# Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Halle

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HALLE (formerly called, to distinguish it from other towns of the same name, Halle in Sachsen, but now generally known as Halle an der Saale), a city of Prussian Saxony, government district of Merseburg, is situated on the right bank of the Saale and at the junction of six rail ways, 20 miles N.W. of Leipsic. It consists of the old town, or Halle proper, with five suburbs, and the two small towns of Glauchau and Neumarkt, which were added to it in 1817. Halle is under the immediate jurisdiction of the crown, and is the seat of the imperial chief office of mines for the provinces of Saxony, Brandenburg, and Pomerania, of a head tax-office, of a circle court, and of a provincial office. The greater part of the town is irregularly built, and pre sents a somewhat unattractive appearance to the eye of a stranger ; but of late years it has been much improved by the construction of new promenades on the site of the old fortifications, and by the repaving of many of the streets and the addition of new buildings. Its well-known uni versity was_ founded by King Frederick I. in 1694 in behalf of the jurist Thomasius, whom many students followed to Halle when he was expelled from Leipsic through the enmity of his fellow professors. It was closed by Napoleon in 1806, and again in 1813; and in 1815 it was united with that of Wittenberg. It has faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philosophy. From the beginning it has been recognized as one of the principal schools of Protestant theology, and has numbered among its professors some of the most eminent names of Germany. Its maximum number of students occurred in 1829 when they exceeded 1300. Subsequently the number declined below 600, but at pre sent the average attendance is between 900 and 1000. The present buildings were erected in 1834. In connexion with the university there are a botanical garden, a theological and normal seminary, a medical and surgical clinical institute, a maternity hospital, an observatory, and a library of over 100,000 volumes, which also contains collections of coins and engravings. The Francke sche Stiftungen founded in 1691 by August Hermann Francke, a bronze statue of whom by Eauch was erected in 1829 in the inner court of the building embrace an orphanage, a laboratory where medicines are prepared and distributed, a Bible press from which Bibles are issued at a cheap rate, and a number of schools of various grades, viz., a Latin school, a higher real- school, a citizen school, a higher female school, and a free school, attended in all by over 3000 pupils. The principal other institutions are the city gymnasium, the provincial trade school, the provincial lunatic asylum, the penitentiary, the town hospital and infirmary, and the deaf and dumb institute. Among the other public buildings may be men tioned the church of St Mary, containing some fine paint ings, an interesting Gothic structure of the 16th century, with four towers, two of which are connected by a bridge ; the church of St Maurice, dating from the 12th century, with interesting wood-carvings and sculptures ; the church of St Ulrich, dating from the 14th century; the cathedral, founded in the 16th century, and containing an altar-piece representing Duke Augustus of Saxony and his family; the red clock tower in the market-place, 276 feet in height; the old town-house ; the ruins of the castle of Moritzburg, erected in 1484, formerly the residence of the archbishops of Magdeburg, but destroyed by fire during the Thirty Years War, with the exception of the left wing, which is now used for military purposes ; the lodge of the free masons ; and the theatre. In 1859 a bronze statue was erected in the market-place to Handel, who was born at Halle in 1685 ; and in the outskirts of the town there is a monument to the Germans who fell at the battle of Leipsic in 1813. The salt-springs of Halle have been known from a very early period. Some rise within the town and others on an island in the Saale ; and together their annual yield of salt is about 12,000 tons. The workman employed in connexion with the manufacture are a peculiar and distinct race known by the name of Halloren, probably descended from an old Frankish colony. They observe several ancient customs, and enjoy certain special exemptions and privileges. The principal other industries of Halle are the manufacture of starch, beetroot-sugar, chemicals, lignite, candles, pottery- wares, sausages, oil, machines and waggons, sugar-refining, brewing, printing, and bookbinding. Considerable trade, especially in corn, is now carried on by means of the railways, but the shipping trade is unimportant. The population has increased with great rapidity during the last quarter of a century, for while the numbers in 1831 were 25,594, they had risen in 1849 to 33,848 and in 1875 to 60,503.
1. Penitentiary. 2. Observatory. 3. Moritzburg. 4. Library. 5. University. Plan of Halle. 6. Theatre. 7. Gymnasium. 8. Post-Office. 9. District Court. 10. Town-Hall. 11. Red Clock Tower. 12. Cathedral. 13. Church of St Mary. 14. Church of St Maurice.
Halle was first mentioned in 806 as the fortress of Halla erected by Charlemagne. The place was, however, in existence before the Christian era, and owes its origin as well as its name to its salt-springs. Otto the Great presented it in 965 along with the salt-springs to the bishopric of Magdeburg, and in 981 Otto II. raised it to the rank of a town. At the beginning of the 12th century it had attained considerable importance, and in the 13th and 14th centuries as a member of the Hanseatic League it carried on successful wars with the archbishops of Magdeburg ; and in 1435 it resisted an army of 30,000 men under the elector of Saxony. On account, however, of internal feuds between the democracy and the patricians it
was subdued in 1478 by Archbishop Ernest, who in order to hold it in cheek built the castle of Moritzburg. Notwithstanding the efforts of the archbishops of Mainz and Magdeburg, the Refor mation found an entrance into the city in 1522; and in 1541 a Lutheran superintendent was appointed. After the peace of Westphalia in 1648 the city came into the possession of the house of Brandenburg. In 1806 it was stormed and taken by the French, after which, at the peace of Tilsit, it was united to the new kingdom of Westphalia. After the battle between the Prussians and French, May 2, 1813, it was taken by the Prussians. The rise of Leipsic was for a long time hurtful to the prosperity of Halle, and its present rapid increase in population and trade is principally due to its position as the centre of a network of railways.
See Dreyhaupt, Ausfiihrlichc Beschreibung des Saalkrcises, Halle, 2 vols., 1755 (2d edition, 1771-73; 3d edition, 1842-44); Hoif- bauer, Gcschichte der Universitdt zu Halle, 1806 ; Halle in Vorzeit und Gegenwart, 1851 ; Knauth, Kurze Gcschichte und Beschreibnng der Stadt Halle, 3d edition, 1861 ; Vom Hagen, Die Stadt Halle, 1866- 67 ; Hertzberg, Gcschichte der Vereinigung der Universitdtcn von Wittenberg und Halle, 1867; Voss, Zur Gcschichte der Aiitonomie der Stadt Halle, 1874 ; A. Kirchkoff, ; Ueber die Lagenverhalttiisse der Stadt Halle," in Mittheilungen des Vercins fur Erdkunde zu Halle, Halle, 1877.