Named after Simon Plößl, a Viennese optician.
Simon Plößl (1794–1868), a carpenter’s son, trained as a lens grinder and opened his own workshop in 1828. In 1830 he made his first excellent microscope; he was also known for his telescopes, and the court ordered one from him as a gift for the sultan’s observatory in Istanbul. The lane, formerly Obere Alleegasse, was named after him in 1875.