Legend says hunters discovered Lüneburg's salt when a boar got stuck in a marshy pit. As the animal dried, white crystals appeared on its bristles. That salt, known as white gold, built a medieval empire.

Lüneburg received city rights in 1247 and mined 20,000 tons of salt annually. Patrician families grew extraordinarily rich from the trade, powerful enough to serve as mayors and councilors. The Town Hall became their seat of power. Its facade displays statues of important rulers alongside the city's official virtues: strictness, truthfulness, mildness and wisdom.

In the corner sits the historic low court, where petty criminals faced public punishment. Offenders had a ring put through their ear and were chained to the ground while crowds cursed, spat and threw rotten food. If they ran, they tore their ear. This created the German phrase "Schlitzohr" or split-ear, still used today for someone dishonest.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours reveal how white gold transformed three villages into a metropolitan rival to Hamburg and explain why competition from sea salt eventually ended the prosperity.