Kleine Ölmühlengasse

As late as 1608, the lane was still counted among the unnamed streets ("plateae anonymae") of the Hakelwerk district. From 1624 onward, it formed part of the "Vergessene Gasse" (Forgotten Lane). This name was used for the entire area from behind Adler's Brewhouse to the Pestilenzhaus (Plague House) situated at the corner of Heveliusplatz and Am Spendhaus, and thus encompassed today's Kleine Oelmuhlengasse, the Hakelwerk, and Am Spendhaus.

The name remained in use longest for the Kleine Oelmuhlengasse -- it still appears in 1806, and in 1792 also in the form "Verlorene Gasse" (Lost Lane). It was also carried over into the mortgage book for some properties on Plappergasse, though apparently only because those properties originally extended through to Kleine Oelmuhlengasse and were therefore counted as part of it.

The entire district apparently had a bad reputation, and the terms "Verlorene" (Lost) and "Vergessene Gasse" (Forgotten Lane) were used in the same sense that one still describes a remote place today as a "forgotten corner."

From about 1817, the lane appears on maps as "An der Oelmuehle" (At the Oil Mill). In 1854, this designation was changed to "Kleine Oelmuhlengasse" (Small Oil Mill Lane).