Jan Palach Square – urbanonym as a symbol of public protest
Jan Palach Square – urbanonym as a symbol of public protest

Summary/Abstract: This article is concerned with a specific example of a public place being spontaneouslyrenamed, a seemingly one-of-a-kind example in the history of Prague public placenaming. In early 1969, the urban toponymy of Prague experienced a moment thecitizens took an active part in creating a name for a public space. Individuals as wellas groups put forth effort with the objective to ensure the set of Prague place namesincluded Jan Palach, who had sacrificed his life in protest against the occupation offormer Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces in 1968. This article seeks to analyzearchived documents (preserved requests, petitions, and municipal authorities meetingminutes) based on which the incentives and the argumentation used in the requestsas well as the reactions from the municipal authorities are described.

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