Halle (Saale)

Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (German pronunciation: [ˈhalə] ), is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, and Magdeburg, and is Germany's 31st-largest city. With around 226,000 inhabitants, Halle is less populous than the state capital, Magdeburg. With Leipzig, Saxony's second largest city, Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Leipzig/Halle International Airport lies between the two cities, in Schkeuditz. The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region. Halle has been known by many names during its history. From the 15th to the 17th century it was called Hall in Sachsen. From then until the beginning of the 20th century, the name Halle an der Saale [ˈhalə ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈzaːlə] was used, and it remains a more formal term for the city. From 1965 to 1995, the city was called Halle/Saale. 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 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 Saxony-Anhalt's largest university and one of Germany's oldest. 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 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, Germany's longest bridge and Europe's longest high-speed rail bridge, 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 German-British Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. The Handel House has been converted into a museum. The Handel Monument in Halle is Germany's only monument to him.

Source: wikipedia