Hühnergasse (Chicken Lane) was newly laid out in the 17th century following the construction of the bastion fortifications. The names assigned to this lane were extraordinarily inconsistent and contradictory over the centuries. Around 1650, the name "Hühnergasse" was used for a section of Schilfgasse (Reed Lane), while the present-day Hühnergasse was then called "3. Reutergasse" (Third Cavalry Lane). By 1763 it was already called "Hühner- oder Strandgasse" (Chicken or Beach Lane), and this double name persisted until 1817. Only after that time was the dual designation eliminated, and the geographically nonsensical name "Strandgasse" (Beach Lane) was transferred to its present-day location.

The lane was traversed lengthwise by a water ditch. The western side was called Entengasse (Duck Lane), the eastern side Hühnergasse (Chicken Lane). Around 1763, the entire lane was renamed Mittelgasse (Middle Lane). Only from 1814 onward was the name Schilfgasse (Reed Lane) — which in the 17th century still applied to a part of Weidengasse (Willow Lane) — transferred to this lane. The designation Mittelgasse, in turn, passed to the lane later known by that name.

History