Halle is a German city that’s located in the south of Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt). It’s very close to the river Saale, which is why it’s also called Halle an der Saale (Halle on the Saale).
Don’t mix this city’s name up with another, smaller German city called Halle in Westphalia!
This city has a rich past. Its early history is connected with harvesting of salt. And the name Halle probably had been derived from a proto-Germanic word for salt. Even the name of the river Saale consists the Germanic root for salt as salt-harvesting had taken place here — at least since the Bronze Age.
Halle was initially mentioned in the year 806. Later, in the 10th century, it became a component of the bishopric principality of Magdeburg and remained so until 1680, when Brandenburg annexed it together with Magdeburg.
Subsequent to the World War II, it served as the capital of the short-lived administrative region of Saxony-Anhalt until 1952, before it functioned as the capital of the administrative district.
The city is known for its Handel Festival which is held every June. This festival emphasizes the city’s cultural calendar and attracts visitors from all over the world.
You will find various places of interest in the city as it has a long history. With a diversity of attractions and chronological buildings, the old quarter is an excellent place for you to stroll around and get acquainted with its colorful past.
Market square and Handel statue are other spots which must be seen. From there, go to the five towers. One of them is the city’s most famous landmark — the 84-meter-high Red Tower.
St. Mary cathedral is also termed as Market Church, which was shaped out of two smaller medieval churches. The hefty organ in the west nave was initiated in the company of Johann Sebastian Bach at the beginning of the 18th century. Only adjacent to this church, visitors would locate St. Mary’s library, which is Germany’s oldest and largest Protestant church library
“God’s Acre” cemetery, which is dating back its origin from the 16th century, is an outstanding Renaissance memorial.
After torment of Second World War, “God’s Acre” graveyard was left to run wild until 1990, when it was affectionately put to its original glory.
And as I mentioned at the beginning of this page, this city accommodates Germany’s oldest Evangelic Bible college — known as Marien Bibliotheca, with 27,000 titles.
