Halle

Halle is the largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany with a population of 233,700. Located on the river Saale, it is often referred to as Halle an der Saale, or Halle (Saale) for short, to distinguish it from other municipalities in Germany sharing the same name.

Halle has always been an important industrial centre - its industrial heritage spans salt mining, chemical industries and chocolate confectionery. Internationally, Halle is perhaps best known as the birthplace of the Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Händel, who later went on to a successful career in London.

Understand
Halle owes its existence to brine springs: salt has been produced in the region since the Bronze Age. The name Halle probably stems from the boiling "hall" of the salt works. The oldest document mentioning "Halla" dates from 806 AD. From the 10th to 17th century, Halle belonged to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, temporarily serving as the second residence of the Prince-Archbishop, who was both religious leader and political ruler of the territory. An important trade centre, Halle was a member of the Hanseatic League during the late Middle Ages. After the Protestant Reformation, the Archbishopric became the secular Duchy of Magdeburg before being merged into the Kingdom of Prussia.

Baroque composer George Frideric Handel was born in Halle in 1685 but moved to Hamburg at age 18 and later became famous in London. With its university (founded in 1694) and August Hermann Francke's Foundations (since 1698), Halle was an educational centre during the Age of Enlightenment. Thanks to its university, the picturesque landscape of the Saale valley and ruined castles in the surroundings, Halle was a place-to-go for Romantic poets of the early 19th century, namely Joseph von Eichendorff who studied in Halle and composed numerous poems during his rambles. The composer Johann Friedrich Reichardt's garden near Giebichenstein castle was considered the "shelter of Romanticism".

The city was connected to the Leipzig–Magdeburg railroad in 1840. Halle soon became an industrial centre with notable chocolate, chemical and rail vehicle construction plants. During the communist rule, an extensive new town, Halle-Neustadt (colloquially Ha-Neu, homophonous with Hanoi), was built west of the city. It was declared an independent city in 1967 and was home to more than 90,000 inhabitants, mostly workers of the chemical plants, at its peak in 1980. It was reunited with Halle proper in 1990. One of Halle's most famous sons is the politician Hans-Dietrich Genscher (1927–2016) who moved to West Germany during the country's partition, becoming foreign minister and leader of the liberal FDP. Halle's chemical industries broke down after the German reunification, leading to a massive loss of jobs but also to a recovery of the terribly polluted environment. New jobs were created in the service sector, science and technology. Halle is the seat of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and many startups. While separated by a state border since 1990, Halle and Leipzig are closely integrated with one another, sharing an S-Bahn system and an airport and many commuters move between the two or from suburbs of one to the other.

By plane
Leipzig/Halle Airport, sometimes called Schkeuditz Airport, is 30 km away from central Halle. The airport is the second biggest airport in Eastern Germany after Berlin. Trains between the airport and Halle Central Station run roughly every 30 minutes, alternating a S-Bahn (S 5X) and an IC-train enroute to Hanover. The trip takes 11 minutes and costs €4.20 (S-Bahn) or €6 (IC). The train station is below the terminal building and can be reached by stairs, escalators and elevators.

Berlin's airport is less than two hours away by train and offers more direct flights.

By train


Deutsche Bahn operates regular train service between Halle and nearby cities such as Leipzig (€7.60, 25 minutes), Lutherstadt Eisleben (€9.50, 30 minutes), Dessau (€14, 50 minutes), Magdeburg (€22, 50 minutes), Jena (€20, 60 minutes), Weimar (€20.50, 60 minutes), Lutherstadt Wittenberg (€15, 65 minutes).

High-speed trains are available to major cities in Germany including Erfurt (€40, 30 minutes), Berlin (€49, 70 minutes), Frankfurt (€88, 2:40 hours), Munich (€117, 3 hours), Hamburg (€106, 3:15 hours). Prague (€66, 4:40 hours) can be reached with an additional transfer in Dresden; or by train and bus via Leipzig (3.5 hours). Tickets may be much cheaper if booked in advance.

By bus
see long distance bus travel in Germany

By car
From Leipzig, take the A14 west to the B100.

By tram
Hallesche Verkehrs-AG (HAVAG) operates the local surface street tram. It passes most major attractions downtown and will take you to and from the main train station. Tickets are available at the office in the Marktplatz, from vending machines or from the drivers. 1-hour tickets cost €2.20 if bought from a vending machine, somewhat more if bought from the driver. Day passes cost €5.



Buy
Leipziger Straße is the main shopping street in downtown Halle. It branches off of the southeast corner of the Marktplatz. There you will find many retail shops and chain fast food restaurants.

Budget
Make sure you try some döner kebap. It's heavily Germanized Turkish food. Halle has some of the best döner in Germany.



Budget




Go next

 * The Central German Lake District surrounds Halle and Leipzig.
 * Merseburg, 15 km south, more than thousand-year-old town with interesting old centre, Romanesque/Gothic cathedral and Renaissance palace (10 minutes by train, or cycle up the Saale bike trail)
 * Eisleben, 30 km west, birth place of Martin Luther (30–40 minutes by train)
 * Leipzig, 40 km east, Halle's "twin", trade city, cultural metropolis and economic "boom town" of East Germany, half an hour train ride away.
 * Naumburg, 50 km south, impressive Romanesque cathedral, home town of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, centre of the Saale-Unstrut cultural landscape and wine-growing region (30–40 minutes by train, or cycle up the Saale bike trail)
 * Dessau, 50 km northeast, centre of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, seat of the 1920s Bauhaus art school, capital of classical modern architecture (50–55 minutes by train, change in Bitterfeld or Köthen)
 * Wittenberg, 75 km northeast, important city during the late Middle Age and Renaissance, origin of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation (just over an hour by train)
 * Magdeburg, 90 km north, state capital on the river Elbe with huge Gothic cathedral and one of Germany's most important Romanesque monasteries (50 minutes by intercity train)
 * Weimar, 90 km southwest, centre of classical culture, home of Germany's national poets Goethe and Schiller, composers Liszt and Richard Strauss, Friedrich Nietzsche, the early Bauhaus school and Buchenwald concentration camp (one hour by train)
 * Erfurt, 115 km southwest, state capital of Thuringia, medieval old city (35 minutes by ICE high-speed train)