Fieldnote Nov 22 2022 - 1:51pm

Staßfurt is often termed "The cradle of Potash-Mining" (see for example a newspaper article here: https://www.volksstimme.de/kultur/an-der-wiege-des-kalibergbaus-382531) and this image is actively maintained by local politicians and government agencies by placing monuments with this claim in the city: https://disaster-sts-network.org/content/old-tipping-lorry-text-gl%C3%BC.... As part of a celebrations of the Tag der Regionen, miners in traditional uniforms parade the city (https://disaster-sts-network.org/content/day-regions-tag-der-regionen-st...) and the traditional miner's song Das Steigerlied is performed. These performances seem to be at least partly motivated by a desire to attract investors and tourists. This way of maintaining regional identity as a mining town involves establishing new traditions like the introduction of the Staßfurter Salzfee (Salt-Fairy) in 2010: https://disaster-sts-network.org/content/sta%C3%9Ffurter-salzfee.