Katergasse

The lane is first mentioned in 1447 in the tax register for rebuilding the burned-down crane (Krantor), where it appears as "kattergasse." The roughly contemporary hereditary register (Erbbuch) uses the same name. Neither the name itself nor its area of validity have changed over time.

Loeschin suggested that the lane took its name from a tower called "die Katze" (the Cat) in the suburban wall fortifications, which the lane supposedly led to, and where the Bastion Katz was later built. However, this cannot be correct, since the lane never reached the city wall but always ended at Fleischergasse.

The name also occurs in other places -- for example in the Loebenicht district of Koenigsberg as "Katersteig" -- for narrow lanes that often did not enjoy the best of reputations. A similar connection may apply here as well. Today the street is known, translated into the Danzig manner, as "Katerchens" (Little Tomcats).

The designation "Katzengasse" (Cat Lane), which appears in the 17th century for part of Sperlingsgasse, points to different origins, since nearly all the newly laid-out lanes in the Lower Town at that time were uniformly named after animals.