Poggenpfuhl

The name and the scope seem to have remained unchanged since 1367. W. Stephan explains the name as originating from a frog pond originally located here. However, W. Stephan does not go into the meaning of this name as it was understood in the 16th to 18th century, similarly as he does not do it in other cases, e.g. with the name Altes Ross. For the pogge was already in ancient Greece a symbol of prostitutes. Since the end of the Middle Ages, the knowledge of ancient Greek texts was quite widespread in Europe. The general use of this term in the Middle Low German dialect is proven by the Lübeck court records from that time: in about 75% of the hearings for insults it was about one lady calling another a "pogge", but the latter indignantly replied that she was an honest woman. The meaning of the term "puddle" also changed in the 16th century. If it was a simple puddle before, it got a decidedly new meaning at the latest through Martin Luther's translation of the Bible (Sodom and Gomorrah equals puddle of sin). And precisely this meaning must have been omnipresent in the consciousness of the Protestant, German-speaking citizens in the 16th century. According to various sources, the neighboring Ketterhagergasse was actually a red-light alley. Considering the size of Gdansk, the fact that it was a port city in both senses of the word (transport by sea and on the Vistula), and the extent of prostitution known from other cities, it is safe to assume that the red-light district was not limited to this small alley. This alley may have been originally named after a frog pond located here, but from the 16th century it was perceived as a kind of "sinful harlot's pool". It is almost impossible to translate the present name, because it was created by a misunderstanding. The easiest way would be to try Poggenkrug. The term Pogge was translated as frog, the term Krug was adopted phonetically as Kruk=Raabe. This naming is not exactly sensible.