Salt Transportation from Stadl to the Danube

New Challenges

From Stadl onward, the course of the Traun River underwent a complete transformation. The Traun now flowed in a broad riverbed with numerous tributaries and was significantly shallower from this point onwards. Therefore, in Stadl, the cargo from ships coming from Gmunden had to be divided among 22 wooden boats (Zillen): A "Siebnerin" (a boat for seven people) was now loaded with only 2,880, and a "Sechserin" (a boat for six people) with 2,160 buckets of salt.

At the start of the annual salt shipping season on March 19, the day of Saint Joseph, more than 200 six-person and seven-person boats were ready in Stadl for the salt transport.

Approximately 40,000 tons of salt were transported annually on around 2,300 boatloads. Twenty-two crews, also known as "Böden," each with a crew of 10 people including the captain, helmsman, "Mehringer" (assistant), and servants, operated 22 boats daily to Zizlau.

Early in the morning, after attending Mass and seeking a safe journey – as the boatmen were not allowed to know how to swim – the feared journey due to the shallows of the Traun began. By the afternoon, they reached Zizlau, and on the same day, the 220 boatmen from Stadl embarked on the 42 km journey back to Stadl, which they covered on foot in their heavy footwear in five to six hours.