Badstuestræde is first mentioned in the Toskilde Bishops' Census Book from 1377. It was home to a row of market stalls that were moved to Købmagergade in about 1400. The street was named for a public bath house located at its southern end. It was one of three such public bath houses in the city at that time. The two others were located in Vestergade and at St Nicolas' Church. The House of the Holy Ghost in Niels Hemmingsens Gade had its own, private bath house. In 1496, the street was referred to as Strandbadstræde ("Beach Bath Alley"). The bath house was closed in 1509 but the street kept its name which was shortened to Badstuestræde in the 1740s. The street was completely destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1795 but rebuilt over the next few years.