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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).1 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.
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 1680Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. July 8 The first confirmed tornado in America killed a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts. August 21 Pueblo Indians, when BrandenburgSurrounding but excluding the national capital Berlin, Brandenburg is one of Germany's sixteen Bundeslander (federal states). Lying in the east of the country, it is one of the new states created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany a annexed it together with Magdeburg.
After World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough Halle served as the capital of the short-lived administrative region of Saxony-Anhalt (until 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada.), when the East GermanFor the historical eastern German provinces, see Eastern Germany East Germany officially the German Democratic Republic GDR , German Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR , was a Communist Party-led state that existed from 1949 to 1990 in the former Soviet government abolished its "Länder". As a part of East Germany (until 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apo), 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.
2 Sights
- Giebichenstein Castle, first mentioned in 961Events Byzantine Empire recaptures Crete from Muslim control Harald I of Norway squashed the rebelling forces of Eric Bloodaxe's sons but was killed in the Battle of Fitje. Harald II of Norway becomes ruler of Western part of Norway Births Deaths Harald I, 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).
- Halle-Neustadt, Mostly built in the 1960s Halle-Neustadt lies just to the East of Halle. A classic example of how mean, state sponsored housing, on a huge scale, combined with brutalist architecture and "one-size-fits-all" social-engineering failed to achieve its aims - but did convice most of the people that lived there that moving to another city was a good idea. Halle-Neustadt is sometimes referred to as " Hanoi" - in an ironic play on words referring to the heavily bombed capital of Vietnam ( Ha-Neu: abriviation for Halle- Neustadt -german pronounciation: hanoi).
