The salt industry was an important branch of the early modern economy, and saw innovative development between the early 16th and late 19th centuries [9]; [3]. This is apparent, for instance, from the frequency with which imperial and territorial patents connected with salt were issued from the 16th century on (see below, 2.4.) [5]. Boiling down natural brines was the predominant method of obtaining salt in the German lands, but sea salt was also extracted in salt garden…