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STASSFURT.
Stassfurt is a Prussian town, situated about 25 miles to the south-west of
Magdeburg, the nearest large town, and stands on the line of railway connecting
Cassel, Magdeburg and Berlin, which with its numerous connections serves to
link Stassfurt with all parts of Germany. It acquires its industrial importance
not only from its salt mines, some of which belong to the State, but also from
the fact that it is the headquarters of the Kali Syndicate, which practically holds
a monopoly of the world’s market for the potash salts which are comprised
under the German term “ Kali.” The history of the salt industry of Stassfurt
goes back many centuries. Previous to 1839 salt was produced from brine
pumped from wells sunk about 200 feet into the rock. The brine in course of
time became so weak, however, that it was impossible to carry on the
manufacture of salt from this source without loss. In 1839 the Prussian
Government, which owned these saline springs, commenced boring, with the
object of locating the bed of rock salt from which the brine had been obtained,
and in 1843, the top of the rock salt was reached at a depth of 832 feet.
The deposit lying immediately above the bed of rock salt contains a salt
which, on being exposed to the air, becomes opaque and is converted into
Epsom Salts. The same deposit is also rich in potash salts, which were
regarded for a long time as useless and were carted on to the banks of the river
Bode, which flows through the town, to be washed away during the spring
floods. The first attempt to utilise these deposits as a raw material at Stassfurt
was made in 1860, and the establishment of a factory for that purpose laid the
foundation of the prosperity of the town. Enormous quantities of these salts are
used as agricultural manure, especially in districts devoted to the cultivation of
beetroot for the sugar industry.
The town of Stassfurt is intersected by the river Bode, the newer portion
of the town being on the western bank. It presents a clean and healthy
appearance. The streets are mostly wide, and there are no dark courts or
narrow alleys. The only notable public building is a Protestant church of
massive proportions, but it has suffered from the subsidences which have
occurred at intervals, so that for several years it has been disused. Many
houses have had to be demolished for the same reason, and others have become
uninhabitable, and now stand empty, - with doors and windows strangely
distorted ; while the effect upon the contour of the ground is that streets which
once were level are now undulating. One consequence of these subsidences is
that only a few streets have been provided with sewers, and elsewhere the waste
water from the houses passes along open gutters towards the river Bode.
Under these circumstances it is fortunate that air and light have everywhere
free access to the dwellings of the poor. Trees have been liberally planted even
in the side streets, and a fine park skirts one side of the town. Although there
are so many chemical works in the vicinity of the town, it is noticeable that
their presence does not appear to pollute the atmosphere, and vegetation
flourishes in close proximity to them.
The municipal enterprises ef Stassfurt are neither numerous nor extensive.
The work of the Cleaning Department is handed over to a private contractor.
The water works are under municipal management, whereas the tramways and
the gas and electric lighting works are in the hands of private companies.
From the time of the discovery that the refuse heaps outside the mines
contained chemical substances of great value, Stassfurt began to grow rapidly
until its population reached 20,070 in 1900, since when it has steadily declined
until in 1905 it was 18,308, and in 1907 it was only about 16,000. The cause
of its waning fortune was the discovery that the layer of potash salt extended
over a large area. Consequently new shafts were sunk in many directions until
to-day mines are found almost as far north as Hamburg and as far south as
Meiningen. The amalgamation of most of these mines in a syndicate, which
regulates the output of potash salts, has nevertheless had a steadying influence
upon the local industry, and is believed to have checked Stassfurt’s decline.
