The Schönebeck graduation school is located in the spa park of Bad Salzelmen, a district of Schönebeck (Elbe) in Saxony-Anhalt.
The Gradierwerk, which was built by the Prussian state between 1756 and 1765 (interrupted by the Seven Years War) to increase the salinity of the brine in the immediate vicinity of the Elmener brine springs, originally had a length of 1323 meters. The construction plans, which had been tested by the mathematician Leonhard Euler, worked out the mountain captain Jacob Sigismund Waitz von Eschen. The plant, which was a technical masterpiece, was eventually extended to 1837 meters, making it the largest ever built graduation tower. Its economic importance lost it after the completion of the Schönebecker salt mine and the transition to the spray process for brine extraction in underground mining.
From the former length are still present 300,4 meters. In the vicinity of graduation plants, patients find an air-water-salt mixture that is mixed with organic and inorganic suspended matter in a manner that resembles the natural inhalation of aerosols at the sea.
At one time the graduation mill was erected to allow the wind and sun to evaporate the water from the brine that had been brought to light. As a result, the salt concentration in the brine was increased and the subsequent boiling process significantly shortened at the time. Since 1890 it has been used almost exclusively for inhalation.