Hopfengasse (Hop Lane) already existed in 1385, extending from the Kuhbrucke (Cow Bridge) to the old ash and tar yard situated roughly opposite the Krantor (Crane Gate), though it bore no name at the time. In later periods, its individual sections were known by different designations.

The section between Leitergasse and Milchkannengasse was called around 1440 "versus strues lignorum" (toward the woodpiles), after the old municipal timber yard at the end of the Speicherinsel (Granary Island) on the New Mottlau. In the 17th century, this name survived as "Alte Stadthofgasse" (Old Town Yard Lane) on a site plan. The 1643 hereditary register names the two sides of the street differently: the side facing the Rechtstadt (Main Town) was called "Hinter der Langen Brucke" (Behind the Long Bridge) - as late as 1805, this was recalled by the name "Bruckengasse" (Bridge Lane), though by then rarely used. The side facing the Niederstadt (Lower Town) was called "longa platea" (long street) in 1643.
The section between Milchkannengasse and Kuhbrucke was called around 1440 "tuschen beiden brucken" (between the two bridges). By 1643, this part already bore the name Hopfengasse after the hop barns located here, as did a part of today's Milchkannengasse. A 17th-century site plan uses instead the term "Flachsgasse" (Flax Lane), derived from the flax weighing house located here, a name also used for the adjoining Munchengasse. In 1770, the designation "Nonnengasse bey der Flachswaage" (Nuns' Lane by the Flax Scales) appears.
The section from the Kuhbrucke to the Thornsche Gasse appears to have been built up beyond the Brandgasse only after 1440. By 1643, this entire section was already counted as part of the Hopfengasse. A 17th-century site plan calls it "Aschhofgasse" (Ash Yard Lane) after the new ash yard established from 1449 on the site of the later freight railway station. The two old ash and tar yards had burned down in 1449 and were relocated to the opposite end of the Speicherinsel.

The uniform designation of the entire lane as "Lange Hopfengasse" (Long Hop Lane) or simply "Hopfengasse" appears on maps from the end of the 18th century and became established from the beginning of the 19th century. Even after the war, the old name was retained, translated into Polish.

History