Prague Streets - Dlouha - Livingprague.com

Prague Streets – Dlouha

Dlouha Street, or to give it the correct name, Dlouhá třída, is a street in Prague’s Old Town that connects Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) and Revoluční Street (New Town). Literally it translates as the Long Street.

Prague street sign called Dlouha (Long Street)

To understand how Dlouha Street changes over time you have to understand where the merchants were located. In this part of town the main Czech market was the Old Town Square. But the next important trading area was outside of the Old Town, a German speaking settlement in a place called ST Peters which had it’s own market square now called Petrské náměstí. This side of town was an important trade route to the east of the country so the street that was originally called Dlouha ran from the Old Town Square to ST Peter’s Square. Hence, in Dlouha you’ll still find several grand city palaces that belonged to those traders.

After the Old Town became enclosed by a fortified wall in the 14th Century then the Long Street became a bit shorter. The part of the street which remained outside the wall was eventually renamed to “Soukenicka” which translates as the Dressmaker Street. It was still an important street for traders and traffic from the Old Town would enter/exit the city in this direction to pass through the Pořicka Brána (River Road fortified gate).

The modern Dlouha was divided again when the early 20th Century Old Town redevelopment rearranged the area into blocks and added some new side streets. Today you cannot drive from one end of the street to the other due to one-way traffic restrictions. Dlouha is where you’ll find independent shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses.