Ivan Puliui’s memorial plaque on Preslova Street

Identity and the earlier address discrepancy

A black memorial plaque with a bilingual inscription on building no. 1268 in Prague's Smíchov district commemorates Ivan Puliui (R0001), physicist, electrical engineer and translator. The Pamětní desky v Praze directory gives Preslova 15, Praha 5–Smíchov. Ivo Kraus's 2020 article also gives Preslova 15. [PU01; PU02]

An earlier editorial entry attributed the address Preslova 5 and a bibliography reference to Preslova 15 to the Živá mapa catalogue. That catalogue record is now inaccessible: the discrepancy is retained as an unverified earlier entry, rather than a source that has been read again. The new article does not contain the Preslova 5 variant. Agreement between two secondary descriptions on Preslova 15 does not replace the cadastral and current-façade checks needed for precise navigation. [PU01; PU02]

Ivan Puliui in Czech scientific history

Ivan Puliui (1845–1918) studied and worked in different university settings in Central Europe. From 1884, his teaching and research were associated with Prague's German technical university; he studied electricity, cathode rays and measuring instruments and helped develop electrical engineering education. Ivo Kraus records his rectorship in 1888–1889 and leadership of the newly established electrical engineering department from 1902. [PU02]

The plaque commemorates a house where, according to the inscription, the scientist lived and died, rather than a university building. A laboratory, department, private home, death location, grave and memorial are different types of place. R0075 has a supported commemorates relationship with R0001; details of long-term residence require address books and personal documents. [PU01; PU02]

Installation and unveiling in interwar Prague

Ivo Kraus's article (2020, p. 47) gives 22 June 1930 as the plaque's unveiling date and attributes the initiative to Ukrainian students in Prague. This is a specific research lead, but here the date comes from a single secondary source. An archival unveiling programme, contemporary newspaper report and student association documents have not yet been checked. [PU02]

The 1930 event belongs to the interwar Ukrainian émigré period and illustrates remembrance of the scientist after his death. However, “Ukrainian students” does not identify a particular legal organisation, such as R0045, R0046 or R0058. That connection requires founding minutes and contemporary newspaper announcements. [PU02]

Death location and burial location

Puliui died in Prague on 31 January 1918, but the place of his death in Smíchov is not his burial site. The official Adopce významných hrobů grave-adoption programme identifies his actual grave at Malvazinky Cemetery (R0073), section AII, grave 25. At least two separate places are therefore needed: plaque R0075 and cemetery R0073. [PU03; PU01]

The grave number must not be assigned to Preslova, nor the house address to Malvazinky. A route could connect both places, but its exact course, accessible crossings and distances have not been measured in this research. [PU03]

Science and Ukrainian identity in Czechoslovakia

Histories of science discuss Puliui as a cathode-ray experimenter and pioneer of practical electrical engineering. The plaque shows that Ukrainian students in 1930 sought to represent him in the Czech capital specifically as a Ukrainian scientist. It is an episode of transnational remembrance in which a multilingual scientific biography acquires a local city marker. [PU02]

The present account must not call Puliui “the direct discoverer of X-rays” without a qualified historical analysis of scientific priority and experiment dates. Kraus describes Puliui's cathode lamp and Röntgen's discovery; these claims must remain attributed and verifiable, rather than replacing a complete biography. [PU02]

Smíchov and memorial topography

Smíchov is an urban setting where the modernisation of technology, housing and public life intersected with the multilingual biographies of Prague's scientists. An earlier editorial record mentioned the corner of Matoušova and Preslova and commercial premises below the plaque. Kraus's currently available article does not confirm these details; they remain leads for checking, rather than a finished route. [PU02]

A field check should photograph the street name, building number 1268, façade and plaque during one dated visit. Neither renumbering nor reconstruction has been established, so neither can be presented as a factual explanation of the earlier discrepancy. [PU01; PU02]

Address 5 or 15: evidence and resolution

The memorial directory and Kraus's article give Preslova 15. The previously recorded Preslova 5 variant comes from a catalogue that is now inaccessible; its current text and bibliography have not been rechecked. An official Praha 5 page uses Preslova 5 for a municipal institution, which does not itself establish the plaque's address. [PU01; PU02; PU04]

The deciding evidence is the cadastral record for 1268 in the Smíchov cadastral area, rather than the number of matching web pages. The relationship between the building number čp., street number č.o. and street name must be checked in RÚIAN and confirmed on the façade. Until then, street_candidate=Preslova 15, the earlier Preslova 5 variant is unverified, and geocode_status=BLOCKED. [PU01; PU02]

Designing a cultural route and using it responsibly

R0075 could become the first of two connected “Puliui in Prague” stops: the city house with the plaque and the grave at Malvazinky. Verified histories of his department, translations and urban electrification could be added later. A fixed route must be calculated from a verified address point; until the discrepancy is resolved, the map should show only the district, rather than a randomly positioned house pin. [PU02; PU03]

Photographs of the private façade and memorial require assessment of copyright and personal rights; residents and private interior details must not be displayed. The grave account should likewise remain ethically restrained, refer to cemetery rules and avoid disturbing burials. [PU03]

Geographic data, condition and photographic evidence

Candidate address: Preslova 15; building number: 1268 according to the memorial directory. The Preslova 5 variant in the earlier editorial entry has not been reconfirmed. Our own GPS is null; neither the cadastral record nor the current façade has been checked. Matoušova remains an unverified orientation lead. [PU01; PU02]

Illustrations need the fields photo_front_full, photo_plaque_closeup, door_street_number, location_from_public_space, photographer, date, license, source and rights_review. Having no photographs of our own means MEDIA_REQUIRED, rather than permission to copy illustrations automatically from the memorial portal. [PU01]