Staßfurt
Localisation
| State | Germany |
| Regional (NUTS III) hierarchical level | Saxony-Anhalt region |
| District level (LAU1) | Salzlandkreis district |
| Municipality (LAU2) | Staßfurt municipality |
| Connection to traffic network | Proximity to E49 |
Main factors of successful redevelopment process
- General localization - located in Staßfurt
- Specific localization – located in proximity of urbanised area
- Transport links – proximity to highway E49
- Public attitudes, adoption of innovations and new developments – effort of local stakeholders to rebuild Staßfurt again.
Brief description of site and current use
Staßfurt has been dramatically shaped by its history of salt mining: it lost its historic town centre due to ground subsidence.
Lack of knowledge concerning ground composition and underground water channels led to mistakes that had serious consequences. Water penetrated the salt mines, dissolved the salt, and the cavities collapsed. The salt shafts eventually had to be abandoned and the historic city has sunk by approximately 6.30 meters since 1883. By the 1960s, about eight hundred buildings, including the town hall and the church, had to be demolished in an area covering two hundred hectares. The lost centre remained a blind spot for a long time. Neither architecturally nor culturally could a way of coming to terms with the loss be found—not least because it related to a history of downfall. Staßfurt has become an empty town following the end of mining and the greater part of the chemical industry.
A project for solving the situation of loss of the town centre and creating a landscape zone in its place has been created. A special drainage system was developed that now keeps only the built-up areas dry. In 2005, a central town lake was formed by controlled flooding in the depression cone. This new town lake, a pivotal project of the IBA Urban Redevelopment 2010, is an avowal to the lost historic town centre that, as formless wasteland, had long disappeared from people’s minds. The gravel fill on the lakeshore is a reminder of the crystal salt that led both to the prosperity of the town and the loss of its centre. At the same time, the stones can tolerate the expected variations in water level.
The town centre was and is being redeveloped under the motto "Giving up the old centre".
Original use – basic description
| Original use | Rock salt mining area |
| Area | 200 ha |
| Type of site | historic city was destroyed due to ground subsidence |
Current state – basic description
| Current use | Multifunctional - different kind of uses |
| % of built-up area | 50% |
| State of Environment | After partial drying |
| New use from | 2005 but still in process |
| Total costs | 120 million EUR |
| Owner of site | Staßfurt municipality |
Contact to stakeholders
| Owner of site |
Town of Staßfurt
René Zok, Mayor Hohenerxlebener Str. 12 39418 Staßfurt Germany Tel.: +49(0)-3925/981200 Fax: +49(0)-3925/981208 |
| Local public administration | stadt@stassfurt.de |
| Investors participating at redevelopment | None |
| GOs | No NGOs involved |
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