Perhaps the most beautiful saline in the world, this industrial monument is by far the only royal saltworks, for King Ludwig I of Bavaria himself had it built in 1837. Radio plays with historical sequences bring the guest during the one-hour tour through the underground source construction and the brine grotto in times past. They listen to the remarks of the builder of the water column hoist and the brine pipeline, Georg von Reichenbach, from 1810. In this way, the Alte Saline wants to convey to visitors the diverse historical references of their varied history of brine extraction and salt production.
The Alte Saline is a special attraction in Bad Reichenhall. The Alte Saline is a former saltworks in Bad Reichenhall, which was built according to plans by Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller and Friedrich von Schenk. From 1844 to 1929, “Reichenhaller Salz” was produced from brine. The Old Saltworks is an industrial monument and is a listed building. Remains of the previous buildings are also entered in the list of monuments as archaeological monuments.
The complex also forms the core of the Alte Saline ensemble; in addition to the Alte Saline, the ensemble protection also includes the Salinenstrasse, the civil servants' quarters, the Upper and Lower Lindenplatz and the fire watchtower on the Gruttenstein.
Alte Saline is also the street name of the buildings of the old salt works. The house numbers were assigned consecutively in a clockwise direction, starting with Magazine 2. In contrast to the burned-out saltworks, King Ludwig I wanted the new building to conform to a generous geometric plan. In order to ensure the necessary safety distances from other houses in the city, a total of 51 “burn sites” (house plots) had to be purchased.
In the spring of 1836, construction began on the administration building, the so-called civil servants' quarters, under the direction of the court architect Friedrich von Gärtner.
The foundation stone of the main fountain house was laid in 1838. The plans for the saltworks came from Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller and the then director of the city's saltworks directorate, Friedrich von Schenk. It has not been conclusively clarified who was responsible for which part of the plans. What is certain is that Ohlmüller was solely responsible for the Brunnhaus chapel and that the technology in the main fountain house, in particular the brine pumps with the large, overshot water wheels, were designed by Schenks. The remaining buildings were possibly a joint design or a design by Ohlmüller, which von Schenk signed off as supervisor in his role as representative of the Bavarian salt works.
The first brewhouse at Unteren Lindenplatz began operations in 1844, the last brewhouse No. 4 at Oberen Lindenplatz only in 1851.