„eine der nöthigsten und wichtigsten Policey-Anstalten“

Abstract

“One of the most necessary and most important public institutions”. Waste and Waste Management in the Early Modern City Historical research on waste has usually focused on the Late Middle Ages as well as on the 19th and 20th centuries when important technical and organisational changes took place. The early modern city has received less attention. Yet, it was by no means a place of stagnancy. It saw new developments such as a growing awareness of dirt and time, the leasing of street cleaning and discussions on spatial aspects of waste disposal. Indeed, early modern approaches to waste varied in different European regions. To give a sense of this diversity, this paper offers a micro-study of the city of Braunschweig’s waste management in Northwest Germany.