Did you know this about the Totengässlein?

Totengässlein leading down to the lower part of the city

Peterskirche today

The alley Totengässlein (translation: "the alley of the dead") officially received its name in 1861. However, the name of this alley already existed long before 1861. In the late Middle Ages, a legend spread according to which many people died in this alley during the great earthquake in 1356. Nevertheless, some historians as Christian Wurstisen (1544-1588) and Daniel Albert Fechter (1805-1876) disagreed with this view saying that the name (then Totgassun) already existed in the 13th century. According to them, this alley was used to transport the dead from lower parts of the parish St. Peter to the cemetery by the chapel where the church Peterskirche stands today.

source: http://www.altbasel.ch/fragen/totengaesslein.html
photo credit: http://www.baselinsider.ch/enzyklopaedie/curiosa-basiliensia/curiosa-basiliensia/das-totengaesslein-zu-basel.html
photo credit: http://www.mishanita.ru/2013/01/13/18374/
photo credit: http://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Toteng%C3%A4sslein_und_Pharmazie-Historisches_Museum_2009-05-31.jpg