Smuggling on the Old Salt Road
"There was always something going on at the border. There were people on both sides who wanted to buy up goods as cheaply as possible by bypassing customs. The Recknitz and Trebel rivers formed the customs and national borders between Old Mecklenburg and Swedish Vorpommern. ...
A lot of salt was smuggled along the border, which was strictly forbidden. Koch owned a barge, similar to a baking trough. It was so big that it could carry three men and two hundredweights of salt. The barge was hidden in the reeds. Koch used it to ferry the two smugglers across the water. When they reached the other side, they each earned a thaler. ...
When Mecklenburg joined the Customs Union in 1868, the incentive to smuggle goods disappeared."
from "Smuggling on the Sülze border" by Ernst Garduhn, published in the commemorative publication "700 years of Bad Sülze"
Did you know that ...
... you can smuggle again today - without any danger? The eight providers on the map opposite will tell you what they still have in common with salt. You will receive smuggled goods for your stop or purchase, which you can exchange for new goods at the next station. At the end, you will have a bag full of high-quality souvenirs!
