“Why name a square after a Ukrainian town?” I hear you ask. Bachmačské náměstí holds more history than first meets the eye.
Bachmačské náměstí emerged in 1925 in Prague 6. It proudly carries the name of Bachmač. Bachmač is a town northeast of Kyiv Ukraine. This name commemorates a significant event for Czechs. Czechoslovak legionaries fought bravely against Austrian and German armies there between March 8th and 13th 1918.
For a brief period from 1940 to 1945 Bachmačské náměstí was known as Blücherovo náměstí. This honored Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher a Prussian marshal. He gained fame during the Napoleonic Wars. He helped defeat Napoleon at Leipzig and Waterloo.
The square’s name shifted again from 1952 to 1992. It became náměstí A. V. Suvorova. This recognized Alexander Vasiljevich Suvorov. He was a renowned Russian commander. Generalissimo Suvorov even stayed in Prague as a guest from December 20 1799 to January 28 1800. Finally in 1992 the square regained its original name Bachmačské náměstí.
Notice the apartment buildings surrounding Bachmačské náměstí. They frame Dejvice Station at the square’s head. The station began as the terminal for a horse-drawn railway from Lány to Prague. In 1873 it was expanded. The current station building dates from this expansion. It includes a presidential lounge with its own street entrance established in 1937. Dejvice Station offers easy access to the Hradčanská metro station on line A.
A small park sits within Bachmačské náměstí. It once featured a rose garden. In 2018 a statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk replaced the roses. There once was a stone drinking fountain here. It was replaced with a standard cast iron one. Also within this park you will find Hus’ Stone. It bears the inscription 1415-1915. This commemorates the five hundredth anniversary of Jan Hus’ death. Hus a Czech preacher and reformer was burned at the stake in Constance on July 6 1415.
So Bachmačské náměstí is more than just a square. It is a place where Czech history German history and Ukrainian history meet.