Man & Work

The Thalsaline was slow to recover from the consequences of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). As late as 1680 it was still producing just half as much salt as before the war. When the plague finally ravaged Halle for the last time around 1682, salt workers were among its victims. The pans remained cold for most of the year, and at last more than 20 boiling huts were without salt workers and servants. Three years later, however, things were looking up again.

The well workers (»Bornknechte«) – divided into »Haspeler«, »Radtreter«, »Störtzer«, »Zäpffer« and »Träger« – were at the beginning of salt production. Haspeler and Radtreter laboriously pulled the brine out of the wells by means of muscle-powered hoists, which was immediately collected by the Störtzer and Zäpffer in large troughs and filled into tubs for transport to the boiling huts.

As a wage, the well workers received a »Gerente« for life, i.e. a certain amount of brine, which was also boiled. From the proceeds they could not only earn their living, but also pay servants to do the work for them in case of old age or illness. By the beginning of the 16th century at the latest, the well workers were organised into their own brotherhood.

The most technically experienced workers in the salt works were the salt boilers, who were also known as »Salzwirker«. They were employed for a limited period of time by their Pfänner, which was extended if necessary. They performed their strenuous work inside the boiling huts at the pans, surrounded by heat, brine fumes and acrid smoke. They were often assisted by their wives and children, but also by hired servants.

The Pfänners paid their boiling masters a fixed weekly wage even in the case of illness or when there was no boiling and the pans remained cold. Since the boiling masters were also responsible for selling the salt, they were allowed to demand a precisely defined tip from the trader for each piece of salt. From this income, the master paid not only his assistants, but also tools, boiling ingredients and minor repairs. He kept the rest for himself.

The salt boilers or Halloren enjoyed some special rights that were guaranteed to them in the Thal orders. These included fishing and birdcatching, which ensured their livelihood on days without salt production, and the manufacturing of smoked sausage and pickled eggs. From the 17th century onwards, they were also employed as corpse bearers for a fee.

In addition to these rights, the salt boilers also had duties: In the event of war, for example, they had to defend a part of the city wall. During floods, they had to seal the brine wells and bring the salt to safety. After a flood disaster, it was part of their job to drain the riverbed. And if a fire broke out in the salt works or the town, the workers had to interrupt their work and help extinguish the fire with other salt workers at the site of the disaster. The brine proved to be an ideal means of doing this.

The loaders and their servants loaded the carts and wagons of the traders, saving as much space as possible. To do this, the solid pieces of salt were broken into smaller chunks with the help of a hoe and then piled up. Large, four-wheeled carts for long transports held about 60 whole pieces of salt, and the number of horses harnessed varied depending on the quantity loaded.

The »Stöppers« were responsible for securing the load of salt for transport. To ensure that no salt was lost on the way, the carts and wagons were lined with canvas and sealed with straw. To protect the cargo from the wind and rain, the Stöppers stretched a large tarpaulin over it, which they supported with willow rods and wrapped with rope.

Among the indispensable sidelines of the Thalsaline were the pan smiths, who were paid by the Pfänners. They made the large boiling pans from hammered sheet iron using rivets. A pan lasted about 20 full boiling weeks, after which a new one was needed. A lower quality »cross pan« could still be made from two used pans.

The wooden salt huts were constantly exposed to smoke, soot and brine vapours and therefore quickly became dilapidated. They had to be regularly repaired by carpenters or, in the worst case, torn down and completely rebuilt. An official Thal carpenter was appointed and sworn to maintain the well houses and other communal buildings.

Technical innovations and changes in work processes around and after 1700 permanently changed everyday life at the Thalsaline. They created the basis for early industrial salt production. This development was driven primarily by Prussian saltworks officials.

Everyone's work at the Thalsaline depended on the amount of salt produced and the technology used. Political interventions, sales reductions and rationalisation always endangered jobs. Changes in the customary order and privileges were therefore mostly rejected by the salt workers.

Nevertheless, in the early 19th century, salt was no longer produced in many small boiling huts, even at the Pfännerschaft, but in two large boiling houses. And the brine also no longer came out of the wells by human hand, but by means of a horse-drawn pot.