Shadows of a Forgotten World

Buildings in Prague have two numbers: a descriptive number (číslo popisné) and a reference number (číslo orientační). The descriptive number is unique within one cadastral area. Today these numbers can be found on red plaques, but the original numbers were either painted or engraved onto the buildings or etched onto the front door windows (as is the case with conscription numbers in places like Lviv and Vienna ). In the nineteenth century, Prague’s buildings were given new orientation numbers, which are arranged sequentially within the street or square and are meant to help one find a particular house on a street. Today these numbers are found on blue plaques. “The first descriptive numbering was ordered by Maria Theresa in 1770 and implemented in 1770–1771. The series was given successively as the soldiers went through the settlement describing houses with numbers. Thereafter, every new house was allocated the next number sequentially, irrespective of its location. Mo...

These bilingual German and Czech street signs (some include descriptive house numbers) date from before WWI, likely before 1892 when the Czech-controlled City Hall decided to replace the city's bilingual street signs with exclusively Czech ones. 

I recently visited Uzhhorod to see the blooming sakuras. Along with the beautiful sakuras I came across quite a few remnants of Uzhhorod's prewar past. I have two previous posts ( ghost signs  and more ) about Uzhhorod, so t o repeat what I wrote before,  Uzhhorod  (Ungvár  /  Užhorod  /  Ungwar) , a city in Transcarpathia (Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine), which is near the borders of Slovakia and Hungary, has a multicultural history. For a long time the region around Uzhhorod was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After WWI, it was annexed to Czechoslovakia. In 1938, Uzhhorod was transferred to Hungary, and in 1945 it was annexed by the Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the city became a regional capital in Ukraine. Manhole Covers K Blahut "tűzcsap" means hydrant in Hungarian Demeter Ungvar Demeter Zoltan Uzhorod Fire Hydrants I came across quite a few of these around the c...

Boot Scrapers Conscriptions Numbers Guard Stones Various