This enormous chimney stack (“Hohe Esse”) was built in 1889 to pump smoke higher into the atmosphere—and thus slightly farther away from local residents, who were making claims about the harmful effects of air pollution. The smokestack was part of a vast smelting works whose other buildings can be seen here. The Halsbrücker works were located near Freiberg, the most important mining town in the Kingdom of Saxony and home to a famous mining academy.