3 – Salt More Than Gold
The trails were used to import salt into Bohemia. There were no local deposits, but it was widely used, not only to salt meals but also to conserve food. Salt was used to conserve cheese, butter, even fish and meat. Back then, farmers could not hope to feed their livestock during winter, so they slaughtered it before it came. The saying “Do not slaughter more than you can salt” comes from that time. Salt was used in tanning, glassmaking, even pottery. The yearly use of salt in the Middle Ages averaged at 16kg per person. Salt came from the Salt Chamber from around Reichenhall, Hallein and Schellenberg, from the deposits of the Salzburg Archbishop. From there it travelled on the Inn and Salzach rivers in wooden barrels on cargo ships connected into long convoys. It was then stored in Passau salt storehouses. In the mid 16th century, there were over 300 000 cents of salt transported annually through Passau. From there it travelled either with or against the current of the Donau, but mostly to Bohemia. The final storehouse of Bohemian salt was in Prachatice, the merchants could go no further. The main storehouse on the Bavarian side was in Waldkirchen. The import of salt into Bohemia was an exchange trade. In exchange for salt, the merchants would bring back mainly grain, but also hop, malt, beer, cheese, butter, fish, canvas, silver, Prachatice schnapps (Branntwein), later even glass. Apart from salt, other imported goods included southern fruits, oriental spices, fine cloth, or wine. The frequency of deliveries varied throughout centuries. In the mid 16th century, up to 1200 horses travelled on the Prachatice branch every week. Because the soumars began to travel with their goods more and more often while neglecting their work in the fields, their journeys were limited. Unmarried men were forbidden from doing the job at all. Salt smuggling was prevented by guards. If anyone was caught, their load was confiscated. Forbidden detours were marked by pillars, yet many soumars still went around toll places. Other loss of revenue from the trade on the main routes was caused by the use of other routes: Kalfferstrasse, which led to Bohemia via Mühlviertel, or a trail called Haidweg, which led through the Cold Vltava valley below the Stožec mountain with a guardtower. When Louis II of Hungary died, and the Habsburg dynasty succeeded him in ruling the Bohemian kingdom, they tried to make money of selling Austrian salt. It starts being imported from Linz to České Budějovice and then to Prague. In 1608, an agreement was signed in München, in which Bavaria gave up their salt import from the Vilshofen storehouse to exclusive import salt to the Passau bishopric for one gulden 21 kreuzer per prostice. During the Thirty Years War, the trade on the route decreased substantially, as there were military fortifications built alongside it. The soumars must primarily serve the soldiers and many of them lose their horses. In 1645, there were only two horses left in Prachatice! After the war, the Prachatice branch of the trail is described as “damaged, barely safe to pass through…not suitable for trading”. The trade on the Linz, České Budějovice, Prague route begins to dominate. The customs duty imposed upon Passau salt grows still higher until its import into Bohemia is completely forbidden in 1706. A year later, the salt storehouse is moved from Prachatice to Český Krumlov. Passau loses all its Bohemian salt stores and Linz replaces it as the main transship point.
For one prositice of salt, a soumar was given 20 to 22 white groschen. The beast of burden would carry two prostice of salt, one weighting one and a half cent (1 Bohemian cent = around 51 kg; Vienna cent = 56 kg). The horse would thus carry over 150 kg. They were often not even horses. Mules or donkeys were often used instead. It was a difficult march for the animals, the distance from Prachatice to Passau was around 69 kilometers. They could go 4 kilometers an hour, while also needing short breaks. They also had to sleep, because the journey took 2,5 days. They were watered along the way, which is still reflected in the name of villages such as České Žleby (Bohemian Trough). After the journey, the horses were given new shoes, which resulted in provisional smithies springing up alongside the road. The travelling caravans were often accompanied by armed guards. Fees were paid for grazing.
From 1528 Bavarian soumars began to form guilds. In that year the guild had 134 members.
Lately, historians Petr Zavřel and František Kubů have been studying these trading routes. During terrain examination their team found a number of interesting items. They were mainly horse-shoes, axes, knives, and arrows. The issue of the Golden Trails is discussed in four volumes of The Golden Trail publication. Three volumes are dedicated to the Bohemian side of the trails, the fourth one to the Bavarian side. Most used source is the book of the archive curator from Waldkirchen Paul Praxl’s The Golden Trail. Its first edition in 1976 was given several reprints, including a Czech translation. Sources used by both authors lie in the Bavarian State Archive in München, in the Town Archive of Passau, the National Archive in Prague, State Regional Archives in Prachatice, Klatovy, České Budějovice, and in the Schlägl monastery archive.
For one prositice of salt, a soumar was given 20 to 22 white groschen. The beast of burden would carry two prostice of salt, one weighting one and a half cent (1 Bohemian cent = around 51 kg; Vienna cent = 56 kg). The horse would thus carry over 150 kg. They were often not even horses. Mules or donkeys were often used instead. It was a difficult march for the animals, the distance from Prachatice to Passau was around 69 kilometers. They could go 4 kilometers an hour, while also needing short breaks. They also had to sleep, because the journey took 2,5 days. They were watered along the way, which is still reflected in the name of villages such as České Žleby (Bohemian Trough). After the journey, the horses were given new shoes, which resulted in provisional smithies springing up alongside the road. The travelling caravans were often accompanied by armed guards. Fees were paid for grazing.
From 1528 Bavarian soumars began to form guilds. In that year the guild had 134 members.
Lately, historians Petr Zavřel and František Kubů have been studying these trading routes. During terrain examination their team found a number of interesting items. They were mainly horse-shoes, axes, knives, and arrows. The issue of the Golden Trails is discussed in four volumes of The Golden Trail publication. Three volumes are dedicated to the Bohemian side of the trails, the fourth one to the Bavarian side. Most used source is the book of the archive curator from Waldkirchen Paul Praxl’s The Golden Trail. Its first edition in 1976 was given several reprints, including a Czech translation. Sources used by both authors lie in the Bavarian State Archive in München, in the Town Archive of Passau, the National Archive in Prague, State Regional Archives in Prachatice, Klatovy, České Budějovice, and in the Schlägl monastery archive.