Getreidegasse - the main street of Salzburg
The name of Salzburg's main street is Getreidegasse, which means Grain Lane or Grain Alley. However, the origin of the name has nothing to do with grain, despite a grain market and many breweries nearby.
In the Middle Ages, foreign merchants transported goods across the Alps from the ports of Venice to the prosperous cities of the Danube region. Passing the sovereign territory of Salzburg's principality along the Salzach River, they had to stop in the town for three days to offer wine, textiles, glass, jewelry, eastern sweets, and spices to the local folk. These were the requirements of the archbishop's customs authorities. The outlanders quickly found the needed shops or workshops by seeing the items hung on wrought-iron signs.
As the street at the market area was advantageous for selling goods but too expensive for lodging, crowds of merchants and customers rushed into the narrow lane in the mornings and left it in a hurry in the evenings before the city gates were shut. For this daily rush, the street residents called it Trab(e)gasse, which means trot or rush lane. The present name of Getreidegasse - Grain Lane, was given only in the 19th century by Napoleon's interim administration.
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