What to See in Halle - Top Sights and Attractions

Building in Halle, Germany. The Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen is a church in the centre of the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was built between 1529 and 1554 and is the most recent of the city's medieval churches. In German, its official name is shortened to Liebfrauenkirche but it is also referred to as Marienkirche and the Marktkirche.

The church replaced two former churches in the market area, their towers were integrated into the new building. The Market Church is considered one of the most important buildings of the late Gothic period in central Germany. Its four towers, together with the Red Tower, are the landmark of the city, hence its nickname "Stadt der fünf Türme" (City of the Five Towers).

Justus Jonas introduced the Reformation into Halle, and his friend Martin Luther preached in the church. George Frideric Handel was baptized here and received his first organ lessons. Johann Sebastian Bach inspected the new organ, and his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was an organist. The beginnings of both pietism and Enlightenment were connected to the church. Little damaged in World War II, the church is today a historic protected monument.^[2]

Castle in Halle, Germany. Giebichenstein Castle is a castle in Halle in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is part of the Romanesque Road.

Being a Burgward in the 9th century, the castle became a royal residence of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, who gave it to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg which he had established in 968. Halle had practically reached a state of political autonomy in 1263. The same happened with Magdeburg and when the archbishops finally left Magdeburg, after a series of conflicts with the ever more powerful city council, Giebichenstein Castle became their principal residence in 1382, which it remained until the archbishops moved into the newly built Moritzburg (Halle) in 1503.

The lower castle (German: Unterburg) is one of the two campuses of the Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle (Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design).^[6]

Botanical garden in Halle, Germany. The Botanische Garten der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg is an arboretum and botanical garden maintained by the University of Halle-Wittenberg. It is located at Am Kirchtor 3 in the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and open daily in the warmer months. An admission fee is charged.

The garden's origins can be traced back to 1698 when Frederick III, Prince Elector of Brandenburg donated parts of his hortus medicus to the university in Halle. By 1749 the garden contained 191 plants species. In 1787 it was enlarged to its present size by Karl Christoph von Hoffmann (1735-1801), university chancellor, in response to activities of garden directors Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798), who participated in Captain James Cook's second world expedition, and Philipp Jung Hans Caspar (1736-1798). Towards the end of the 18th century many greenhouses were constructed, and by 1825 the garden contained some 7,000 species. Its tropical greenhouse was built in 1872 with the Victoria greenhouse following in 1902. During the 20th century, additional modern green houses were built and old ones renovated, including the 1994 reconstruction of the Victoria greenhouse. The garden grounds also contain the former university observatory, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans (1732-1808).

Today the garden contains about 12,000 species, including systematic collections of orchids, bromeliads, carnivorous plants, grass species (especially from the tribe Aveneae), Mammillaria (Cactaceae), Echinodorus (Alismataceae), and Cryptocoryne (Araceae). It also contains an important collection of Central Asian plants, especially from Mongolia, which is believed to be one of the largest such collections outside Russia and Mongolia, and preserves some rare and extinct plants with emphasis on the local region of Saxony-Anhalt, including Artemisia rupestris, as well as exotics such as Carlina diae (Asteraceae) from Crete and Sophora toromiro from the Easter Islands.

The garden is organized into the following major areas:

• Alpine garden with many high mountain plants surrounds a small plant bed with beach and sand dune plants.
• American plants.
• Asian plants, particularly Berberis and Cotoneaster.
• Arboretum, systematically arranged, with very old specimens of Acer campestre, Gymnocladus dioicus, Juglans nigra, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, and Sophora japonica.
• Steppe plants from the East Mediterranean region and Central Asia.
• Systematic garden, organized according to the "System der natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien" of A. Engler.

The garden also contains a number of greenhouses (3,000 m2 total area) including:

• Arid greenhouse - cacti and succulents from the Americas and Africa, with a smaller section dedicated to Madagascar.
• Evergreen plant greenhouse.
• Orangery.
• Tropical greenhouse - lianas, epiphytes and useful plants including banana, coffee, pepper, and vanilla.
• Victoria greenhouse - tropical aquatic plants including mangroves and collections of Echinodorus and Cryptocoryne.

Archive in Halle, Germany. The Francke Foundations, also known as Glauchasche Anstalten were founded in 1695 in Halle, Germany as a Christian, social and educational work by August Hermann Francke

The Francke Foundations are today a non-profit educational organization housed in a complex of historic buildings. The Francke Foundations includes three kindergartens, a children’s creativity centre, four schools, a House of Generations, a youth workshop, a bible centre, traditional commercial enterprises, archives, libraries, museums, and university and non-university research facilities. More than 4,000 people learn, teach, work and live in the Francke Foundations.

The Francke Foundations have been on the German proposal list as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.^[12]

Public university in Halle, Germany. Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and international courses leading to academic degrees such as BA, BSc, MA, MSc, doctoral degrees, and Habilitation.

The university was created in 1817 through the merger of the University of Wittenberg (founded in 1502) and the University of Halle (founded in 1694). MLU is named after Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who was a professor in Wittenberg. Today, the university campus is located in Halle, while Leucorea Foundation in Wittenberg serves as MLU's convention centre. Both Halle and Wittenberg are about one hour from Berlin via the Berlin–Halle railway, which offers Intercity-Express (ICE) trains.^[14]