New Prague development honors historic Czechoslovak ice hockey players

Nová Waltrovka, a new urban development located on the border of Prague's Radlice and Jinonice neighborhoods, is set to pay tribute to Czechoslovak hockey representatives who faced persecution during the communist regime of the 1950s.

Streets in this emerging district will be named after hockey heroes from the 1940s, with developer Penta Real Estate unveiling the streets on Thursday. Specifically, the streets honor players from the 1948 Czechoslovak team that won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in St. Mortiz, and the 1947 and 1949 teams that won the World Championships.

These players were unjustly accused of treason during communist show trials, imprisoned, and later pardoned. The Topographical Commission of Prague's City Council approved the proposal for street names, which received additional support from Prague 5 and the Czech Ice Hockey Association.

"This is a story of communist injustice that must not be forgotten," says Martin Mafka, head of project management at Penta Real Estate, in a social media post.

"We are pleased that the streets in Nová Waltrovka will bear the names of heroes from the Olympics in St. Moritz and from the hockey championships of 1947 and 1949, and we believe that such an address will be a good place to live for the residents of this new city district. It is the first time ever that imprisoned hockey players will be honored in this way."

The district aims not only to provide modern housing but also to commemorate the history of Czechoslovak hockey and the injustice faced by its champions. The central square of Nová Waltrovka will bear the name of Augustin Bubník, while Vladimír Kobranov and Václav Roziňák will be honored with streets in the western part of the district.

Bubník, a silver medalist from the 1948 Olympics and a 1949 world champion, was convicted in a communist show trial in 1950. Kobranov and Roziňák were also members of the Czechoslovak silver-medal winning team at the 1948 Olympics, as well as two-time world champions.

The initiative received appreciation from the Czech Ice Hockey Association, with General Secretary Jan Černý expressing gratitude for preserving the legacy and remembering Czechoslovakian hockey history. The naming of streets in Nová Waltrovka serves as a poignant tribute to those who faced adversity during a dark period of communist injustice.