Große Bohnengasse

This alley, probably the one most frequently cited as evidence of old Danzigers' sense of humor, came into being relatively late — only in 1648 — and bore the first of the above-mentioned names. At the same time some sources also count it as part of Steinstraße (Stone Street). After Steinstraße became Zapfengasse, the name Steinstraße remained attached to our alley alone, even though it was not paved but probably laid with large planks. Since in Low German "große Bohlen" (large planks) sounds like "Grote Bonen" (large beans), it was only a short step to first Große and then Krause Bohnengasse (Large/Curly Bean Lane). This name first appears in writing in 1796, though it had probably been in use for a long time already. The legend known to presumably all old Danzigers about the origin of this name during the French period is not only a fairy tale — it seems to have been exactly the reverse: the soldiers jokingly reinterpreted the unfamiliar alley name as "rue des gros bonnes." After the war the origin of the German name was apparently correctly deciphered, for it bore the name ul. Drewniana (Wooden Lane) for a few years. However, since the war had left only ruins there, the alley was abolished after a few years.