Esterhazy Saskatchewan Tourist Information

Esterhazy

An Aristocratic Legacy: Esterhazy is reputed to be named after a Hungarian aristocrat, Count Paul Oscar Esterhaus. Count Esterhaus acted as an immigrant agent in 1886 to help settle 35 Hungarian families at Kaposvar, south of the present-day Esterhazy. The Kaposvar colony flourished and Esterhazy soon became known as a viable agricultural region for later waves of immigrants. However, much controversy surrounds Count Esterhaus. Records reveal that the Count was christened Johannes Packh. He adopted the Esterhaus name when he was 35, claiming it to be his rightful name, "incontrovertible proof of the legality of my claim and of birth right." Esterhaus' claim was never recognized by the Esterhaus family, one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Hungary. A year after making the claim, Esterhaus immigrated to North America. At the heart of the first Hungarian homestead is the Kaposvar Historic Site and Museum, with a ruggedly beautiful stone church built in 1906. The annual Our lady of Assumption pilgrimage is held on site each year on the third Sunday in August.

Esterhazy is home to two potash mines, owned & operated by IMC Potash A Division of IMC Global. The term potash dated back to the pot ash that early pioneers leached from wood ashes and evaporated in large iron pots. Today, the potash that is mined at Esterhazy is used in fertilizer around the world, from North America, South America to Europe and China. Potash is rich in potassium, one of the 14 elements necessary to plant life. When reserves of potash ore were discovered in Saskatchewan in the 1950's, IMC began construction of a mine near Esterhazy. The mine shaft reached a depth of 1,030 meters at completion in 1962. Today, IMC operated two mines in the Esterhazy area, K1 and K2. They have a combined production capacity of 4.2 million tones per year-still the largest potash mine in the world.

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