsburg signs come down

On 12 February 1919 Prague's administrative board decided to remove from the city all signs bearing names of members of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.[6] Františkovo nábřeží (Francis Embankment) became Masarykovo and the Emperor Francis Bridge became the Legion Bridge (most Legií).[6] Other dynastic names were replaced by names of artists (Smetanovo náměstí, Alšovo nábřeží), republican names (náměstí Republiky, Revoluční třída) or older local names (Malostranské náměstí, Letenské sady), and Ovocná Street was renamed 28. října.[6] Ferdinandova třída became Národní třída in 1919.[15] Today's náměstí Jana Palacha, which bore the name of Empress Zita from 1916 to 1919, was renamed Smetanovo náměstí.[11]

At the end of 1918 a naming commission emerged from a survey by the Klub Za starou Prahu (Club for Old Prague); its secretary was the city archivist Václav Vojtíšek.[6] Act No. 266/1920 Coll. banned names recalling persons hostile to the Czechoslovak nation or events of an anti-state nature and ordered municipalities to change them within one month.[1]

1922–1938: Greater Prague and 400 new names

On 1 January 1922, 37 neighbouring municipalities were merged into Prague, which according to the Pražský uličník created naming chaos.[6] On 9 January 1925 the city council approved six naming principles, including a preference for traditional and local names and a ban on naming a street after a living person.[1] Under these principles more than 400 streets were named within a short time, and further waves followed in 1928, 1931, 1935 and 1938.[1]

1940–1945: Norimberská, třída Viktoria and the Heydrich Embankment

On 25 March 1939 the Reich German authorities ordered Prague's main streets to carry a German name alongside the Czech one.[1] In April 1940 the Oberlandrat sent City Hall a list of streets to be renamed, which partly Germanised old Czech names and partly introduced new ones, for example after German cities (Norimberská, Magdeburská) or persons of German origin connected with Prague (Braunova, Brokoffova).[1] The first change came on 4 April 1940, when Pelléova Street in Bubeneč was renamed after General Roettig.[1]

In the same month the German-Czech Official List of Streets, Squares and Parks was printed; it removed names unacceptable to the Nazis, among them Bachmačská, most Legií, Masarykovo nábřeží and Anglická, and also most duplicate names.[6]

Pařížská Street, which runs through the former Jewish Town, today's Josefov, was called Norimberská (Nuremberg Street) from 1940 to 1945; the Pražský uličník cites the Nuremberg anti-Jewish laws as a possible explanation for the choice of name.[9] Maiselova Street, named after Mordecai Maisel, primate of the Jewish Town, bore the name of a musician from the court of Rudolf II from 1940 to 1945.[16] During the occupation Náprstkova Street was called Fingerhutgasse, Jeruzalémská became Sedmihradská and Sněmovní temporarily reverted to Pětikostelní.[16]

Národní třída bore the German name Volksstraße in 1940–1941 and was called třída Viktoria from 1941 to 1945.[15] Today's Masarykovo nábřeží, then Riegrovo, became Vltavské nábřeží in 1940 and from 1942 to 1945 had only the German name Reinhard-Heydrich-Ufer.[10] Smetanovo náměstí had only the German name Mozartplatz from 1942 to 1945.[11] Rašínovo nábřeží was called the Karel Lažnovský Embankment from 1941 to 1945.[14]

1945–1947: back to the names from before Munich

After the war all names valid in Prague before 1 October 1938 were restored.[1] Between 1945 and 1947 a commission of the Central National Committee had to name 345 streets built just before the war and rename about 300 streets with duplicate names.[6]

Already in 1946 names linked to the liberation and to post-war politics appeared. Fochova třída, after a brief return of its pre-war name, became Stalinova.[17] Riegrovo nábřeží was named after Gottwald.[10] Part of today's Evropská began to bear the name of Soviet marshal Georgy Zhukov.[13] The Central National Committee renamed Poděbradova Street in Žižkov after Konev in 1946.[25] Before February 1948 today's třída Milady Horákové bore the name of the British king George VI.[23]

14 October 1952: a “class-ideological” course and dozens of new names

After February 1948 public spaces were to be named mainly after members of the resistance and of the domestic and international labour and communist movement, for example Urxova, Peckova or Dimitrovovo náměstí.[6] On 14 October 1952 the council of the Central National Committee decided to remove names that did not comply with the principles, and above all the names of First Republic figures were removed.[1] That year several dozen streets and squares were renamed en masse.[6]

In 1952 Smetanovo náměstí became náměstí Krasnoarmějců (Red Army Soldiers' Square).[11] The embankment that had borne Masaryk's name since 1919 has been called Smetanovo since 1952.[6][16] Mariánské náměstí was renamed after Mayor Václav Vacek.[16] Terronská Street in Bubeneč was named after the Soviet ideologist Andrei Zhdanov from 1952 to 1990.[24] Rašínovo nábřeží bore the name of Friedrich Engels from 1951.[14] The 1958 register Ulicemi města Prahy expressed the expectation that Prague's names were now “unchangeable and permanent”.[6]

1956–1978: Pieck, Lenin and the Victorious February Avenue

Stalin's name began to disappear from maps after the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party in 1956.[19] Stalinova třída has been called Vinohradská since 10 March 1962.[17] Korunní Street in Vinohrady bore the name of East German politician Wilhelm Pieck from 1956 to 1990.[24] The lower part of today's Evropská returned to the name Velvarská in 1962, and in 1967 the whole rebuilt avenue was named after Lenin.[24] Antonín Zápotocký received a square in Prague in 1977.[24]

In 1978 the north-south arterial road in the section of Wilsonova, Mezibranská and Sokolská was given the joint name třída Vítězného února (Victorious February Avenue).[16]

13 December 1989: an independent group at the city archives

The post-revolutionary changes began with a spontaneous return to the name náměstí Jana Palacha in the November days of 1989.[7] Officially, náměstí Krasnoarmějců in front of the Rudolfinum was named after Jan Palach on 20 December 1989, and on the same day Stalinova Street in Chodov was renamed Starochodovská.[24]

On 13 December 1989 the Independent Group for Naming Streets and Public Spaces was formed at the Prague City Archives.[1] Its members came from the Czech Language Institute, the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, the city archives, the Museum of the City of Prague, the Klub Za starou Prahu and other institutions, and it was led by archivist Bohdan Zilynskyj.[7] According to Václav Ledvinka, the group decided that streets would not be renamed for political convictions but for actual deeds, and that names honouring fallen resistance fighters and victims of concentration camps would not be changed.[23]

21 February 1990: streets, squares and twelve metro station names

The decisive date was 21 February 1990, when changes to the names of streets, squares and stations of the Prague metro were approved.[20] Twelve names at thirteen stations were changed, because Sokolovská served both lines B and C.[20] Leninova became Dejvická, Gottwaldova became Vyšehrad, Primátora Vacka became Roztyly, Švermova became Jinonice, Fučíkova became Nádraží Holešovice, Mládežnická became Pankrác and Moskevská became Anděl.[20]

According to Seznam Zprávy, the change affected more than forty Prague streets, bridges and squares at the beginning of 1990.[23] The Pražský uličník states that by the end of 1990 just under forty names had been changed and that the revision of street names dragged on until 1996.[7] In 1990 Gottwaldovo nábřeží became Masarykovo and the square named after Mayor Vacek became Mariánské náměstí again.[10][16] On 22 March 1990 třída Vítězného února returned to the name Wilsonova and the arterial road was divided according to the original streets into Wilsonova, Mezibranská and Sokolská.[16] Náměstí Říjnové revoluce (October Revolution Square), which according to Seznam Zprávy was the most frequently requested renaming, returned to the name Vítězné náměstí in 1990.[23][12]

Some names were pushed through by political decisions regardless of the independent group's recommendations. Before the visits of Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand in 1990, the square named after Antonín Zápotocký was renamed after Winston Churchill and J. M. Sverdlov Street after Charles de Gaulle.[7][23] The Friedrich Engels Embankment became Rašínovo nábřeží at the wish of President Václav Havel, who lived there.[19] At the request of the Milada Horáková Club and the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, třída Obránců míru (Defenders of Peace Avenue) was named after Milada Horáková, although local initiatives proposed a return to the name Belcrediho.[7]

Sboru národní bezpečnosti Street became Vršovická, Gottwald Bridge was renamed Nuselský, Leningradská Street became Petrohradská and Leninova třída became Evropská.[19] According to the Pražský uličník, Evropská kept the name Leninova until 1991.[13] According to Blesk, the main changes took place in 1990 and 1991, when the names of Lenin, Gottwald, Engels and Zhdanov disappeared.[24] Švermův most has been called Štefánikův most since 1997.[16]

2020–2023: Nemtsov, Ukrainian heroes and Karel Hartig

On 24 February 2020 Prague councillors approved renaming náměstí Pod Kaštany in Prague 6 as náměstí Borise Němcova (Boris Nemtsov Square).[21] The City Hall's place-names commission had originally disagreed with the proposal, but at the beginning of February it concluded that the change would not require residents to change their permanent addresses, because the adjacent street would keep the name Pod Kaštany.[21] Mayor Zdeněk Hřib unveiled the sign with the new name on 27 February 2020, the fifth anniversary of Nemtsov's murder, and the Russian embassy thus acquired the address náměstí Borise Němcova 1.[22] According to ČT24, President Miloš Zeman criticised the step through his spokesman, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the decision “apparently the sovereign right” of the city authorities.[22]

On 28 February 2022 the assembly of the Prague 6 district called on the city to rename the part of Korunovační Street in front of the Russian embassy.[4] The place-names commission backed the proposal on 23 March 2022, and the Prague City Assembly approved the name Ukrajinských hrdinů (Ukrainian Heroes) for the section from náměstí Borise Němcova to the railway bridge, which was named Skakunův most.[4] The signs were exchanged on 22 April 2022 in the presence of Prague 6 mayor Ondřej Kolář, Prague mayor Zdeněk Hřib and Ukrainian ambassador Yevhen Perebyinis.[18]

On 19 June 2023 the city council approved renaming Koněvova Street in Žižkov as Hartigova, after Karel Hartig, the first mayor of Žižkov, with effect from 1 October 2023.[25] According to the city district, the change affected about 5,000 people, who could exchange their documents free of charge until the end of March 2024.[25] The Pražský uličník lists the renamings of Pod Kaštany, Korunovační and Koněvova among the cases in which the place-names commission faced pressure for political reasons.[7]

Selected renamings

  • Ferdinandská (1870), Ferdinandova (1894) → Národní (1919) → Volksstraße (1940) → třída Viktoria (1941) → Národní (1945).[15]
  • Mikulášská (1901) → Pařížská (1926) → Norimberská (1940) → Pařížská (1945) → 5. května (1946) → Pařížská (1947).[9]
  • Františkovo nábřeží (about 1903) → Riegrovo nábřeží (1912) → Vltavské nábřeží (1940) → Reinhard-Heydrich-Ufer (1942) → Riegrovo nábřeží (1945) → Gottwaldovo nábřeží (1946) → Masarykovo nábřeží (1990).[10]
  • náměstí Císařovny Zity (1916) → Smetanovo náměstí (1919) → Mozartplatz (1942) → Smetanovo náměstí (1945) → náměstí Krasnoarmějců (1952) → náměstí Jana Palacha (1989).[11]
  • Vítězné náměstí (1925) → náměstí Branné moci (1940) → Vítězné náměstí (1945) → náměstí Presidenta dr. Edvarda Beneše (1946) → náměstí Říjnové revoluce (1952) → Vítězné náměstí (1990).[12]
  • Jungmannova (1884) → Fochova (1920) → Schwerinova (during the occupation) → Fochova (1945) → Stalinova (1946) → Vinohradská (1962).[17]
  • Velvarská and other sections → Žukovova (1946) → Leninova (1967) → Evropská (1991).[13]
  • Rašínovo nábřeží (1924) → nábřeží Karla Lažnovského (1941) → Rašínovo nábřeží (1945) → nábřeží Bedřicha Engelse (1951) → Rašínovo nábřeží (1990).[14][19]
  • Mariánské náměstí → náměstí primátora Dr. Václava Vacka (1952) → Mariánské náměstí (1990).[16]
  • Wilsonova, Mezibranská and Sokolská → třída Vítězného února (1978) → Wilsonova, Mezibranská and Sokolská (22 March 1990).[16]
  • Poděbradova → Brněnská (during the occupation) → Poděbradova (1945) → Koněvova (1946) → Hartigova (1 October 2023).[25]
  • náměstí Pod Kaštany → náměstí Borise Němcova (2020).[21]
  • Korunovační, section in front of the Russian embassy → Ukrajinských hrdinů (2022).[4]

Timeline

  • 12 February 1919: removal of names of members of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.[6]
  • 4 April 1940: Pelléova Street renamed after General Roettig; the Official List of Streets appears in April.[1][6]
  • 14 October 1952: resolution of the Central National Committee council on removing names that contradicted the principles.[1]
  • 13 December 1989: the Independent Group for Naming Streets and Public Spaces is formed.[1]
  • 20 December 1989: náměstí Krasnoarmějců renamed náměstí Jana Palacha.[24]
  • 21 February 1990: new names of streets, squares and metro stations approved.[20]
  • 27 February 2020: náměstí Borise Němcova.[22]
  • 22 April 2022: Ukrajinských hrdinů Street and Skakunův most.[18]
  • 1 October 2023: Koněvova Street becomes Hartigova.[25]

Summary: five major waves and three thousand changes

The major waves of politically motivated renaming fall in 1919, 1940, 1945–1947, 1952 and 1990–1996.[1][7] Between them, administrative changes followed the city's expansions in 1922, 1960, 1968 and 1974.[2] According to the Pražský uličník, more than 3,000 streets, just under half, have changed their names, and in the city centre unchanged names are the exception; Dlouhá Street, for example, has borne its name since the 14th century.[8] The names changed most often on Rašínovo nábřeží (11 changes) and on Zenklova and Wilsonova streets (10 changes each).[8]

The renamings concerned above all names of the ruling dynasty, of domestic and foreign politicians and military commanders, of allied states and their leaders, and of events celebrated by the regime of the day; in 1940–1945 names of German cities and figures were added.[1][6] After 1945 all pre-Munich names were restored.[1] After 1989 most streets returned to their original names, and new names were chosen for places created after 1948.[19] Pařížská returned to its name twice (1945 and 1947), Vítězné náměstí and Rašínovo nábřeží in 1945 and 1990.[9][12][14] The name Masarykovo was borne from 1919 by today's Smetanovo nábřeží and from 1990 by the neighbouring embankment by the National Theatre.[6][16] Today streets are renamed mostly for technical reasons.[7]

Sources

  1. Hlavní město Praha — 27 September 2021
  2. Hlavní město Praha — 16 March 2009
  3. Hlavní město Praha — 15 October 2025
  4. Hlavní město Praha — 25 March 2022
  5. Hlavní město Praha — 29 October 2014
  6. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  7. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  8. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  9. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  10. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  11. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  12. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  13. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  14. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  15. Pražský uličník (MHMP, Archiv hl. m. Prahy, IPR Praha)
  16. Městská část Praha 1
  17. Encyklopedie Prahy 2, Městská část Praha 2
  18. Městská část Praha 6 — 22 April 2022
  19. ČT24, Česká televize — 20 November 2019
  20. ČT24, Česká televize — 14 December 2014
  21. ČT24, Česká televize — 24 February 2020
  22. ČT24, Česká televize — 27 February 2020
  23. Seznam Zprávy — 15 February 2020
  24. Blesk.cz — 1 October 2023
  25. Pražský deník — 19 June 2023