History
Historians generally recognize the Old Salt Route as part of a much longer path, which functioned as an important connection between the northern and southern reaches of the country. One of the oldest documents that confirms Lüneburg and its role in refining and transporting salt dates back to 956 A.D. According to that document, King Otto I the Great granted the St. Michaelis Monastery the customs revenue from the saltworks. Even at those early times, the city’s wealth was based in large part on the salt found in the area. However, the Old Salt Route attained its peak of success between the 12th and the 16th century.
The trade route led from Lüneburg northward to Lübeck. From that port city, most of the salt was shipped to numerous destinations that also lie on the Baltic Sea, including Falsterbo, with boasted a Scania Market. There it was used for the preservation of Herring, an immensely important food in the Middle Ages, as well as for other foods. The salt trade was a major reason for the power of Lübeck and the Hanseatic League.
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—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
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