HALLE (harle), a city of Prussian Saxony, known as Halle an der Seale, to distinguish it from other places of the same name in Germany; on the right bank of the Saale and on several small islands of the river; 20 miles N. W. of Leipsic. As an important railway cen ter, Halle has rapidly increased in size, industry, and prosperity. Its famous university was founded in 1694 by Fred erick I. of Prussia; after having been suppressed by Napoleon in 1806, and again in 1813, it was re-established in 1815 and incorporated with the Univer sity of Wittenberg, which had been dis solved during the war. The Francke Institutions rank among the most impor tant establishments of the place. The noteworthy buildings and institutions em brace St. Mary's Church (1529-1554); the Gothic church of St. Maurice, dating from the 12th century, with fine wood carvings and sculptures; the red tower, 276 feet high, in the market-place, with a Roland statue in front of it the town hall; the remains of the 11oritzburg, built in 1484, the ancient residence of the archbishops of Magdeburg; a deacon esses' home; a large penitentiary; the medical institutes and clinical hospitals; the agricultural institute; the university library (220,000 vols.) ; a provincial mu
seum; an art collection; and an archmo logical and other museums. The most important industrial product of Halle is salt, obtained from brine springs within and near the town, which have been worked from before the 7th century. The industries next in importance prior to the World War, were sugar-refining, print ing, brewing, the manufacture of mineral oil, and fruit cultivation. A very active trade was carried on in machines, raw sugar, mineral oil, grain, and flour. Halle is the birthplace of Handel, the com poser. Originally a border fortress against the Slays, it became in the 10th century an appanage- of the Archbishop of Magdeburg, and by the 12th century was famous as a commercial city. In that and the 13th century Halle was a powerful member of the Hanseatic League, and successfully withstood a fierce siege by the Archbishop of Magde burg in 1435, but finally fell into his hands in 1478. Terribly impoverished during the Thirty Years' War, it was in corporated with Brandenburg at the peace of Westphalia. Pop. about 180,000.