"Halle an der Saale" Top 5 Page for this destination Halle by Kathrin_E

Halle Travel Guide: 108 reviews and 432 photos

16th to 20th century architecture - Halle

Marktplatz

A wounded city. A city that has lost a quarter of its population since 1989. A city that is bleeding from deep cuts everywhere.

A city full of hidden treasures.

Halle is not an obvious tourist destination. It takes some patience, even obstinacy to unearth the gold underneath the rubble. However, it is worth it.
I like Halle - not only because it is twinned with my hometown Karlsruhe. Somehow the city's fate has gained my sympathy.

World War II has done some damage although the city was saved from the worst by a German commander with some common sense who, despite orders to defend the city to the last brick, negotiated and surrendered.
40 years of socialism have added theirs. After the reunification of Germany a lot has been done but a lot has been neglected. Many historical buildings have been beautifully restored in the meantime. Next to them, however, half-ruined empty buildings can still be found even in the heart of the city.

On the other hand Halle is a university town with a rich cultural life and tradition. Halle is looking back on 1200 years of history. The wealth of the past was based, as indicated by the city's name, on the 'white gold': salt.

The famous view of market square with the five towers - Roter Turm and the four spires of Marktkirche - expresses the pride of a well-to-do city.

Magistrale to Halle-Neustadt

In DDR times, Halle's economical base were the huge chemical combinates south of the city - Buna, Leuna, Schkopau. These state-owned socialist enterprises had no chance to survive on the global market without expensive modernization and sacking most of their workers. Instead of ten thousands, the factories nowadays employ a few hundreds. The latest blow was the closing of Waggonbau Ammendorf, a factory that built and repaired train cars. After the reunification it was taken over by Bombardier and in the end closed down. More jobs lost.

By 2005 Halle had lost 80.000 inhabitants compared to 1990. The huge DDR Plattenbau quarters are partly empty, some buildings even torn down.

The highway named Magistrale which cuts through the city centre is a relic of socialist planning, following Sowjet examples (although 'the West' has committed similar crimes in city planning in the 1960s and 70s). The road leads to Halle-Neustadt, a huge suburb on the opposite side of the river Saale. You see the Plattenbau blocks of Ha-Neu (pronounced "Hanoi") in the far background.

Last visit to Halle: Aug 2009
Intro Updated Oct 7, 2010
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (31)

Water tower seen from Paulus quarter - Halle

The Water Tower Off The Beaten Path (3)

The water tower is a landmark in the Northeast of the city, right behind Paulus quarter and outside Steintor, which is... more travel advice

Paulus Church and Paulus Quarter Off The Beaten Path (3)

A large new quarter was planned and built around 1900 in the Northeast of the city centre. It covers a gentle hill. The... more travel advice

Old Town: Brüderstraße Things to Do (24)

As a contrast to the previous two you should get an idea what most of the town looked like before renovations started.... more travel advice

Jena'sches Fräuleinstift in Rathausstraße - Halle

Old Town: Rathausstraße and Jena'sches... Things to Do (24)

Rathausstraße is another street in the old town that deserves attention because of its well restored historical houses.... more travel advice

Favorites (2)
See All Famous Citizens of Halle
Nightlife (1)
Halle's Pub Mile

Shopping (1)
Farmers' Market
Been to Halle?
Share your travels with the world!

Travelogues (9)

1 - 4 of 9

Comments (5)

Reply
- Report abuse
ettiewyn Sep 26, 2011 at 11:56 PM

Wonderful page, Kathrin! It's interesting to see all the parts of the city that I missed. You really give the reader an insight to the city.
And you have much better pictures of the cathedral exterior than I do - somehow I did not find a spot from where I could take a good picture!
Reply
- Report abuse
german_eagle May 9, 2009 at 4:15 AM

Brauche ja nun keine Seite über Halle mehr zu basteln ... alles schon da! LOL Sehr schöne Arbeit, sehr viel Infos und schöne Bilder. Bin aber nach Renovierung im Dom dringewesen und habe auch noch Moritzkirche sowie Bilder von der Saline im Angebot :-)
Reply
- Report abuse
margaretvn Apr 26, 2009 at 3:15 AM

lovely page with great tips, wonderful photos and lots of info. had to smile at "backsides of a city" - backsides to an English person would mean bottoms!! and I did not see any on your album. hope all is well with you
Reply
- Report abuse
Herwig1961 Apr 19, 2009 at 10:15 AM

Hi Kathrin,very interesting page here!Thanks!I am sorry that you didn`t here from me for quite a while but I am still in Uganda and struggle often with the internet connection...Greetings Herwig
Reply
- Report abuse
hunterV Apr 18, 2009 at 3:58 AM

I see it's a wonderful place to visit... Vielen Dank!