Altstädtischer Graben

Today's street Altstaedtischer Graben (Old Town Moat) was originally a connecting path that ran from the Holzmarkt (Timber Market) along the outer side of the section of the Main Town's moat that faced the Old Town. The path was therefore built up only on the side facing the Old Town. The opposite side was not lined with houses until the 17th century, after the moat here had been filled in between 1617 and 1637.

Until the 17th century, the street comprised only the stretch from the Holzmarkt to the street An der Schneidemuehle (At the Sawmill), where it met the outer moat of the Teutonic Order's castle at a right angle -- a moat that was itself not removed until around 1640. Together with today's street An der Schneidemuehle, which ran along this outer moat and was likewise built up on only one side, the Altstaedtischer Graben formed the main western approach to the Order's castle. The castle gate on this side was located at the level of today's Schlossstrasse (Castle Street).

Both streets were therefore called "Burggasse" or "Burgstrasse" (Castle Street). For the street An der Schneidemuehle, the name Burggasse first appears in a charter of 1422. The Altstaedtischer Graben itself is regularly listed as Burgstrasse in the hereditary registers from the 16th well into the 18th century.

Alongside this, the designation "am Graben" (at the moat) appears on maps from 1608 onward, eventually becoming the sole name in the form "Altstaedtischer Graben" from the end of the 18th century -- though initially only for the older section from the Holzmarkt to An der Schneidemuehle.

The stretch from the latter to the Fish Market, which was only opened after the castle moat was filled in during the 17th century, is listed in 1648 under the double name "Neue Gasse oder Burgstrasse" (New Lane or Castle Street). The designation "Neue Gasse" did not catch on, however, and the name Burgstrasse was extended to this continuation and its prolongation beyond the Fish Market. Henceforth the older section was called "Altstaedtische Burgstrasse" to distinguish it from the newer section, which belonged to the Main Town. Only after 1817 was the name "Altstaedtischer Graben" extended to the stretch between the Fish Market and An der Schneidemuehle as well.

The section between Holzmarkt and Grosse Muehlengasse was popularly called "Gruetzmuehlen-Makergasse" (Groats Mill Maker's Lane) in the mid-19th century. The area around house number 299 (110) was colloquially known as "Auf den kurzen Brettern" (On the Short Planks) in 1831. At Altstaedtischer Graben 93, the photography studio of Franz Daehling operated between 1904 and approximately 1919.