Salinenmuseum Unteres Bohrhaus

The Salinenmuseum Unteres Bohrhaus stands beside the upper Neckar in the Black Forest foothills. It is part of the former Wilhelmshall saltworks, where brine was pumped from deep below the valley floor. The museum occupies the last remaining building of the Schwenningen works, which closed in 1865 after 42 years of production. The site is worth visiting for the story of early industrial salt mining. Between 1822 and 1825 seven hand-bored wells were sunk, four of them striking salt at depths up to 162 metres. The museum shows the wooden drilling tools and iron suction pipes used to raise the brine. Visitors learn how 160 000 tonnes of salt were made here, most of it exported to Switzerland before cheaper Swiss salt ended production. Inside the brick building are displays of brine pipes, pumps and salt pans. Outside, a short path leads to the edge of the old brine reservoir. From there the valley and the Neckar can be seen, the same view the saltworkers had when they guided the wooden pipeline down the slope to the boiling houses.