In 1449, the "fule Graben" (foul ditch) within the old town district is first mentioned as a street name. The ditch running through the lane from which it took its name still existed in 1800. It continued through Samtgasse and was originally connected to the Radaune river. It is first documented — though not by name — in a 1402 charter concerning the exchange of certain lands between the inhabitants of the Hakelwerk and the Teutonic Order.

Koehler's assumption that the Faulgraben formed the oldest city moat of the Old Town is very likely correct. This is supported by the fact that all the streets filling the area between Pfefferstadt and Schüsseldamm, laid out on a regular plan, originally terminated at the Faulgraben. Particularly telling is the fact that the Hospital of St. James, founded in 1432 next to a chapel already existing in 1415, was still described in 1437 as "buten der stadt uf dem nuwen tham" (outside the city on the new dam).

Later, the street names in this area became extraordinarily uncertain. In the inheritance registers, the two sides of the Faulgraben bore different names: the side facing Hansaplatz was counted as part of Kalkgasse in 1581; in 1624 those properties extending through to Jakobsneugasse were called "Niedergasse" (Lower Lane), the same name as the latter. The opposite side of the street was called in both instances — 1581 and 1624 — including the Kashubian Market, "Schwarze Kreuze" (Black Crosses), a name likely derived from the grave crosses of the Bartholomew churchyard.

On maps from the second half of the 18th century, the entire street is finally counted as part of the Kashubian Market. Since around 1800, the scope of the present name has been firmly established.

History