Project: Environmental Injustice in Staßfurt
The city of Staßfurt in Saxony-Anhalt is shaped by disruptive processes of industrialization, de-industrialization and the hazardous legacy of past and contemporary mining projects.
Staßfurt, Saxony-Anhalt Setting: Salt-mining
Philipp BaumAnnotation of
Staßfurt is a small city in the East German Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt with about 24 thousand inhabitants. Like many cities and villages in the area, it faces huge demographic problems: The population is shrinking rapidly, consists mostly of older people, unemployment is high, percentage of highly educated people is low. The city has a long history of salt mining that goes back to the 13th century. Many inhabitants proudly refer to Staßfurt as the "Cradle of potash-mining" ("Wiege des Kalibergbaus"). Unfilled salt mining shafts that were flooded by groundwater had to be abandoned and started to cave in. Over 800 buildings in the city center had to be demolished because of instabilities, among them a 500-year old church. Nevertheless, salt mining and a metallic industry that developed alongside it is still the largest economic sector in Staßfurt. The city is still permeated by an old mining culture that becomes visible in traditional festivals, clubs (Bergmannsverein e.V. Staßfurt) and the playing of traditional miner's song on offical occasions (Steigerlied).
Environmental Geochemical Survey of the City of Stassfurt:
The geochemical study by Manfred Birke, Uwe Rauch and Jana Chmieleski shows that a number of areas in Staßfurt are heavily contaminated with toxins caused by industrial activity.
Almost very aspect of the landscape in the Staßfurt area is shaped by processes of resourcification.