Halle, Germany

 

The university and Saale town of Halle (Saale), Halle for short, is the birthplace of George Frideric Handel. Located both at the southern end of the Lower Saaleta Valley and in the "Metropolitan Region of Central Germany", the largest city in Saxony-Anhalt attracts with one of the most beautiful old town centers of all major German cities, a rich cultural offering, many parks and numerous restaurants. Halle is also an important transport hub.

The city of Halle (Saale) was first mentioned in 806 in the chronicle of Moissac as Halla. The town owes its origins and upswing to the numerous brine springs in the area that formed at the Halle market square fault. The name of the city derives from the Middle German word hal for salt spring, salt works. But there was a settlement earlier. Since 968 the city belonged to the archdiocese of Magdeburg founded by Otto I and since 1281 to the Hanseatic League.

In 1418 construction began on the Red Tower, which would later become Halle's landmark. In 1484 the Moritzburg was built under Archbishop Ernst II of Saxony, which was intended to counteract the self-confident salt workers, the Halloren. From now until 1680, Halle was the capital and residence of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg. Halle experienced a wedding under Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg. An extensive construction program was realized in his favorite residence. The Reformation marked the end of this era. The cardinal fled to Mainz and Aschaffenburg with his court and art treasures.

After the death of Duke Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels in 1680, the city passed first to the Electorate of Brandenburg and later to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1694 the University of Halle and in 1698 the Francke Foundations were founded as an orphanage and later a center for early enlightenment. Since 1710 the Canstein Bible Institute has been one of the foundations. Because of its liberal spirit, the university has the reputation of being the first "modern" university and was a role model for other German and US universities.

The composer Georg Friedrich Handel was born in Halle in the 17th century. Every year in June the Handel Festival takes place in Halle, an event that attracts numerous visitors from Germany and abroad and extends over 10 days. The conclusion after numerous concerts and operas is crowned by fireworks in the Galgenberg Gorge.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the city fell to the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807 and back to Prussia in 1815. The city owes renewed economic growth to the mineral resources mined in the area, such as lignite and hard coal as well as clay, gravel and porphyry. In 1890 the population reached 100,000 and Halle became a big city. In the same year, the Social Democratic Party of Germany received its current name at a party conference in the city. However, industry left its mark on the city. The actor, comedian and writer Curt Goetz, who grew up in Halle, described the city as charming in his memoirs. The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, founded in 1652, has had its permanent seat in Halle since 1878.

Despite its proximity to the chemical companies Leuna and Buna, Halle was largely spared carpet bombing in 1945. It therefore has a unique urban character among the major German cities. During the brief existence of the state of Saxony-Anhalt after the dissolution of Prussia from 1947 to 1952, Halle was its capital. After that, the city was the capital of the district of the same name until 1990.

In the second half of the 20th century, the city was the center of the chemical industry. With the then still independent city of Halle-Neustadt and the Halle-Silberhöhe residential area, large prefabricated housing estates for the chemical workers were created. The city itself fell into disrepair during this period. With the political turnaround, the picture changed: the environmental damage caused by the chemical industry decreased, and the Diva Halle was able to shed its notorious gray very quickly. Even before the fall of the Wall in 1980, the nationally known New Theater was founded by Peter Sodann.

With around 239,000 inhabitants, Halle is the largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, the fifth largest city in the new federal states and number 31 among German cities. It is not only an important economic center and important transport hub, but also a city of science and culture. In addition to the university with its approximately 20,000 students, the city is the location of the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art, several national research institutes, and since 2008 the seat of the German National Academy Leopoldina and the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The cultural highlights include u. the art collections of the Moritzburg Foundation and the State Museum of Prehistory.

 

Sights

The inner city of Halle has been almost restored since the early 1990s and, where this process has already ended, shines in new splendor with numerous old buildings decorated with stucco.

Remarkable is the large number of old buildings, mainly from the Wilhelminian period, due to the minor war damage. However, large dilapidated parts of the old town, especially around the cathedral, were replaced with unsuitable industrially manufactured prefabricated buildings, or supplemented with new buildings after reunification. Very few half-timbered buildings remain.

 

Holiday roads

Halle is located on the holiday routes Fürstenstraße der Wettin, Garden Dreams – Historical Parks in Saxony-Anhalt, Himmelswege, Lutherweg Sachsen-Anhalt and Romanesque Road.

 

Sacred buildings

Halle Cathedral, Domstraße 3, 06108 Halle (Saale) (old town). Tel.: +49 (0)345 202 13 79, email: halle-reformiert@t-online.de. The cathedral is located on the Saale, near the old town. It was founded by the mendicant order of the Dominicans. It was finished around 1300 and was initially called St. Paul of the Holy Cross. The hall church had no tower and no transept. Around 1510 the cathedral was completely rebuilt by Cardinal Albrecht by Bastian Binder. Albrecht, fearing for his peace of mind in heaven, collected up to 20,000 relics. The storage place, the cathedral, was called the "Hallesche Heilthum". The magnificent interior was created around 1523 by Matthias Grünewald, Lukas Cranach the Elder. Ä. and Peter Schro. The conversion resulted in a total work of art in the late Baroque and early Renaissance style. The round-gabled cathedral was the largest sacred building in Central Germany in the Middle Ages. As an opponent of the Reformation, Cardinal Albrecht had to leave Halle in 1541 and the reputation of the cathedral was diminished. In 1635, Duke Augustus of Saxony added rich early baroque furnishings. From 1688 it served as a church for the Evangelical Reformed. In 1851 the baroque organ was renewed. 1883-1896 the interior was renovated in neo-gothic style. In 1957-1959, the outer walls and the interior were poorly renovated due to the great shortage of materials. In 1996, the Saxony-Anhalt Cathedral Foundation bought the building and a thorough renovation began. This work on the building structure was essentially completed in 2005, but the works of art still need to be restored. Exhibitions and events take place regularly in the cathedral. Open: daily 12:00-16:00.

Market Church of Our Lady, Marktplatz 12, 06108 Halle (Saale) (old town, between Marktplatz and Hallmarkt). Email: carstens.kant@marktkirche-halle.de (priest). The late Gothic hall church was built in 1529-54 and replaced the older churches of St. Gertrude and St. Marien. It is considered one of the most important late Gothic buildings in Central Germany and one of the most perfect churches in this style. Its four towers are from the two previous buildings, and the church was built between the two existing pairs of towers. Together with the Red Tower, they are regarded as Halle's landmark and gave it the nickname City of Five Towers. Inside the church you will find valuable furnishings from the 15th and 16th centuries, above all those by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä. designed main altar and the magnificent pulpit made of sandstone, which marks the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance. The two organs with baroque facades from the 17th and 18th centuries are also worth seeing. There is a guided tour of the church on Saturdays at 3 p.m., organ music on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and Thursdays at 12 p.m. Part of the Luther Trail in Saxony-Anhalt. During the renovation the church is largely closed! Open: Mon-Sat 11:30am-4pm (Jan-Mar), 10am-5pm (Apr-Dec); Sun 11:30 - 12:30 (Jan - Mar), 15:00 - 17:00 (Apr - Dec).

Bartholomäuskirche, Bartholomäusberg 4, 06114 Halle (Saale) (Giebichenstein district). The Protestant church in the Giebichenstein district today consists of the Romanesque west tower, built around 1200, and the cross-shaped central building built in 1740-1742, both of which are made of quarry stone. The interior appears octagonal, and the nave and barrel ceilings of the cross arms meet in an octagonal dome. In the chancel are the pulpit altar and the noble boxes. The church is equipped with an organ built in 1904 by the Zörbig master organ builder Wilhelm Rühlmann and later expanded by him with 33 registers on two manuals and pedal and two bells (1747, 1960) in the church tower. The adjacent cemetery has contained graves since the 15th century, including that of the Prussian court conductor and composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814), whose garden is in the immediate vicinity. George Frideric Handel's parents were married in this church in 1683.

Church in the Diakoniewerk, Lafontainestraße 15, 06114 Halle (Saale) (Giebichenstein district). Phone: (0)345 523 37 64, email: halle@selk.de. The church was built in 1893 as part of the Diakoniewerk according to plans by Friedrich Fahro in the garden of the hospital. The church with a cruciform floor plan has a crossing tower and one or two galleries in the arms of the cross. The altar and pulpit stand in front of the northern arm of the cross and can be viewed from three sides. The organ built in 1908 by the Zörbig master organ builder Wilhelm Rühlmann is located on the east gallery and has twenty registers.

Magdalenen Chapel, Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5, 06108 Halle (Saale) (old town, in the Moritzburg). The protestant chapel of St. Maria-Magdalena was built between 1503 and 1509 as the Moritzburg chapel, probably according to plans by Ulrich von Smedeberg and consecrated in 1514 by Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg: the dedication table still exists today. Its vault was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. After the battle of Jena and Auerstedt in 1806, it temporarily served as a military hospital. After 1817, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV promoted the renovation of the castle and the rebuilding of the church, which was rebuilt and repainted in 1898 to 1899 to mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of the university. The hall church has a surrounding gallery and cross vault, the choir has windows in the style of late historicism from the workshop of Alexander Linnemann and a neo-Gothic pulpit altar. The organ built around 1900 by the Zörbig master organ builder Wilhelm Rühlmann was given a new organ in 1990 in the original case.

Moritzkirche, An der Moritzkirche 8, 06108 Halle (Saale) (old town). Tel.: +49 (0)345 231 02 21. The late Gothic hall church, built from 1388 onwards, was built on the site of a Romanesque predecessor church (built from 1121 to 1144) and has served as the collegiate church of the Augustinian canons since 1184. Worth seeing are the choir, which is considered a "key work of Central German late Gothic", the late Gothic stone sculptures and the organ built by W. Sauer in Frankfurt (Oder) in 1925. Open: Tue-Fri 11am-12pm, 3pm-5pm (Mar-Oct); Sat 11:00-12:00, 13:00-17:00 (Mar to Oct); Sun 13:00–17:00 (Mar to Oct); Tue-Sun 2pm-3pm (Nov-Feb).

Pauluskirche, Robert-Blum-Straße 11a, 06114 Halle (Saale) (district Paulusviertel). The protestant church with a cross-shaped floor plan and a 60-meter-high crossing tower was built between 1900 and 1903 on the so-called Hasenberg in North German brick Gothic according to the designs of the Berlin building officer Richard Schultze and forms the center of the district of the same name. In the west of the church, a staircase leads to the entrance portal. Inside, the church almost looks like a hall church due to the short arms of the cross. The painting and the windows are by the Berlin painter August Oetken. The furnishings include the bronze crucifix created in 2013 by the Berlin sculptor Anna Franziska Schwarzbach, the carved pulpit made of dark-stained oak on a sandstone base, the baptismal font in relief by the Weimar sculptor Rudolf Weber from 1954 and an organ. The organ, built between 1893 and 1903 by the Zörbig organ building company Gebr. Rühlmann, is to be revised and expanded in the 2020s by the Friedrichroda organ building workshop Kutter, while retaining the organ case. It will then have four manuals, 60 registers and 3,000 pipes.

Petruskirche, An der Petruskirche 3, 06120 Halle (Saale) (Kröllwitz district). Built between 1900 and 1901 on a porphyry rock in the Kröllwitz district according to plans by the Lübeck architect Johann Matz, the Evangelical Church is oriented from south to north for reasons of space. It is a three-aisled, neo-Gothic hall building. In the south is the 45-meter-high bell tower with the entrance portal and the clock. Tower and church are faced with reddish brick. The pillars, arches and windows in the interior are also made of clinker. Above the narrow aisles there are galleries, on the south side the organ built in 1901 by the Zörbig organ building company Gebr. Rühlmann and expanded in 1936 by the Sauer company with today 29 registers on two manuals and pedal. The polygonal choir contains the altar, cross and baptismal font made of white limestone, also by Johann Matz, and the wooden pulpit on the east side. In 1942 the crucified Jesus was designed by the church painter Fritz Leweke (1901-2001) on a gilded background on the cross. The chancel windows show the resurrection of Christ and scenes from the life of the apostle Paul.

House Church of the Holy Cross, Franckeplatz 1, 06110 Halle (Saale) (southern inner city district, in the Francke Foundations). The only Russian Orthodox community and church in Saxony-Anhalt is in the vaulted cellar of House 24. The house church was built in 2000 according to plans by the architect Wilfried Ziegemeier and consecrated by Archbishop Feofan Galinskij in the same year. The church, which consists of two rooms, was completely frescoed by the Moscow icon painter couple Marina Sinanjan and Vladimir Stscherbinin and depicts the righteous and saints as well as scenes from biblical history provided by priests. The church can usually be visited during a guided tour through the Francke Foundations.

St. Briccius, Pfarrstraße 1, 06118 Halle (Saale) (Trotha district). The late Romanesque quarry stone church built in the 10th century was first mentioned in documents of the Neuwerk monastery in 1116 and is dedicated to St. dedicated to Briccius. It was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1730 and expanded in 1910/1911. The furnishings include a crucifix from 1520 and an organ by Wilhelm Rühlmann. The church is surrounded by a cemetery belonging to the Protestant community.

St. Nikolaus Church, Böllberger Weg 152, 06128 Halle (Saale) (Böllberg district). Tel.: +49 (0)345 444 14 91. The village church in Böllberg is Halle's oldest church and is part of the Romanesque Road. It was built by Dutch colonists at the end of the 12th century. Important details are the stencil paintings on the wooden ceiling from around 1500, the Romanesque baptismal font, the crucifix from around 1700, a portrait of Luther from 1617 and the modern organ from Kühn, Merseburg, from 1979. Open: Sat 10:00 –17:00 (May to Oct). Price: free.

Surp Harutyun (Church of the Holy Resurrection), Alfred-Reinhardt-Str. 8, 06132 Halle-Ammendorf (Ammendorf district). Tel.: +49 (0)345 516 30 22. The Armenian-Orthodox Church of the Resurrection is located in the former Catholic Church built in 1901. St. Hedwig's Church and was blessed and consecrated on April 17, 2010. It consists of a hall, whereby the holy of holies can be separated on a podium with a curtain. The newly created altar shows Mary with her child, on the sides of which are icons with Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Icons of Armenian saints were placed on the right side wall. The community looks after the cities of Halle and Leipzig and their surrounding areas in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony.

Synagogue, Humboldtstraße 52, 06114 Halle (Saale) (district Paulusviertel). Today's Halle synagogue is located in the former Tahara house in the area of the Jewish cemetery and serves as a replacement for the synagogue destroyed during the pogroms of 1938. The building, made of white and yellow bricks, was built in 1894 according to plans by Gustav Wolff and Theodor Lehmann and has a tower in front with four onion domes, two corner towers and large arched windows on the facade. The simple hall was rebuilt in 1948 and received a Torah ark, a bimah, the pews and the women's gallery. The synagogue was consecrated in 1953. On October 9, 2019, on Yom Kippur, an anti-Semitic attack took place. A year later, the memorial designed by the art student Lidia Edel was unveiled, in which the oak door with the bullet holes was integrated. Two silver sheets commemorate the dead and 52 the survivors of the attack. In addition, a plaque on the outer wall commemorates the two fatalities.

Ulrichskirche, Christian-Wolff-Strasse 2, 06108 Halle (Saale) (old town) wikipediacommons. The church, which is now used as a concert hall, was built in the mid-14th century as the monastery church of St. Mary of the Servite Order, consecrated in 1496 and completed in 1531. The monastery was abandoned in 1527 and the church has been used by the Ulrich community since 1531. Between 1806 and 1836 it also served as the university church. In 1976 the church was converted into a concert hall. The baroque pews were removed, the winged altar from 1488, the baptismal font and the pulpit are now in the Magdeburg Walloon Church. The towerless two-aisled church with pointed arch windows is simply designed and has a five-sided choir. Star and net vaults with floral ornaments, the pews and, in 1675, an organ from the Christian Förner company were installed only in the Baroque period. The front of this organ is on the west gallery. In 1980 the church received a Sauer organ with 56 registers (including a transmission) on three manuals and pedal. On the outer wall there is a monument to Matthias Grünewald, designed by Gerhard Geyer.

 

Castles

Moritzburg Hall. Late 15th century Gothic style fortified castle. The castle was badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War and remained an imposing ruin for the following centuries. Parts were rebuilt around 1900, and in 1904 the Municipal Museum for Arts and Crafts moved in. Today the Moritzburg serves as an exhibition building and in the summer as a backdrop for theater and opera performances. Part of the Luther Trail in Saxony-Anhalt.
Giebichenstein Castle, Seebener Strasse 1, 06114 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 523 38 57, +49 (0)345 221 30 30, email: stadtmuseum@halle.de Medieval castle complex above the Saale. From the upper castle from the 12th century, only the gate tower and the foundation walls of the palace and residential tower have survived. The better-preserved lower castle was built in the mid-15th century. It served as a secondary residence for the archbishops of Magdeburg. Since 1915, Giebichenstein Castle has housed the art academy of the same name. Part of the Romanesque Road. Open: Tue-Fri 10am-6pm (Apr-Oct); Sat–Sun, public holidays 10:00–19:00 (Apr to Oct). Price: €4.00 (adults), €2.50 (concession), free (children up to 14 years old).

 

Secular buildings

Francke Foundations in Halle, Franckeplatz 1, 06110 Halle/Saale. The foundations (formerly: Glauchasche Anstalten) house a large number of cultural, scientific, educational and social institutions. They were founded in 1698 by the theologian and educator August Hermann Francke. Francke's pietistic schools and social initiatives gained international importance. The historic buildings are now on the German list of proposed UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a unique example of social and educational functional architecture. Part of the Luther Trail in Saxony-Anhalt.
Handel house. See under Museums
Ackerburgerhof, Grosse Klausstrasse 15.
Old Post Office, Grosse Steinstrasse 72.
Berlin bridge
Giebichenstein Bridge
Goldene Rose, Rannische Str. 19, 06108 Halle (Saale) .
Graseweghaus, Graseweg 6.
Art Nouveau house, Große Ulrichstrasse 33. Built in 1897/1898.
Cool fountain, cool fountain 2
Halle regional court. The neo-baroque building at the Hansering was erected between 1903 and 1905. The two towers are 50 meters high, the facade is richly decorated with portraits of legal scholars and animals and mythical creatures. The staircase with a double spiral staircase in a circular domed hall is also worth seeing.
Leipzig Tower. The tower is a 44m high free-standing watchtower that used to be part of the fortifications. In 1573 the tower was fitted with a French hood with four skylights and a lantern, and a clockwork with two opposing dials was installed.
Logenhaus Hall "To the three swords", Jägerberg 1
Lion Building, Universitätsplatz 11. Main building of the Martin Luther University.
Marktschlösschen, Markt 13. Built at the end of the 16th century.
Mühlgraben with Neumühle, Schlossberg 1/Mühlpforte. The 16th-century mill is a listed building but has been neglected since it was closed in the 1920s.
New Residence, Domstraße 5 (at the cathedral). The residence of the Archbishops of Magdeburg, built in 1531, can only be considered "new" in comparison to its predecessor, the Moritzburg. It was one of the first Renaissance buildings in central and northern Germany. The inner courtyard is designed as an art garden every summer (late May to late July). The summer garden has been designed by the long-term unemployed since 2009 on annually changing themes and invites you to linger with comfortable seating and drinks. During Advent there is a Christmas exhibition.
Stadthaus, Marktplatz 2. Municipal assembly, meeting and festival building, built in 1891 in the neo-Gothic style. The German Philology Association was founded here in 1903.
Riesenhaus, Große Brauhausstrasse 16, 06108 Halle (Saale).
Red Tower, Marketplace wikipediacommons. It was built in 1418-1506 as the bell tower of St. Mary's Church and is in the Gothic style. At 84 meters high, together with the four towers of the Marktkirche, it shapes the silhouette of the old town and is therefore considered a landmark of Halle. In the final stages of World War II, the tower was shelled by artillery and burned down; but it was rebuilt by 1976. In the Red Tower there is a glockenspiel, with 76 bells it is the largest carillon in Europe - the smallest has a diameter of 16 cm, the largest of 2.36 meters.
Schleiermacherhaus, Große Märkerstrasse 14/15, 06108 Halle (Saale).
Stadtbad, Schimmelstraße 1 wikipediacommons.
City wall, orphanage ring.
Volkspark, Burgstr. 27, 06114 Halle (Saale) . Today it is used as a gallery for the Burg Giebichenstein Art Academy.
water tower north
water tower south
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach House, Grosse Klausstrasse 12, 06108 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 47 23 49 92.
Halle also has numerous buildings from the Wilhelminian period, many of which have been completely restored.

 

Museums

Main museums
Handel House, Grosse Nikolaistrasse 5, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 50 09 00, +49 (0)345 50 09 01 03 (tickets), fax: +49 (0)345 50 09 04 16, e-mail: ticket@haendelhaus.de, stiftung@haendelhaus.de. In the composer's birthplace there is now a permanent exhibition on the life and work of the composer. Another focus is the collection of historical instruments. Open: Tue-Sun, Holiday 10am-6pm (Apr-Oct), 10am-5pm (Nov-Mar); closed: Dec 24, Dec 25, Dec 31 Price: €6.00 (adults), €4.50 (concession), €3.50 (students), free (children, up to 6 years) .
Art and Natural History Chamber of the Francke Foundations, Franckeplatz 1, House 1, 06110 Halle. Tel.: +49 (0)345 212 74 50 (information). Historical collections of the school town. Open: Tues–Sun, public holidays 10:00–17:00. Price: €6.00 (adults), €4.00 (concession), free (children up to 18 years of age).
Art Museum Moritzburg Halle (Saale), Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 21 25 90 (information, ticket office), +49 (0)345 212 59 40 (service), fax: +49 (0)345 202 99 90, e-mail: Kunstmuseum-Moritzburg @kulturstiftung-st.de. Open: Mon–Tues, Thu–Sun, public holidays 10:00–13:00, 14:00–17:00; closed: Dec 24, Dec 31 Price: €12.00 (adults), €9.00 (concession), free (children, up to 18 years).
State Museum of Prehistory, Richard-Wagner-Strasse 9, 06114 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 52 47 30, fax: +49 (0)345 524 73 51, e-mail: info@landesmuseum-vorgeschichte.de. Germany-wide important prehistoric museum, whose collection consists of finds in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The most important finds include the Nebra sky disk, the Hornhausen equestrian stone, the Eulau family graves and a mammoth skeleton. Open: Tue-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat–Sun, public holidays 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; closed: 24 Dec, 31 Dec. Price: €7.00 (adults), €5.00 (concession), free (children 0-18 years), €3.00 (audio guide).

More museums
Archaeological Museum of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Universitätsplatz 12, 06108 Halle (Saale) (in the Robertinum). Phone: +49 (0)345 552 40 18, email: museum@altertum.uni-halle.de. The museum is the only one in the state of Saxony-Anhalt that exclusively displays ancient art and culture from the Mediterranean region. Open: Thu 15:00-17:00; closed: public holiday, Dec 24 - Jan 1 Price: Free.
Beatles Museum, Alter Markt 12, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 290 39 00, +49 (0)179 428 41 22 (WhatsApp), fax: +49 (0)345 290 39 08, e-mail: BeatlesMuseum@t-online.de. The museum presents the career of the British rock band "The Beatles" in words and pictures. The building in which the museum is housed was built in 1708. Open: Tues–Sun, public holidays 10:00–18:00; closed: 1 Jan, 24 Dec, 25 Dec, 26 Dec. Price: €6.00 (adults), €3.00 (children).
DB Museum Halle (Saale), Berliner Strasse 241, 06112 Halle (Saale) (S-Bahn station Steintorbrücke). Phone: +49 (0)345 239 73 36, fax: +49 (0)345 239 73 31, e-mail: matthias.mt.koch@deutschebahnstiftung.de. Railway Museum and branch of the Nuremberg Transport Museum. Locomotive shed IV, which houses the DB Museum in Halle, used to belong to the Halle P depot and has existed since 1895. You can see steam locomotives (including a Prussian T 8 from 1906, examples of the DR classes 03.10, 41 and 52 from the Around 1940), diesel locomotives from the 1970s, historic electric locomotives (including an E18 and an E 44 from 1939) and auxiliary vehicles. Open: Sat 10:00 - 16:00. Price: €2.50 (adults), €2.00 (concession), €1.00 (children, 6-17 years), €5.00 (family).
RED OX memorial, Am Kirchtor 20 b (Tram 8 "Diakoniewerk Halle"). Phone: +49 (0)345 470 69 83 37, fax: +49 (0)345 470 69 83 39, e-mail: info-roterochse@erinnern.org. The historic Red Ox correctional facility has existed since 1842. The origin of the nickname "Red Ox" is not entirely clear, it probably refers to the red brickwork. During the Nazi regime, there was a "protective custody camp" and a central place of execution here. Military tribunals were held during the Soviet occupation, and in the GDR it was a Stasi prison. Open: Mon 10:00 - 14:00; Tue–Thu 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; Fri 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; 1st weekend of the month 13:00–17:00; closed: public holiday. Price: free.
Geiseltal Museum, Domplatz 4, 06108 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 552 60 73, email: oliver.wings@zns.uni-halle.de. The museum has been closed since December 2011. The fossils will be on display at the University Museum of Natural History in the future. Closed: every day.
Genscher-Haus (meeting place German unity), Schönnewitzer Str. 9a, 06116 Halle (Saale) wikipedia. Birthplace of the former German politician.
Halloren Chocolate Museum, Delitzscher Str. 70, 06112 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 564 21 92 (information), email: museum@halloren.de. Open: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; closed: Sun, public holiday. Price: €5.50 (adults), €3.50 (children up to 16 years old).
Historic tram depot (Halle Tram Museum), Seebener Straße 191, 06114 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 581 56 06, fax: +49 (0)345 581 56 02. Museum in a former depot of Hallesche Verkehrs-AG (HAVAG), which is run by the Hallesche Strassenbahnfreunde e. V. operates. The inventory includes around 40 historic tram vehicles, sidecars, buses and motor vehicles. On the opening days there is also a city tour with a tram from the museum inventory. Open: 1st Sat of month, 3rd Sat of month 11am-5pm (May-Oct). Price: €2.00 (adults), €1.00 (children), €5.00 (family).
State coin cabinet of Saxony-Anhalt. Independent collection of the art museum of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Meckelsche Sammlungen, Große Steinstraße 52, 06108 Halle (Saale) (at the Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology). Tel.: +49 (0)345 557 17 12, e-mail: meckelschesammlungen@medizin.uni-halle.de. In the middle of the 18th century by Johann Friedrich Meckel d. Ä. (1724-1774) established anatomical teaching and research collection. Guided tours are currently (2020) limited to 9 people. The minimum age for visitors is 16 years. Open: two public tours per month; Groups on request. Price: €5.00 (adults), €3.00 (reduced, from 16 years).
"Julius Kühn" Museum of Domestic Animals, Adam-Kuckhoff-Strasse 35, 06108 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 552 23 22, fax: +49 (0)345 552 72 91, e-mail: renate.schafberg@landw.uni-halle.de. Open: by appointment.
RECHENWERK Computer & Technology Museum Halle, Saalfelder Str. 11, 06116 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)170 720 39 29. Open: Fri 18:00–1:00.
Halle City Museum (Christian-Wolff-Haus), Große Märkerstraße 10, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 221 30 30, email: stadtmuseum@halle.de. The museum is housed in a Renaissance building from 1558 that was remodeled in the Baroque style in 1720 and purchased in 1740 by the philosopher and professor Christian Wolff (1679-1754). The museum is dedicated to Halle's city history. Open: Tue-Sun 10am-5pm.
Technical Halloren and Saline Museum, Mansfelder Str. 52, 06108 Halle (Saale) (Tram 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 16 "Saline"). Tel.: +49 (0)345 20 93 23 16, fax: +49 (0)345 20 93 23 10, e-mail: halloren@salinemuseum.de. Housed in the buildings of the former Royal Prussian Salt Works, it is dedicated to the history of salt production in Halle, which played a crucial role in the city's development. In the Saline Museum, salt is still produced using traditional methods as part of demonstration boiling, which visitors can buy on site. During the closure there is an interim exhibition in the City Museum. Closed: until 2022.
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach House, Grosse Klausstrasse 12, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 47 23 49 92. The exhibition "Musikstadt Halle" (Music City Halle) is housed on the first floor of the Renaissance building. In addition, historical musical instruments from the 16th century can be seen in a plank room. The composer and organist Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, lived in the house from 1746 to 1770.
Central Repository of Natural Science Collections, Domplatz 4, 06108 Halle (Saale) (at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Halle). Tel.: +49 (0)345 552 14 37, +49 (0)345 552 61 31, fax: +49 (0)345 552 72 48, e-mail: koordination@zns.uni-halle.de. Including the zoological collection. Open: by appointment.

 

Monuments

Monument to George Frideric Handel, Market Square
Monument to August Hermann Francke (Ostend of the Francke Foundations).
Monument to Robert Franz. By Fritz Schaper.
Monument to Mahatma Gandhi (Stone Gate Campus). By Gautam Pal. Gift from the Indian Embassy in Germany to the city of Halle (Saale) and the Martin Luther University.
Monument to Curt Goetz. By Michael Weihe.
Monument to Matthias Grünewald (Ulrich's Church). By Gerhard Geyer.
Monument to Matthias Grünewald, Mühlberg/corner of Schloßberg. By Gerhard Geyer.
Monument to Heinrich Heine, University Square. By Jens Berger.
Monument to Emanuel Striese, theater director (Neues Theater). By Lothar Sell.
Monument to "Zither-Reinhold".
Armenian Cross Stone (Chachkar), Hansering. Commemorating the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
Flag Monument (north of the Leipzig Tower) . Relic from GDR times.
Hallescher Roland. Roland statue at the Red Tower in the Market Square.
Portal of the former synagogue, Jerusalemer Platz. Memorial to commemorate the Reich pogrom night of November 9th and 10th, 1938.

 

Fountains

Dragon fountain (in front of the west portal of the market church). By Peter Michael. The four water-spewing Chinese-style dragons protect a golden orb. It is not known what the sphere is meant to represent: perhaps the terrestrial globe or the sun.
Donkey Fountain, Alter Markt wikipediacommons. By Heinrich Keiling. The donkey fountain is based on a well-known legend, according to which a miller's boy and his donkey walked along a path strewn with roses, which was actually decorated for Emperor Otto I.
Goebel fountain, Hallmarkt. By Bernd Goebel. The approximately 10 × 10 meter fountain on the history of Halle has two pairs of figures on opposite sides and four groups of figures on the corners. One pair is the Saalenixe, who danced to the music of the Trotha shepherd, the other two fishermen on their boats at the jousting. The other four themes are the founding of the city with the production of the city coat of arms, the salt workers, called Halloren, Ludwig the Springer and the muses of theater and music as well as the city development including Cardinal Albrecht in lovemaking with a shock of hair standing on end, who somehow remembered a miter remembered, which is held in the hands of Lucifer. The latter representation refers to the historically documented love triangle between the fun-loving and passionate cardinal, his eunuch Hans von Schönitz (1499-1535) and the Italian singer Belina Mazarotti. The cardinal later had his eunuch hanged.
Circle of Life, Cathedral Square . By Horst Bruhmann. Under the theme "life conquers death", the sculptor created the central group of fountain figures of a mother with her child and falling death, to which the figures of a young and old woman and a young and old man are facing.
Musenbrunnen, Leipziger Strasse 97. By Gerhard Lichtenfeld. Four female figures represent the four tutelary goddesses of the arts: music, poetry, dance, fine arts and science.
Zither Reinhold Fountain, Große Brauhausstraße, 06108 Halle (Saale) . Fountain monument created by Wolfgang Dreysse (born 1947) in honor of the Halle original Zither-Reinhold. Reinhold Lohse (1878–1964), who came from the Glauchau district of Halle and worked as a street musician, contracted typhus as a child and was therefore only able to attend school up to the third grade. The always friendly and child-loving Reinhold first went through the streets of Halle with an organ grinder, later with a zither. His repertoire was timeless in every respect. He also played Silent Night in the summer, In the Prater the trees bloom again in the winter.

 

Art in public space

Prayer column, university ring. The wayside shrine was erected in 1455 after the plague epidemics of 1449 and 1452 in front of the city wall in the area of today's Riebeckplatz and was moved to the Universitätsring in 1972. The panel on the west side shows the crucifixion of Christ surrounded by John, Mary and Mary Magdalene. On the east side, Christ carrying the cross is shown on the way to Golgotha.
"The step of the century" (in the courtyard of the Moritzburg). By Wolfgang Mattheuer (1927-2004).
"An encounter right in the middle" (intersection of Geiststrasse and Universitätsring). Group of sculptures by Maya Graber (born 1974).
“Stadt” (Große Klausstraße, opposite No. 7). Illusion wall by Bernd Baumgart (born 1956) and Hans Joachim Triebsch (born 1955).
"Dumb fellows" (in the Lukashof). By Maike Freess (b. 1965).
"Way of memory" (east side of the Hansering). By Christof Traub (born 1963).

 

Galleries

Kunsthalle Talstrasse, Talstrasse 23, 06120 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 550 75 10, fax: +49 (0)345 550 76 74, e-mail: info@kunstverein-talstrasse.de. Gallery with changing exhibitions, readings and discussions. Open: Daily except Mon 2pm-7pm, Sat, Sun, public holidays 2pm-6pm

 

Historical Libraries

Backdrop Library of the Francke Foundations, Franckeplatz 1, 06110 Halle/Saale.
Marienbibliothek, An der Marienkirche 1, 06108 Halle/Saale.
University and State Library, August-Bebel-Strasse 13 and 50, 06108 Halle/Saale

 

Streets and squares

marketplace . With the Handel Monument, the Red Tower, the four-towered Market Church, the neo-Gothic Town Hall and the Geoscope.
Old market . With the donkey fountain.
Cathedral Square . With the New Residence, the "Cathedral" and the Lebenskreis fountain.
Franckeplatz. With the Francke Foundations and Café Hopfgarten.
hall market . With the Göbel fountain.
Joliot Curie Square. With an opera house, fountain, park and old post office.
Riebeckplatz. Central traffic hub of the city, the busiest place in the new federal states. The crossing of the square was built from 1965 and was the first elevated road in the GDR.
University Square

 

Parks

Official garden (east of Burg Giebichenstein). Part of the holiday route Garden Dreams - Historical Parks in Saxony-Anhalt.
Bergzoo Halle, Reilstr. 57, 06114 Halle (Saale) (Tram 3, 12 "Zoo"). Tel.: +49 (0)345 520 33 00 (information, agency), +49 (0)345 520 34 00 (management), e-mail: office@zoo-halle.de . The Halle Zoo is located on the 130 meter high Reilsberg. A traditional focus is on keeping mountain animals, especially from the South American Andes region (e.g. llamas, alpacas, vicuñas). As part of the modernization of the zoo, which is intended to lead to more species-appropriate husbandry, a crocodile house, a new elephant enclosure and the squirrel monkey jungle hall have been inaugurated since the 2000s. Open: Daily 9am-7pm (Mar 28-Oct 31), 9am-5pm (Nov 1-Mar 27); Dec 24, Dec 31 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Price: €9.50 (adults), €7.50 (concession), €4.50 (children, 4-17 years).
Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 3, 06108 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 552 62 29 (curator), email: kustos@botanik.uni-halle.de (curator). Part of the holiday route Garden Dreams - Historical Parks in Saxony-Anhalt. Open: Mon-Fri 2pm-6pm (Apr-Oct); Sat-Sun 10am-6pm (Apr-Oct).
Gertraudenfriedhof, Landrain 25 .
Jewish cemetery, Humboldtstrasse, 06114 Halle (Saale) (corner of Paracelsusstrasse) .
Peissnitz Island. Separates the inner city from the satellite town "Halle-Neustadt". Beautiful park with a concert stage, park railway and gallery. Halle's most popular inner-city excursion destination in summer. Take the tram to the “Rennbahnkreuz” stop (new town side) or “Diakoniezentrum” (old town side).
Pestalozzi Park. The park primarily serves as a local recreation area in the south of the city. It extends lengthwise with many plant and flower beds and some tree plantings through the district of Gesundbrunnen. The 13.5-hectare Pestalozzipark is used for recreation and provides a link to the neighboring district of Südstadt. The park was created by garden architect Franz Mengel in 1926-1931 in connection with the construction of the garden suburb of Gesundbrunnen. In the 1970s and in 2001, the park was expanded towards the south of the city. A nature trail, another dog meadow and numerous path connections were created.
raven island . Walking path around the wooded Saale island in the south of the city, weathered and overgrown ruins. Take the tram to the “Wörmlitz” stop.
Reichardt's garden. The term Herberge der Romantik (also called Reichardts Garten or Giebichensteiner Dichterparadies) comes from German literary history and stands for a private garden in Giebichenstein (Halle (Saale), now owned by the city of Halle, which was used from 1791 to 1814 thanks to its prominent owner Johann Friedrich Reichardt became a meeting place for scientific and literary celebrities (including Brentano and von Arnim).Goethe also stayed here with his friend several times and for a longer period of time when he built and directed a then completely new type of summer theater in nearby Bad Lauchstädt.Part of the Holiday route garden dreams - historical parks in Saxony-Anhalt.
riverbank. With Jahn Cave in the Klaus Mountains.
Solbad Wittekind
Stadtgottesacker . The cemetery complex, which was built from 1557 on the model of the Italian Camposanto complex, is considered a masterpiece of the Renaissance north of the Alps. Part of the Luther Trail in Saxony-Anhalt. Open: daily from 8am, closing 4:30pm-8pm depending on the time of year.
Stadtpark/ city ​​Park
Würfelwiese/ Dice meadow
Ziegelwiese/ Brick meadow

Various
Geoscope, marketplace.

 

What to do

Sports/Fitness
Hikes on both banks of the Saale on foot and by bike. The Saale cycle path also runs along the banks of the Saale.
Ice rink, Gimritzer Damm 1, 06120 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 685 88 3, fax: +49 (0)345 80 55 340, e-mail: kontakt@eissporthalle.com.
Racecourse (Passendorfer Wiesen)
Boat rental Halle, Ziegelwiese (at the Peißnitzbrücke; tram 8 "Diakoniewerk Halle", then another 500m walk). Tel.: +49 (0)345 20 36 90 87, mobile: +49 (0)162 8078010, e-mail: info@bootsverleih-halle.de. Rental of pedal boats, canoes, kayaks, motor boats without a license (small: up to 4 people, 5 hp; or large: up to 8 people, 15 hp), stand-up paddle boards. With the motor boat you can z. B. do a half-day tour to Brachwitz or a day tour to Wettin and back. Open: Tue-Fri 11am-8pm; Sat, Sun, public holidays 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. (last departure at 7:00 p.m.). Price: non-motorized boats during the week €10/h, weekend €14/h; Small motor boat 20/25 €/h, large motor boat 30/35 €/h; Discount on half day or full day tour.

sports clubs
Hallescher FC, Kantstrasse 2, 06110 Halle (Saale). The first men's team has been playing in the 3rd division since 2012. The home ground is the Erdgas Sportpark.

Regular events
Women in Jazz is an international jazz festival held in April
Halle-Leipzig Museum Night at the end of April: more than 80 museums in the two neighboring cities offer special offers between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m., such as lectures and demonstrations, but also many activities to take part in. More on this under Leipzig/Museums.
Hanseatic Festival
Silver Heights Festival
At the beginning of May there is the International Children's Choir Festival "Georg Friedrich Handel"
The Handel Festival has been held in June since 1922
The Hallesches Lantern Festival is on the last weekend in August
The Central German Marathon is at the beginning of September
The Salt Festival is at the end of September
Pottery market on the third weekend of October
Accordion Akut, international music festival at the end of October
The Christmas market is in December

Theatre
New Theater (Cultural Island), Große Ulrichstrasse 51, 06108 Halle. Phone: +49 (0)345 5 11 06 06, (0)345 5 11 06 07.
Opera House, Universitätsring 24, 06108 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 5 11 07 77.
Puppet theater, Große Ulrichstraße 51, 06108 Halle (Saale) (Cultural Island). Phone: +49 (0)345 5 11 06 06, (0)345 5 11 06 07.
Thalia Theater, Große Ulrichstraße 51, 06108 Halle (Saale) (Culture Island; Tram 3, 7, 8 "New Theater"). Tel.: +49 (0)345 5 11 06 06, (0)345 5 11 06 07 wikipedia. Children's and youth theater and musicals.
Steintor-Varieté, Am Steintor 10, 06112 Halle (Saale). Phone: +49 (0)345 2 97 70 10
WUK-TheaterQuartier, Holzplatz 7a 06110 Halle. Free venue on Saline Island. Price: ~10€.
Theatrale, Weisenhausring 2 (Tram "Franckeplatz"). Free venue in the Theatrale, used by various ensembles in the city.

Cinemas
CinemaxX Halle, Charlottenstrasse 8, 06108 Halle. Tel.: +49 (0)40 80 80 69 69. Multiplex cinema.
Luchs Kino am Zoo, Seebener Straße 172, 06114 Halle (back entrance Zoo). Tel.: +49 (0)345 523 86 31. Film art cinema.
Puschkino, Kardinal-Albrecht-Strasse 6, 06108 Halle. Tel.: +49 (0)345 204 05 68. Film art cinema.
Prisma Cinema, Neustädter Passage 17, 06122 Halle. Tel.: +49 (0)345 20 93 90. Edit Multiplex-Kino.
Zazie, Kleine Ulrichstrasse 22, 06108 Halle. Tel.: +49 (0)345 209 78 26. Film art cinema.

Escape games
Exit Games Halle, Am Steintor 13, 06112 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 69 49 45 45, email: info@exitgames-halle.de. Open: daily 10:00 - 18:00.
Room Escape Challenge, Geiststr. 22, 06108 Halle (Saale) (rear building). Mobile: +49 (0)176 64 04 74 11, email: halle@room-escape-challenge.de. Open: daily 10:00 - 20:00.

 

Getting here

By plane
Leipzig/Halle Airport (IATA: LEJ) is located about 30 km south-east of Halle and offers regular flight connections to some airports in Germany and some European destinations as well as charter flights. The airport has a 24-hour operating license and therefore also serves as a freight hub and transhipment point for parcel post. It handles more than two million passengers annually.

The airport is connected to the long-distance and regional rail network. The airport train station is located directly below the terminal building and can be reached via (escalator) stairs and elevators. Hourly IC trains run from Halle on the Hanover - Leipzig line and S-Bahn trains (S 5) run every half hour on the Halle - Leipzig - Zwickau line. IC and S-Bahn differ in the fare, the IC has a slightly more expensive tariff. The travel time to Halle main station is about 10 minutes in both cases.

A taxi ride into the Halle city area costs around €40. The taxi drivers come almost exclusively from Leipzig. Those arriving by car can easily reach the airport via the A9 motorway (from Berlin, Munich) and the Schkeuditzer Kreuz and then via the A14 (from Dresden, Magdeburg). To commute between the airport and the inner cities of Leipzig and Halle, it is best to use the A14 and exit in the direction of the center. There are several paid parking lots and a multi-storey car park at the airport. The car park is directly connected to the terminal and allows for a dry arrival/departure and the parking fees here are €2.00 per hour (minimum €5; as of Sept. 2014). However, the long-term parking spaces are not far from the terminal and are a lot cheaper in the long run. All of the major rental car providers also have a stand directly in the arrivals area.

Another (probably more attractive) alternative is Berlin Airport. This serves far more domestic and international destinations than Leipzig Airport.

By train
The main train station is about 1.5 km east of the city center and can be reached on foot in about 20 minutes via Leipziger Straße or by tram (lines 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9). In addition, the main station and the adjacent Riebeckplatz is the hub of numerous tram and bus lines to different parts of the city.

Halle is an important railway junction with one or two-hour ICE and IC connections to Hanover (via Magdeburg), Berlin (via Wittenberg), Dresden (via Leipzig), Munich and Frankfurt am Main (each via Erfurt).

In regional traffic there are hourly connections to Magdeburg via Köthen, Dessau/Wittenberg via Bitterfeld, Eilenburg via Delitzsch, Erfurt via Weißenfels/Naumburg, Kassel via Sangerhausen/Nordhausen, Goslar via Aschersleben/halberstadt and Bernburg. S-Bahn trains run to Altenburg and Zwickau (via the airport and Leipzig) (S5), to Leipzig via Schkeuditz (S3), and to the suburbs of Nietleben (S3) and Trotha (S47).

barrier-free The main station is fully barrier-free and open around the clock, serviced (bar service on the 1st floor) and has heated waiting rooms. It was completely modernized from 2016 to 2021, so that the quality of stay is very high.

By bus
Halle has a number of long-distance bus connections. The central bus station (ZOB), Ernst-Kamieth-Platz, is located at the west exit of the main train station. There are connections to Berlin, Erfurt, Würzburg, Dresden and the Ruhr area, among others.

There are other connections from Leipzig/Halle Airport.

In the street
Arrival via the A14 from Leipzig or Magdeburg, via the A9 from Nuremberg or Berlin and the A38 from Göttingen. The branches of the A9 and the A14 in the east of Halle lead to the B100.

By boat
There is a boat trip on the Saale to Naumburg (Saale).

By bicycle
The place is the station of the Saale Cycle Path and the destination of the Heavenly Path.

On foot
Halle is a station on the Luther Trail.

 

Transport

In Halle (Saale), environmental zones have been set up in accordance with the Fine Dust Ordinance. If you don't have the appropriate badge, you risk a fine of €100 when entering an environmental zone. This also applies to foreign road users.

Entry ban for vehicles of pollutant groups 1+2+3 (Info Federal Environment Agency)

Halle has a reliable local transport system (HAVAG) with trams, buses and an inner-city S-Bahn. Halle is integrated with Leipzig in the Central German Transport Association (MDV). Halle is well connected to the surrounding area by S-Bahn and regional trains. A single ticket costs EUR 2.60 (children up to the age of 13 EUR 1.60). The 24-hour card costs 6.60 euros. Taking your bike with you costs EUR 1.90 (free travel on the S-Bahn and local trains).

 

Shoppping

A vegetable, fruit and flower market takes place at the market from Monday to Saturday.

Below is a selection of shopping locations in the city:
1 EDEKA Center Weidauer, Merseburger Str. 40, 06110 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 1316140. Open: Mon-Fri 7am-9pm, Sat 7am-8pm.
2 E-Center Wilhelm, Weißenfelser Str. 52, 06132 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 772860. Open: Mon-Fri 7am-9pm, Sat 7am-8pm.
3 Kauflandcenter, Südstadtring 90, 06128 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 2260450. Open: Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat 7am-8pm.
4 Kaufland, Zollrain 9, 06124 Halle (Saale). Tel.: +49 (0)345 292690. Open: Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat 6am-8pm.