Traunstein

Traunstein lies in the Chiemgau of southeastern Bavaria, on routes between Munich and Salzburg. The settlement was mentioned in 1245, and salt transport contributed to its development. In 1616 Duke Maximilian decided to pipe brine from Reichenhall to Traunstein, where the Traun could carry firewood from ducal forests. A system of pumps and wooden pipes crossed the intervening hills, and the new saltworks began operating in 1619.

The saltworks formed a distinct quarter with boiling houses and workers' dwellings. Plague struck the town in the 1630s, and a destructive fire accompanied occupation by Austrian troops during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704. The saltworks was renewed in the late eighteenth century; improvements completed in 1810 increased the amount of brine that could be conveyed.