Readers posted a number excellent comments in response to the recent Right Place — Wrong Side of the Atlantic article. It’s not just England where place names migrated counter-intuitively against the tide away from the Americas, but to other parts of Europe as well. I noticed patterns as I savored the comments including the repetition of Amerika (with a “k”) as found in languages such as Czech, German, Dutch and many others.
Czechia
Reader “Matt” knew about an Amerika in the Czechia. I found several. This included Lomy Amerika (website auto-translated), the America Quarries in the Central Bohemian Region (map). Lom Velká Amerika qualifies as the most impressive of the set, the “Great America Quarry”. Some call this the Czech Grand Canyon. Mining for limestone began here around 1900 and continued for decades thereafter.
Deep quarries and connecting tunnels litter the entire area so divers, spelunkers and explorers love to visit. Czech Wikipedia explains that the name Amerika came from a nearby farmhouse but then the trail turned cold. I couldn’t trace it any further. The people who named the collective quarries continued the theme with some of the individual parcels, giving them names like Canada and Mexico.
I also found a tiny village called Amerika (perhaps the same one that Matt found?) near the slightly larger village of Pametice, a bit north of Brno in the South Moravian Region. Additionally I discovered a pond named similarly near Františkovy Lázne in the Karlovy Vary Region, in the far western part of the country
Amerika seemed particularly popular in the Czechia.
Germany
Reader “Robin” mentioned two German villages called Amerika. I found one of them, the Amerika near Penig, in Saxony. I couldn’t find the other one. Robin, if you read this, could you place the lat/long coordinates or a Google Map link in the comments?
I visited the Penig site (website auto-translated). Naturally I loved the idea of an “Amerika’s Biergarten” and especially enjoyed the photo of the owner in a cowboy hat and vest. I don’t match the American cowboy stereotype but I suppose there are worse comparisons. I’ll accept cowboy.
It’s thought that this Amerika may have had something to do with people having to cross the Mulde River from Penig in the mid 19th Century so they could work in a local factory. Thus, sarcastically, they may have equated it with a long trip across the Atlantic. That’s the popular legend. The website admits that nobody really knows how Amerika got its name.
Netherlands
I had time to find one more Amerika, this one in the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands (map). Dutch Wikipedia (website auto-translated) maintains, however, that this Amerika predates Columbus. It’s quite an interesting coincidence if that’s the case. Also, let’s be sure we don’t confuse it with the America in the province of Limburg.
Many other nations and languages use the Amerika spelling. I have no doubt that I could find several more examples spread throughout central and northern Europe. I’ll leave some of those for you to discover and cite in the comments unless I get an itch to start looking for more, which is entirely possible.
Happy hunting, and thanks for the interesting tangent.
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