The Pfaffenthal area owes its name (of Germanic origin) to the presence of religious orders, in particular the Poor Clares, a division of the Franciscan order, who were among the first to care for the sick.
The Hospice Civil was the first institution to take in sufferers, and the Poor Clares were also the ones to build the first maternity hospital for the public.
The Pfaffenthal also gained the sad reputation of counting among its population people suffering from a variety of sicknesses, most notably leprosy, which meant their exclusion form public life.
Part of the Pfaffenthal is even today known as "Sichenhaff", from the German "Seuchen" - contagious diseases which regularly ravaged the area.
The well, situated on the grounds of St Mathieu church, named "Théiwesbur" was used to supply the people with water,
It is remembered in Luxembourg folklore music, immortalized by the compositions of Laurent Ménager (1835-1902), composer and professor of music, organist in St Mathieu and born in Pfaffenthal