Geography of Halle
Halle, Germany, a city in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is on the Saale River, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Leipzig. Deposits of salt, potash, and lignite are mined nearby. The city has oil and beet-sugar refineries, printing plants, and factories producing chemicals, machinery, cement, and paper. A statue in the city square and an annual music festival honor composer George Frideric Handel, who was born here. Halle first appears in history in 806 A.D., as a fortress. It was a member of the Hanseatic League from 1281 to 1478. It became part of Prussian Saxony in 1648. The University of Halle, founded in 1694, became a center of Protestant theology.
Population: 301,000.