Saline Conow
The Saline Conow was a saltworks in southwest Mecklenburg in the district Conow of the municipality Malliss in the district Ludwigslust-Parchim . This salt works was first mentioned on August 28, 1307. Duke Rudolf I of Saxony-Wittenberg had given them - shortly after taking possession of the state of Dömitz - to the nuns of the Eldena monastery , where the salt spring had been discovered. This donation was made under the stipulation that a third of the income would flow to the duke and the monastery would show itself even more recognizable if “the salt works gain reputation and importance and rightly use the name Saline”. Acts of war, fires, various changes of ownership and the different skills of the various salinists shaped the almost 450-year history of the Saline Conow.
history
Historical researchers assume that salt pans have been operated in Mecklenburg for centuries. Where exactly has not yet been fully determined. Information on the actual operation and yield of the salt pans has only been handed down since the beginning of the 16th century.
The Eldena monastery leased the actual brine operation of the Conow salt works to various salt workers . In 1461 the monastery even gave the salt works to Heinrich Sasse from Sülz on a long lease. A letter of complaint from the prioress Antonia von Winterfeld dated June 30, 1527 shows that subsequently (probably 1527) - without the knowledge of the monastery - the saltworks was sold to Duke Heinrich the Peaceful for 100 guilders . “The monastery protested against the alienation of the salt works because it was the property of the monastery; but the complaints were already impotent, because the Reformation broke into the country with violent storms, even if it spared the monastery for a long time, although the nuns longed for an evangelical preacher as early as 1535 ” .
This low purchase price of 100 guilders suggests that the saltworks had fallen into disrepair at that time. Duke Heinrich was now trying to get it back into operation. In his substantial memorial, which is to be set in 1527, he speaks of the erection of the new well from the old one. He takes care of the necessary equipment, such as pans and salt bins, the delivery of the wood and the salt production. The brine fountain should be in operation day and night. Thus the duke wanted to achieve the highest possible yield.
The operating periods of the salt works
On August 24, 1527, the construction of the new salt well began in the presence of the duke, and boiling began on August 26. On September 6th, eight "tubs" of salt were sent to Schwerin for the court.
On October 27, 1527, the Duke took the salt boiler Jürgen Rosenburg into service with a quarter-year notice with a weekly wage of 1 gulden, free food and beer and an annual dress. It can be assumed that the company turned out to be profitable at first, because on June 15, 1528, the construction of a larger plant at the same location was entrusted to the carpenter Hans Kuchler by Duke Heinrich in his and his brother Albrecht's name, who had ten servants at their disposal were asked. After a year, on June 14, 1529, the construction was completed.
In the meantime, the Duke of Lüneburg had opposed salt production in Mecklenburg. Lüneburg apparently feared competition and the loss of the Mecklenburg sales area. But in February 1541, at the request of the Mecklenburg dukes, Emperor Charles V issued an order to the Duke of Lüneburg not to disturb Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg in his business.
Since the saltworks did not achieve the necessary yield from wild water, the sovereigns handed it over to the saltworks administrator Jürgen Rose on May 20, 1543 for rebuilding and administration, but on condition that it was bought back for 1000 guilders. This type of administration also turned out to be unsatisfactory as there were many irregularities. Finally, the saltworks was destroyed by fire on September 1, 1546. Reconstruction was planned immediately, and a report was made to the duke. It was promised that the saltworks should be completed by mid-November.
In 1572 - with the discovery of the alum mountain near Eldena - attention was drawn to the saltworks at Conow again, and Duke Ulrich gave the use of it to his landlord Gabriel Brüggmann. The saltworks continued to operate until 1584.
On April 26, 1579, the salt boiler Hermann Wilcken, who had worked the summer on the Conow jelly, received 8 guilders. Even external experts were called in. A person from Lübeck received 2 guilders and 16 shillings on August 29 of the same year. On March 26, 1584, a salt boiler from Halle, who was to submit his report on the salt works on behalf of the duke, received 1 gulden and 8 shillings and on April 13, 8 gulden.
To date, no further archival material has been found about the Conow saltworks. It must therefore be assumed that the salt works ceased at the end of the 16th century (1573?) After numerous attempts by the dukes to rebuild it despite further fires and other difficulties and to generate income from it due to unprofitability.
On July 25, 1652, Jacubus Arends from Güstrow was commissioned by Duke Adolf Friedrich to manage the Conow saltworks, which had been fallow since 1573. Jacubus Arends had learned the saltworking trade on the Saline Sältze near Güstrow. A short time later, on September 29, 1652, he was assisted by the salt boiler Rodloff, who also came from Güstrow, to support the reconstruction and subsequent boiling operation. With all their energy they repaired the dilapidated salt works. They cleared the old, up to 40 feet deep brine wells, built a boiling house with three boiling pans and built a lickwork 500 feet long, 16 feet wide and 18 feet high to enrich the brine, which was only about three percent deep.
As early as December 17, 1652, they delivered the first boiled salt to the ducal court kitchen in Schwerin. As a “salt writer”, Arends received an annual salary of 50 Reichstaler along with a “deputation of victuals and natural produce, consisting of grain, meat, pegs, stockfish, butter, etc.” That this could not have been much can be concluded from the fact that Arends was on August 13, 1653 addressed the Duke with the request: "For a new dress, which when the Güstrow salt works was set up ... from the pensioners at the time, the same was returned when the salt was first delivered to Stralsund".
The working conditions on the Conow saltworks were primitive. A report from 1657 states:
“The brine is pumped into the lowest boxes of the lickwork by human hands, the straw mats hung in the lickwork are watered by human hands and the brine reaches the very small pans of the boiling house, about 2 to 3 times per boiler Tons of salt pr. Spend 6 bushels, keeping the soole in constant boiling for 24 hours using 2 strands of 8, 8 u. 4 feet to be burned. The product is very well praised and, according to the unanimous opinion of all princely kitchen servants, is declared to be better than the Lüneburg salt. "
The yield of the Saline Conow decreased enormously from 1658 due to lack of wood. Salzschreiber Arends was released. On January 17, 1661, he wrote to the Duke that he still had a salary for the last two years and would then go to the salt works in Güstrow. Thereupon he was summoned to the Chamber Chancellery in Schwerin “to justify his bill”. Jacubus Arends preferred not to do so and left Conow without compensation. His traces are lost in the annals of Mecklenburg mining history.
In November 1659 a certain Jürgen Rykmann from Lüneburg managed the salt works. Its successes are moderate. He probably dies in 1671.
In 1672 the saltworks was completely ruined.
In 1680 a certain Wuesthof Salzschreiber zu Conow was released, but released again two years later. Then the bailiff Crull zu Eldena has the saltworks and the well tidied up and brings so-called Boysalz from Hamburg from Spain to enrich the pumped brine. The saltworks will probably be shut down again in 1689.
The Saline Conow experienced an upswing from 1695 onwards from the building officer Paul Andrich. On September 2, 1707, however, most of the buildings burned down - the well, the salt and drying chambers, the mill and graduation building. The salt works will be erected again. Andrich probably dies in 1712. From that time until 1721 (?) A certain Berling leased the salt works. However, a permanent lack of firewood and cheaper salt imported from abroad ultimately resulted in the permanent cessation of the salt works in 1746.
The first “Sülzordnung” from 1656
This “Ordinance on the duties and rights of service personnel both against the rulers and among themselves” was issued on February 1, 1656. The service staff consisted of: a salt writer, two boilers, two "pourers", two "night pumps" and four "cossats", "pumping during the day."
The supervision or the "Direction of the salt works" was transferred from 1654/57 to the valet, later to the "Chamber Secretary" Emanuel Eichler and the "Kanzleisecretair" Ludwig Becker, who each annually paid 100 Rthlr for this "Office". They received a salary bonus and a stately "carriage" with two horses at their disposal. During the two-year travel time of the two named, apart from the Leckwerk, apartments were built for the people and a room for the Duke "to step down" was built, the wells covered, the salt works surrounded by a ditch and hookwork, three boiling pans set up and the fourth sheet metal acquired. The construction costs for the establishment of the salt works amounted to 2314 guilders from 1652 to Johannis 1655 (June 24th) according to the calculation of the bailiff Asmus Friese zu Eldena.
The income from the salt works
The following overview results from the traditional salt bills from this first period of the Conower salt works:
From 1654 to 1659 a total of 7602 bushels of salt were extracted and after deducting all costs, a surplus of approx. 1251 Reichstalern 33ßl.
After the restoration of the salt works in 1697:
- 1697 120 tons of salt
- 1698 319 tons of salt with a wood consumption of 272 fathoms
- 1699 302 tons of salt with a wood consumption of 251 fathoms
- 1700 196 tons of salt with a wood consumption of 282 (?) Threads of wood
Most of the wood came from the Lewitz and was transported over the waterway ( Elde ).
The income statement of the salt administrator Berling from 1721 gives the following picture:
140-150 soils of 2 tons = 300 tons of salt each. 3 Rthlr. 24 ßl. = 1050 Rthlr.
Output :
- Wood 2 threads a. 1 Rthlr. = 300 Rthlr.
- Siederlohn a. Sod 32 ßl. = 100 Rthlr.
- For a crawler who works so constantly, wages = 60 Rthlr.
- 2 pump servants a. 40 Rthlr. = 80 Rthlr.
- 2 drivers in the mills with the horses a. 30 Rthlr. = 60 Rthlr.
For 4 horses feed for 52 weeks, each horse 1/4 quarter Haber daily, 30 drbt. 4 bushels, a. Bushel 12 ßl. = 91 Rthlr.
A servant with the horses = 40 Rthlr. For maintenance of the building, so there are 20 rooms, 12 pumps, repairing the pans = 120 Rthlr.
For light and slide a. Sod 4 tsp. = 12 Rthlr. 24 ßl.
- Total : 863 Rthlr. 24ßl.
- Income : 1050 Rthlr.
- Edition: 863 Rthlr. 24 ßl.
- Subtotal = 187 Rthlr. 24 ßl.
- less pension 110 Rthlr.
- You could win : 77 Rthlr. 24 ßl.
Explanations
- 1 Rthlr. = 36 Luebian shillings (ßl.),
- 1 meckl. Foot = 0.291 m,
- 1 ton = 4 bushels,
- 1 bushel = 33.9 liters,
- 1 Drömt (Drbt.) = 12 bushels
The salt pans inventory
Regarding the design of the salt works in 1702, the traditions say literally:
"1) Well : A salt well in the courtyard 40 feet deep with 2 buckets on an iron chain, which an ox or horse pulls up and down with a winch, and Sale, scooped out of the well, falls 30 feet high in a channel above it is distributed through 2 channels in the 2 main gradir houses, so that afterwards it is divided off every 5 times by 2 ox mills over the other leaks = works or gradir = buildings, carried away and brought to the mats for distillation. There are still 2 old salt wells in the field, one of which is 40 feet deep with wood. The other, however, with stones, is 20 feet deep. NB. Herr Bau Raht dug the Steinern well to a depth of 20 feet and had it lined with wood. The Mr. Baw Raht found a Newe Qwelle, struck it past the old well, if so he continued digging a Newen well or shaft 40 feet deep and lined the planks with fir trees, which well led into the old well through a tunnel below brought to light with a bucket and led at 800 paces through a tube to the Saltzhofe. Still thinks the Mr. Baw Raht, that the veins of this well had to be searched further and therefore to make a tunnel through a Newen intersection in order to bring about an increase in sale through several waves in the main well. A well to the kitchen.
2) Graduation works : consisting of “5 rooms to the leak works, as 1) one a. 11 Connected with thatched roof, below in the middle of the floor, above with a Sahl channel and the corresponding pipes. 2) One of 16 joints covered with straw. 3) One ditto of 26 links. 4) One ditto of 14 links. 5) One ditto of 10 links. Total 77 links.
3) Machines : 3 huts in which the oxen pull the winch, to scoop the hall outside the well and to pump it through pipes over all leaks, thereby bringing the wild water from the hall and finally the new hall is applied for boiling salt. Inside, the leaks are stretched from one another, partly with straw = mats, partly with bush, on which the uppermost floor = gutters through many crooks 1) the hall falls drop white.
4) Siedevorrichtungen : The Siedehaus of 12 Verbinten with pan stone covered, therein 1 Eisern therein already salt is boiled pans. 1 iron pan, so that the roasting of the oven is still to be brought. The former was quite large before, but already made very uneven from the heat, because of which it is spread out in the midst of each other and one part is used for warming, the other for real salt boiling. To operate this salt factory, cattle are kept at the previous Nohtturfft: 3 horses 6 oxen. "
So much for the old inventory.
The remuneration of the salt works
As a salt scribe, Arends received an annual salary of 50 Reichstalers along with a "Deputat of victuals and natural produce, consisting of grain, meat, pegs, stockfish, butter, etc." The salt boiler also received a deposit of natural produce and 20 Schilling salary per pan of 2 Drömt salt, later (1655) per bushel of salt 1 ½ Schilling salary. The “Pumpers” and “Leckers”, that is, the workers at the bucket scooping systems of the brine fountains and the graduation systems, received “a Reichstaler wage and two bushels of fields, along with meadows for a cow for two fodder of hay, as well as a bushel of salt only while salt was boiled ”. The remuneration of the saline personnel under Berling's management (he operated the saline from 1712 to around 1721) can be seen above under "Income from the saline".
The recovery of the old brine well
The exact location of the Saline Conow's operation could not be determined from the archives. Surveys of local residents have so far also remained inconclusive. In 1975, employees of the former district office for geology of the Schwerin district council discovered an old brine well on the basis of the typical salt flora in a larger paddock near Conow (see photo on the left). In the middle of this approximately circular dry area of about 4 m in diameter, a small pit was dug with a spade, which was immediately filled with water that tasted of salt. The chemical analysis of this water is shown in the right figure. There is no doubt that this is one of the old brine wells.
The re-establishment as a geological natural monument
In August 2011, the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the Ludwigslust district initiated the restoration of the “Old Conow-Sülze” natural monument, which was placed under protection in 1938. The natural monument (ND) was filled in by the Soviet Army after 1945. There were no documents about the shape of the ND from 1938. During the search excavation carried out in September, a square well surrounded by wooden walls, in which salt water emerged, came to light (Wegener 2011).
The sampling of the brine spring on October 6, 2011 showed a sodium chloride content of 25.02 g / l. The salt concentration of the Conow salt spring has not changed in the centuries since it was first used. The amount of the inflow rate of the brine source is not transmitted in the archives. It is probably low, as there was repeated work to increase the inflow when the saltworks were in operation. Exactly how high the so-called pouring of the salt spring was and currently is is unknown.
literature
- Contributions to: Yearbooks of the Association for Mecklenburg History and Archeology. Volume 11, year 1846:
Georg Christian Friedrich Lisch: Older history of the Saline zu Conow , pp. 123–140, online ;
Johann Virck: Modern History of the Saline zu Conow , pp. 141–155, online ;
Documents on the history of the Saline zu Conow , pp. 301–316, online . - Millies, Ch. (1937): The beginnings of a state economic policy in Mecklenburg in the 15./16. Century. Yearbooks of the Association for Mecklenburg History and Archeology, Volume 101, born in 1937
- Günter Pinzke: The Conow salt works . Evaporated salt production in southwest Mecklenburg. 1st edition. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7322-7860-2 .
- Günter Pinzke: The salt production in southwest Mecklenburg - geology and development of the deposits; an outline of mining history. Part 1: The Conow Saline . In: DER ANSCHNITT, magazine for art and culture in mining, 64th year, issue 1, pages 18–24 (2012); Publisher: German Mining Museum Bochum.
- Günter Pinzke: personalities of the mining and salt works in Mecklenburg. Contributions to the local history of the Schwerin district, Schweriner Blätter, No. 6, 1986
- B. Wegener: Description of services, partial production of the "old salt spring" in the Conow district, corridor 1, parcel 254 . District Ludwigslust, Environment, Landscape Planning. July 5, 2011.
Web links
- Günter Pinzke: On the history of the mining and saltworks in Mecklenburg. (PDF, 2 MB) In: Scientific journal of the Wilhelm Pieck University Rostock. 1986, pp. 78-80 , accessed January 30, 2011 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Virck: Modern history of the Saline zu Conow . In: GCF Lisch (Hrsg.): Yearbooks of the association for Mecklenburg history and antiquity . tape 11 . Stillersche Hofbuchhandlung, Schwerin 1846, p. 144 ( [1] [accessed March 30, 2020]).
Coordinates: 53 ° 13 ′ 10.1 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 19.5 ″ E