Old wine cellar / former coal shed

"Horses replace the heavy steam locomotive—the old railway in Bad Sassendorf has long since disappeared." These two sentences shine like a flash of lightning from Sassendorf’s salt-mining past and lead to the old coal shed, now the charming wine bar “Zum Alten Weinkeller”.

The coal shed, serving as a transshipment point between the branch line and the saltworks, was the lifeblood of Sassendorf’s commercial activity. The 12-meter-high embankment—the branch line—stretched from the train station in a sweeping arc through the “Weidenloch” to the coal shed. The branch line and the coal shed were built in 1850–55 along with the main railroad line from Soest via Sassendorf and Lippstadt to Paderborn.

The wagons were set in motion at the Sassendorf station, and the horses were able to pull them without difficulty. The coal shed, which now serves as a wine bar, marks the end of the embankment. From the coal shed, the saltworks laborers hauled the coal away in mine cars. The intense firing of the pans resulted in nonstop operations.

As one of the most significant manufacturing facilities, the Sassendorf saltworks employed seventy workers at the time the coal shed was built and generated 21,176 talers. Had the Sassendorf Salt Producers’ Association not vigorously advocated for this railroad construction back in the 1830s and 1840s, Sassendorf would hardly have become a railroad station.

The year 1934 marked a turning point in salt production with the cessation of salt production. As a result, the coal shed and the branch line also lost their significance. Salt was obtained more cheaply from mines. In 1937, the Brinks family purchased the coal shed and the surrounding property. After many years of neglect, the old coal shed has—since 1984—served as a venue for convivial wine culture.

For more information about the restaurant “Zum Alten Weinkeller,” please call 02921-52665 or visit www.zumaltenweinkeller-badsassendorf.de