Alley of Hell.
The street was given its name because of the residences of three chaplains and a bell-ringer built there during the 16th century. The four small buildings were demolished in 1708 to make room for the parsonage which is still present. Because the parsons of the German Church ("Tyska kyrkan") were housed near the street, the southern part of it was called Tyska Prästgatan ("The German Priest's Street") from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century while the northern part was called Svenska Prästgatan ("The Swedish Priest's Street"). The name revision of 1885, led to the name Prästgatan being used for the street's northern and southern extensions as well.
Before this, the north part of the street Storkyrkobrinken was known as Helvetesgränd ("Alley of Hell"), just like the surrounding area north and west of the cathedral Storkyrkan was referred to as Helvetet (Hell), a name subject to scholarly disputes. Professor Nils Ahnlund (1889–1957), interpreted it as referring to the area north of a church in popular beliefs being known as "latus plagæ damnatæ" ("the northern side of the damned") and therefore a place of disgrace suitable for suicides and criminals, a theory only corroborated by the location of the city executioner in the area. This theory was however questioned in several essays by the historian Lizzie Carlsson, who instead concluded that during the Middle Ages Helvetet was used all over Sweden for farmyards as well as other structures with a northern location. A theory, she argues, is confirmed by the fact that the "kingdom of the dead" in norse folklore is located to the north. While the presence of more distinguished residences in the Helvetet neighbourhood can be explained by the overcrowded conditions within the city walls, the name during medieval times did not have the pejorative meaning it has today, thus making the hypothesis credible.
Alley of Hell.
The street was given its name because of the residences of three chaplains and a bell-ringer built there during the 16th century. The four small buildings were demolished in 1708 to make room for the parsonage which is still present. Because the parsons of the German Church ("Tyska kyrkan") were housed near the street, the southern part of it was called Tyska Prästgatan ("The German Priest's Street") from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century while the northern part was called Svenska Prästgatan ("The Swedish Priest's Street"). The name revision of 1885, led to the name Prästgatan being used for the street's northern and southern extensions as well.
Before this, the north part of the street Storkyrkobrinken was known as Helvetesgränd ("Alley of Hell"), just like the surrounding area north and west of the cathedral Storkyrkan was referred to as Helvetet (Hell), a name subject to scholarly disputes. Professor Nils Ahnlund (1889–1957), interpreted it as referring to the area north of a church in popular beliefs being known as "latus plagæ damnatæ" ("the northern side of the damned") and therefore a place of disgrace suitable for suicides and criminals, a theory only corroborated by the location of the city executioner in the area. This theory was however questioned in several essays by the historian Lizzie Carlsson, who instead concluded that during the Middle Ages Helvetet was used all over Sweden for farmyards as well as other structures with a northern location. A theory, she argues, is confirmed by the fact that the "kingdom of the dead" in norse folklore is located to the north. While the presence of more distinguished residences in the Helvetet neighbourhood can be explained by the overcrowded conditions within the city walls, the name during medieval times did not have the pejorative meaning it has today, thus making the hypothesis credible.