Where Prague Got Its Name

The Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 places the founding of Prague in the days of Abraham. In Schaller's description of 1796 the name Praha is derived thus: formerly, it is said, people spoke of Praměsto, then simply Pra, and from that came Praha. Josef Kouba, again, explained that Praha comes from pražiti, which is said to mean draining and firming a damp place with driven piles; such piles are said to have been found in 1868 in the street leading to the bridge, beneath house number 273 and elsewhere. But this is not right either, because the true Prague was up on the hill and not by the water. And Emanuel Zeiner derives Praha from the Gaulish Pargam-Parga-Praga and connects the word with the familiar term parkán.