The origin of the names of Czech cities: How Prague, Brno or Zlín came to be
They come from forgotten words, natural conditions, but also the nature of the people who lived here, and sometimes also from curses. Ancient legends and language experts reveal the origin of the name of the largest cities in the Czech Republic.
A rather dry Prague
When the famous Czech chronicler Kosmas was born in 1045, Prague had already existed for a century. And with it the legend about its foundation, which Kosmas mentions in his notes.
The name is said to have originated when, many years ago, a certain man carved the threshold of his house, which was one of the first on the site of today’s Prague Castle… “Because even great lords bow down at a low threshold, according to this incident, the castle you build will be called Prague, Kosmas wrote in his chronicle at the time.
Where to look for the origin of the name of your villageIf you want to know the origin of the name of a municipality in the Czech Republic, you can find it in electronic form dictionary of Antonín Profous. The five-volume dictionary “Local names in Bohemia: their origin, origin, meaning and changes” was written by Profous in collaboration with Jan Svoboda and Vladimír Šmilauer. It was published between 1947 and 1960 and contains over 15,000 names of Czech towns and villages. |
In the 18th century, the revivalist and philologist Josef Dobrovský derived the name from river thresholds (slaps) on the Vltava and the Brusnica stream. In that case, the capital would be called Prague or Prague. Researchers of the 19th century come up with versions that the name Prague is related to the word pražiti, a roasted, burnt, uprooted forest, used for the creation of a new dwelling.
The Czech linguist Antonín Profous added another box of speculations. In his life-long, extremely comprehensive so-called Profous dictionary, in which he examines the origin of the names of Czech villages and cities, he writes: “The name Prague is really related to the words pražiti, prahnuti, but originally it meant a parched place.”
Brno mud and clay
In addition to the already mentioned Prague, Princess Libuše prophesied the creation of the city of Brno, saying: “There you will find a man whose foot tingles.” Build a city there and call it Brno.”
It would be an interesting legend, but this prophecy appears only in the stage play FR Bohemia Girl’s War. So of course it’s a joke. Linguists have their theories.
The pranksters renamed Liberec to Synerov in 2008 after the name of a company that was associated with some controversial buildings and projects.
While Prague was founded in a dry place, Brno was most likely in a wet, marshy place, which corresponds to the Old Slavic word brn, i.e. mud, loam, clay or silt. Such a version is also supported by the designations of some local parts of Brno – Slatina, Hlinky (a quarry), Žabovřesky (the place where frogs scream) or Komárov, an area with the presence of mosquitoes.
On the contrary, according to experts, the name Brno is incorrectly derived from the Celtic word Eburodunom and the Germanic Brunne (well).
The “indulgent” Pilsen
The name Plzeň used to be borne by the town that we know today as Starý Plzenec. But when, in the past, this settlement was no longer able to sufficiently protect the safety of the nearby country trail, around 1295, a new Pilsen, then called New Pilsen, was founded in the neighborhood.
In order not to confuse the cities, the original Plzeň was given the nickname Stará and, following the “boy-boy” pattern, the diminutive suffix -ec, which gave rise to Starý Pilsenec.
The very origin of the name Pilsen as such has several versions. For example, the fact that the settlement was established on a “Plža”, slippery and damp place. The medieval variant is derived from the word snail, i.e. many snails lived here. However, the city should be called Plzen.
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Or also that it originated from the Russian “pilze”, i.e. a landslide or a mound. Antonín Profous comes up with an original explanation. Pilsen is said to be named after the personal name Plzeň, i.e. the so-called Pilsen castle or court.
“The Czech name Plzen meant crawling, crawling and, figuratively speaking, creeping,” explains the linguist.
Zlín as both a bad person and a victim
Let’s stay in Moravia for a while, we’ll move to Wallachia with its center in Zlín. This name is first mentioned in 1322 as Slyn. It was derived from the Old Bohemian, perhaps mainly male personal name Zla, which meant “evil person”.
Slyn was therefore Evil’s court or property. The adjective zlý gave rise to several personal names in Czech, for example Zlech, then transferred to the village Zlechov. Old legends from Zlín derive their town’s name from bad events that happened to the people there, or from the clayey “slíny” soil.
Needle full of hedgehogs
Today, a hedgehog dominates the coat of arms of Jihlava. It is his needles that are quite possibly still the name of today’s center of Vysočina. Jihlava, formerly a river and then a settlement, used to be written as Jiglava, so linguists follow the interpretation of the Old Slavic word “jegla” or needle.
The inhabitants of that time called the pointed stones on the river bed needles. It is also possible that Jihlava was given its name by the Langobard tribe, which lived here in the 6th century and then went to the north of Italy. Their words “Igulaha” meant “hedgehog stream”.
According to another interpretation, the river got its name from the needles that floated on the bottom and on the surface. However, there are also rumors that say that when the city was founded, the workers found a large number of hedgehogs. The Czechs and Moravians called the small omnivore Gehlak, and from that Gehlawa arose. Germans call hedgehogs “Igel”, and Jihlava is still called Iglau.
Where do the names of other regional towns come from?Carlsbad founded as Karlsbad by the Czech king Charles IV, the town was popularly called Warmbad, i.e. hot bath, for a long time. Czech Budejovice they were named after the nearby settlement, whose name in the 13th century was Budivojovice, i.e. the settlement of the Budivoj people – after the name of the settlement’s founder and court judge Budivoje. Ostrava has been named after the Ostravice river for more than 750 years, i.e. a stream with a sharp, i.e. fast and wild current. Olomouc its origin is unclear. One version says that it got its name from a certain Olmút, i.e. as Olmút’s castle or court. Old Slavic words “ol” (beer) and “mútit”, i.e. to make noise, are also possibilities. Pardubice was called Pordubice in the 14th century. The name was probably brought by the monks of the Cistercian order from Poland, the incoming leader was called Porydęb. Ústí n. Labem is named after the confluence of the Elbe and Bílina from the Old Czech word “ustie”. Hradec Králové was originally called Hradec, i.e. “smaller castle”. The second part of the name was added when it became the dowry city of Czech queens. Liberec was called Reichenberg since its foundation, meaning Rich Mountain. But it was only a wish of the German colonists, the settlement was said to be very poor. However, it developed and over the centuries the name changed to Liberec through various language paths. |