Sälzerviertel on Kohlbrink

The Sälzerviertel district on Kohlbrink in Soest sheds light on the historical importance of salt, which was an essential commodity for thousands of years and played a key role in the development of the town. An Arab traveler attested to the local salt production as early as 973, whose legacy lives on in street names such as Salzbrink or Salzgasse.

Archaeological excavations in 1981/82 in the Sälzerviertel uncovered over 100 salt boiling facilities on an area covering 230 square meters. These kilns, which were up to 3.5 meters deep and made from pieces of unfired clay, were fired from upstream working pits. Finds of wattle and daub constructions for wind catchers and wooden posts for roofs document the way they were once used. Dendrochronological analyses date the Soest salt works to around 600 AD.

The cessation of salt production in Soest cannot be precisely traced archaeologically; the documentary record ends in the 13th century. At the same time, the production of the Sassendorf salt works began in the 12th century, which was active until the 19th century and in which Soest citizens participated with brine and salt house ownership as well as boiling rights and extensive salt trading. The Sälzerviertel offers a deep insight into the economic history of the region.