[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Deportations to Siberia

[Günther Böhm]

Sig Matt schrieb:
> In conversations with my relatives and my own research I have not run across anything that would indicate
> any specific Russian Salt mines in that area. I believe the expression is a "figure of speech",
> 'Eine Redensart'. 
> If not, perhaps some experts will provide clarification.
>   
Hello Sig & Kyle,
there are indeed big and famous salt deposits in Siberia but quite far 
in the east (Lena basin, Republic of Sacha [Yakutia]). An old salt mine, 
now a subterranean church, was in Vilyúysk [Вилю́йск], Yakutia,
see 
www.zeno.org/Fotografien/B/Russischer+Photograph%3A+Aufgegebenes+Salzbergwerk+in+Wiljuisk,+das+als+Kirche+benutzt+wird 
. The oldest salt deposit was quite famous since it was originally 
extracted on the banks of a river where it appeared in large piles after 
each winter and thaw and melted again when the river grew broader in spring.

Maybe old lore was mixed up with the actual knowledge about Siberian 
coal mines.

Günther