Smugglers' barge in Marlow
Smugglers' barge in Marlow - salt smuggling along the Old Salt Road
The smugglers' barge in Marlow is a reminder of an eventful era on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: salt smuggling along the Old Salt Road. The rivers Recknitz and Trebel once formed the customs and state borders between Old Mecklenburg and Swedish Western Pomerania - and where there were borders, there were also people who knew how to get around them. A simple barge, barely larger than a baking trough, carried three men and two hundredweights of salt across the water. The salt was in great demand, smuggling was strictly forbidden - and every successful crossing earned those involved a thaler.
Experience smuggling - the interactive salt route in the Baltic Sea region
When Mecklenburg joined the Customs Union in 1868, historical smuggling came to an end. Today, the topic can be experienced in a completely different way: Eight providers along the route still link their offerings to the topic of salt. Anyone who stops off at one of them or makes a purchase receives so-called smuggler's goods, which can be exchanged for new goods at the next stop. A bag full of regional souvenirs from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern awaits at the end of the tour.