Soleturm

The Soleturm stands in Bad Salzelmen, a district of Schönebeck on the Elbe in Sachsen-Anhalt. It was built in 1776 for Abraham Gansauge, the lessee of the Schönebeck saltworks. The six-storey tower rises 32 metres and was originally the base of a hollow-post windmill. Its purpose was to raise brine from a shaft 85 metres deep for salt production. The brine source delivered up to 1 000 cubic metres daily with a salt content of 10 to 12 per cent. The tower’s wind-driven machinery was replaced in 1792 by a 40-horsepower steam engine erected nearby. This was one of Prussia’s earliest steam engines and marked the start of the Kunsthof, a cluster of engine houses. By the 19th century further buildings appeared, yet the tower remained central to brine extraction until the late 20th century. Today it forms part of the open-air museum Kunsthof Bad Salzelmen. Inside the Soleturm visitors find preserved technical installations used to raise brine. Exhibits explain how the local brine sources were developed and how pumping technology advanced. The tower also hosts temporary exhibitions and concerts. Nearby, the Schausiedehaus recounts the work of late medieval salt boilers and the history of salt production in the region.