The Middle German Chemical Triangle ( or locally just ''Chemiedreieck'') is the industrial conurbation around the cities and towns of

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

and

Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...

in the North German state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Schkeuditz Schkeuditz (; ) is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center for ...

in the

Free State of Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Its name is derived from the dominant industries of the region – the

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

and

oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

industries. It is often referred to as the

Leuna Leuna () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany, south of Merseburg and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle, on the river Saale. The town is known for the ''Leuna works, Leunawerke'', at 13 km2 one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes i ...

-Buna-

Chemical Triangle (''Chemiedreieck Leuna-Buna-Bitterfeld'') because these places are the oldest and most important in the region. Buna is not a town, but was the name of the first

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About of rubber is produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubber, just like natural ru ...

(

butadiene 1,3-Butadiene () is the organic compound with the formula CH2=CH-CH=CH2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to a liquid. It is important industrially as a precursor to synthetic rubber. The molecule can be viewed as the union of two ...

and natrium) which was produced in the Buna factory at Schkopau. Today

Dow Chemical The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...

produces synthetic rubber in Schkopau which is marketed under the name of BUNA SB. At the end of the 1950s, the advertising slogan ''Plaste und Elaste aus Schkopau'' ("

Plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

and

Elastomer An elastomer is a polymer with viscoelasticity (i.e. both viscosity and elasticity) and with weak intermolecular forces, generally low Young's modulus (E) and high failure strain compared with other materials. The term, a portmanteau of ''ela ...

from Schkopau") was introduced, in order to promote the spectrum of products of the Buna Chemical Works. The slogan was used especially on posters and neon lights. The best known light advert was on a tower on the northern abutment of the Elbe bridge at Vockerode on the transit route from Berlin to Hof (nowadays part of the BAB 9 motorway).

External links

The MDR of the Middle German Chemical Triangle and its history
{{coord, 51.3900, N, 12.1800, E, source:wikidata, display=title Chemical industry in Germany Economy of Saxony-Anhalt Economy of Saxony

See also

External links