20th century – 21th century – Ostrava – Václav Havel – urbanonyms – linguistic landscape – honorification – interdisciplinarity

The paper looks at contemporary urbanonymy through the lens of onomastics, meaning the study of proper names. Through two case studies, the authors introduce current, constantly evolving trends in street names. The first study looks at urbanonymy as a part of the so-called “linguistic landscape,” meaning written texts within the public space. With central Ostrava as an example, the study shows how standardized and non-standardized street names are applied (and with what function) in the public space in relation to other written names – both from a top-down (public, regulated) and from a bottom-up (private, unregulated) perspective. The second case study explores the question of honorific street names and at how such commemorative motifs are reflected in the public discourse, specifically by looking at the example of street names and other urbanonyms inspired by President Václav Havel (1936–2011). The subject is placed into the broader context of street names commemorating Czechoslovak and Czech presidents, with a focus on complications related to the creation of honorific street names today.