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Map of Germany showing Halle
Halle (also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish from Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia) is the largest town in the German Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It lies in the southern part of the state, on the river Saale. Population: 243,045 (2001).
History
The name Halle derives from the Celtic word for salt, like that of its namesake in Westphalia, Hallein and Hallstatt in Austria and Schwäbisch-Hall in Germany; while the name of the river Saale contains the Germanic root for salt. Salt-making has taken place in Halle since at least the Bronze age.
Historic saltern in Halle, Sachsen-Anhalt
The town was first mentioned in 806. It became a part of the bishopric principality of Magdeburg in the 10th century and remained so until 1680, when Brandenburg annexed it together with Magdeburg.
After World War II Halle served as the capital of the short-lived administrative region of Saxony-Anhalt (until 1952), when the East German government abolished its "Länder". As a part of East Germany (until 1990), it functioned as the capital of the administrative district ("Bezirk") of Halle. When Saxony-Anhalt was re-established as a Bundesland, Magdeburg became the capital.
Sights
- Giebichenstein Castle, first mentioned in 961, west of the city centre on a hill above the Saale river.
- Moritzburg, a newer castle, built in 1503; residence of the bishops of Magdeburg; destroyed in the Thirty Years' War, then a ruin for centuries, rebuilt in 1904; today an Art Gallery.
- Cathedral, a steepleless building, originally a church within a Dominican monastery (1271).
GDR revolutionary monument, demolished in 2003.
Miscellaneous
Within East Germany Halle's chemical industry, now mainly shut down, had great importance.
The famous Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Händel was born in Halle. Today there is an annual Händel-festival. Georg Cantor worked as a professor at the university of Halle.
A university was founded in Halle in 1694. It is now combined with the University of Wittenberg and is therefore called University of Halle-Wittenberg, or Martin Luther University.
Many plattenbau can be found in Halle, especially in Halle-Neustadt.
External links
de:Halle_(Saale)
eo:Halle_(Saale)
nl:Halle_an_der_Saale
sv:Halle_an_der_Saale
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