Allmodengasse

The lane was created in the first half of the 17th century, after the construction of the new bastion fortifications and at the same time as the other streets of the Niederstadt ("lower town"). It was created on swampy terrain, which up to that time was usually called the Schweinewiese ("pig meadow"). The lane was crossed lengthwise by a wide moat, the north bank of which facing the Mottlau was called Papegogengasse around 1650, while the southern side of the street was already called Alamodengasse at that time. The designation Papegogengasse does not appear later in history. In 1763, both sides of the street were already called Alamodengasse to the extent that they are today. In 1796 and 1805 it was called Allmoden, a la Moden or Allmondegasse, since that time the shape of Allmodengasse has been fixed.

As far as the meaning of the name is concerned, it is not derived from the well-known patrician family von Allmonde, even though this has been suggest in 1796 and 1806. The family apparently only came to Gdańsk in the 18th century and, as far as can be ascertained, never owned any property in the street. In addition, the name in the 17th century was always Allemoden or à la Modengasse in the entries in official documents from the time.

The term allamodisch appeared in Germany from about 1620, with the increasing influence of the French language. It is first used in pamphlets mocking the clothing of military adventurers who brought the new trend-setting costume from France to Germany. However, the meaning of the word was soon expanded and it was now used to describe the taste of the time in behavior and action, meaning the usual, customary manner in clothing, furniture, rooms and also in buildings.

The use of the word in a street name, however appears not to have occurred in Danzig or other cities. This is especially striking, as the appearance of the area at the time was everything but fancy. According to Wustrak, the area featured buildings in disrepair, swampy creek and was inhabited by laborers. Often, the names of such foul-smelling, dirty streets was named with a sense of irony.

It can be assumed that such a process is also present here and that the current name is a distortion of Moder-, or as one would say here with a dialectical secondary form and exact agreement with the French form, of Mottgasse. In any case, this designation corresponds to the former actual character of the dirty, unpaved suburban street.