Halle (Saale)

Halle (Saale)
City
View over Halle Marktkirche and Handel Monument Saale and Kröllwitz Roter Turm Francke Foundations Wasserturm Giebichenstein Castle Marktkirche Halle Cathedral Paulusviertel with Pauluskirche
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Halle (Saale)
Halle (Saale) Show map of Germany Halle (Saale) Show map of Saxony-Anhalt
Coordinates: 51°28′58″N 11°58′11″E / 51.48278°N 11.96972°E / 51.48278; 11.96972
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Urban district
Government
• Mayor (2019–26)	Bernd Wiegand[1]
Area
• Total	135.01 km2 (52.13 sq mi)
Elevation	87 m (285 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	242,083
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	06108-06132
Dialling codes	0049345
Vehicle registration	HAL
Website	halle.de

Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (German: [ˈhalə]; from the 15th to the 17th century: Hall in Sachsen; until the beginning of the 20th century: Halle an der Saale [ˈhalə ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈzaːlə] ^ⓘ; from 1965 to 1995: Halle/Saale) is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the fifth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, as well as the 31st-largest city of Germany, and with around 244,000^[3] inhabitants, it is slightly more populous than the state capital of Magdeburg. Together with Leipzig, the largest city of Saxony, Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Between the two cities, in Schkeuditz, lies Leipzig/Halle International Airport. The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region.

Halle lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Leipzig Bay, the southernmost part of the North German Plain, and is the largest city on the River Saale (a tributary of the Elbe), which is the third-longest river flowing entirely in Germany after the Weser and the Main. The White Elster flows into the Saale in the southern borough of Silberhöhe. Halle is the fourth-largest city in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz.

Halle is one of the main economic and educational centers of Central Germany. The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, with campuses in Halle and Wittenberg, is the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest universities in Germany. The university hospital of Halle (Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale)) is the largest hospital in the state. The German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) has its seat in Halle. Halle is an important radio hub - Halle Radio Tower is Germany's second-tallest lattice tower, and at night many public German radio stations from all over the country switch to the broadcasting center of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Halle which is responsible for the night program.

The Halle tramway is one of the most extensive German tramway networks, and Halle (Saale) Hauptbahnhof is the second-most important hub of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland rapid transit network after Leipzig Hauptbahnhof. The Saale-Elster Viaduct, the longest bridge in Germany and longest high-speed rail bridge in Europe, which is part of the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway, runs through the southern borough of Planena.

The Nebra sky disc that was discovered in Nebra in the Unstrut valley between Halle and Erfurt, is exhibited in the Halle State Museum of Prehistory. The city is the birthplace of composer George Frideric Handel, who was born in the Handel House that has been converted into a music museum.