Saltworks

You can see the oldest type of business in Europe for yourself in the city of Drohobych, where a centuries-old saltworks is located. This city was known to many merchants who came here for salt precisely because of salt extraction. Thanks to the saltworks, the city was supplied with everything it needed: roads were laid, churches and other buildings were built.

Photo from www.pravda.com.ua

The saltworks is a complex of buildings. They were built as early as 1250. Many of them are in a neglected state. Some structural parts of the main building consist of wooden structures from the 15th century. At the operating saltworks, the mine reaches a depth of 50 m. It began operating in 1473. From there, brine is pumped out with the help of pumps, and then boiled down to extract salt.

Interesting facts:

• The city coat of arms depicts 9 cones, stacks of salt, which remind us that Drohobych has long been considered a city where salt was made, sold and bought.
• The buildings where the salt is settled were built of wood without using nails. Their walls and even foundations are fully saturated with salt after years of operation.
• Salt production takes place in five stages: brine is pumped from the mine, the salt is purified in settling tanks, evaporated in vats, ground and packed.
• The saltworks also has another name — “Royal”.