Editing Old Salt Route (section)

==Transport of salt==

Horse-drawn carts brought the salt from Lüneburg to a crossing of the [[Elbe]] river at [[Artlenburg]] (near [[Lauenburg]]) and from there, via [[Mölln]], to Lübeck. For the most part, however, the historic trade route was composed of unsurfaced, sandy and often muddy roads through heathland, woods and small villages, making the transport of salt an arduous task. In addition, the route was somewhat dangerous, since the valuable cargo attracted thieves, bandits and marauders. The dangers faced by those who make the long trek and the fact that only relatively small quantities of the precious crystalline substance could be carried in any single journey, made moving salt via overland routes very expensive.<ref name="Sell"/><ref name="DHL">[http://www.dp-dhl.de/dp-dhl?skin=hi&check=no&lang=de_EN&xmlFile=2008569 DHL. “The Old Salt Road – Logistics networks today and yesterday”]</ref>

In 1398, though, the [[Stecknitz Canal]], one of the first manmade waterways in [[Europe]], was completed, making it possible to transport much more salt in a single shipment and to do so with much greater ease and safety. That change helped merchants satisfy the salt requirements of an ever-growing demand.<ref name="DHL"/> In the 16th century, for example, about 19,000&nbsp;tons of the product were carried from Lüneburg to Lübeck each year either by land or water. However, it still took about twenty days to complete each trip.<ref name="Sell"/>