439 
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.