Brabank

The Brabank was a flat riverbank area where ships were careened or "braked" – laid on their side for repairs to the hull's underside. It was already mentioned in the oldest Danzig bylaws from the mid-15th century: "Nymand sal seyn Schiff bragen oder stortczen anders denne do die bragebank von der stat dorczu gemacht ist bey X gutten marken." Anyone who repaired their ship outside this designated area faced a fine of ten marks. Whether the Brabank was already at the location of today's street is not entirely certain. A document from 1402, granting the Hakelwerker permission to haul their ships onto the so-called Schild – the area between the former Radaune estuary near the imperial shipyard, the Mottlau, and today's Brabank street – suggests it was. In 1520, the Brabank is mentioned at its present location in the Ferber Chronicle. It lay partly along the Mottlau itself and partly along the now-filled Eimermachergraben, which ran in the direction of today's street and separated the Brabank from the opposite Eimermacherhof. Over time, residential buildings and gardens were built here, including the botanical garden founded by Johann Philipp Breyne. Today's name, Stara Stocznia, literally translates to "Old Shipyard."