Gradierwerk Bad Salzelmen, Graduation tower in Bad Salzelmen district, Schönebeck, Germany.
Gradierwerk Bad Salzelmen is a wooden salt concentration tower in Schönebeck. The framework is filled with thorny bushes through which brine trickles down to increase its mineral content.
This structure was built between 1756 and 1765 under King Frederick II of Prussia. At that time, its length of 1837 meters made it the second largest salt concentration facility in Europe.
The structure is named for its salt concentration process, where brine trickles over thorny bushes to become more concentrated. Visitors experience this natural method while walking along the wooden framework.
The site can be explored easily on foot, with the structure visible from different angles along walking paths. In warmer months, visitors can breathe in the mineral-rich mist that rises from the salt water evaporating over the thorns.
A clock tower and a reconstructed windmill stand at the salt production site. The original, longer route remains visible as an earthwork embankment running alongside Eggersdorfer Street.
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