Halle | |
Coat of arms | Location |
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Administration | |
Country | Germany |
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State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
Admin. region | Detmold |
District | Gütersloh |
Local subdivisions | 6 |
Mayor | Anne Rodenbrock-Wesselmann (SPD) |
Basic statistics | |
Area | 69.21 km² (26.7 sq mi) |
Elevation | 125 m (410 ft) |
Population | 21,177 (30/12/2007) |
- Density | 306 /km² (792 /sq mi) |
Other information | |
Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
Licence plate | GT (HW until Dec. 31, 1972) |
Postal code | 33790 |
Area codes | 0 52 01 |
Website | www.hallewestfalen.org |
Location of Halle within Gütersloh district | |
Halle (officially Halle (Westf.), in order to distinguish from the larger Halle, Saxony-Anhalt) is a town in the German Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the district of Gütersloh. It lies approx. 37 km south-east of Osnabrück and 15 km west of Bielefeld.
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Halle is situated in sandy plain of the river Ems on the southern slopes of the Teutoburg Forest, which crosses the town area from northwest to southeast. This mountain range separates the Eastern part of the Münsterland and the Westfalian Bay. The highest points are the Hengeberg elevating 316 meters and the Eggeberg elevating 312 meters. With 70 meters the south- western outskirts are the lowest point. There the creeks Hessel, Rhedaer Bach as well as the Ruthebach leave the city limits. All creeks have its source in the Teutoburg Forest and ultimately join the river Ems. The town area is essentially characterized by agriculture, but has also substantial amount of forest areas, namely the Teutoburg Forest and the Tatenhauser Forest. The 52nd degree of latitude traverses the town area in its southern part.
Area acc. to Type of Usage |
Agricultural Area |
Forest Area |
Buildings and Free Space |
Traffic Area |
Industrial Area |
Water Area |
Sports Area and Public Green Space |
Other Usage |
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Area in km² | 45,5 | 11,68 | 6,73 | 3,86 | 0,85 | 0,30 | 0,23 | 0,13 |
Percentage of Total Area | 65,68 % | 16,86 % | 9,71 % | 5,57 % | 1,23 % | 0,43 % | 0,33 % | 0,19 % |
The northern part of the town area of Halle is situated in the Teutoburg Forest mountain range, with the city limits running on the ridge in large parts. Towards the south the town area levels off into the sandy plains of the river Ems.
The town covers an area of 69,29 km² (26,75 square miles). The major part consists of agricultural area (4.550 ha) and forests (1.168 ha), in total approx. 83 %, followed by developed area (673 ha) and circulation area (386 ha), in total approx. 15 %. The maximum stretch both in northern - southern direction and in western - eastern direction is approx. 10km. The northernmost point is north of Eggeberg at approx. 52° 5' northern latitude, the southernmost point is south of Kölkebeck.
Halle borders the town of Borgholzhausen in the northwest, the town of Werther in the northeast, the community of Steinhagen in the southeast and south, the town of Harsewinkel in southeast and the town of Versmold in the west, all belonging to the district of Gütersloh. Major neighbouring cities are Bielefeld and Gütersloh, both approx. 15 km away.
Halle (Westf.) is segmented into six urban districts. Besides Halle itself there is the industrial-suburban Künsebeck as well as the rural-agrarian villages Bokel, Hesseln, Hörste and Kölkebeck. While the rural-agrarian districts can be clearly distinguished as separate parts within the city limits the transition between Halle and Künsebeck is flowing. The following table gives an overview over the population in the parts of the city[1]:
Urban District | Inhabitants |
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Bokel | 854 |
Halle | 13.558 |
Hesseln | 1.406 |
Hörste | 1.681 |
Kölkebeck | 503 |
Künsebeck | 3.583 |
Total | 21.585 |
Halle is located in the Ravensberger Land or more specifically in the County of Ravensberg, deducted from the Burg Ravensberg located in the neighbouring community of Borgholzhausen. The vicissitudes of history were predominantly influenced by the bishops of Osnabrück, Napoleon and German emperors.
The area of the town and the former district of Halle formerly belonged to the Ravensberg. The latter was surrounded by the principalities of Osnabrück, Münster, Paderborn and Minden and was neighbouring the Principality of Lippe. In contrast to these principalities Ravensberg always has been secular estate, which at first belonged to the Counts of Ravensberg and later to their Jülich heirs. After this nobility also became extinct the county, along with others, came into possession of the house of Kleve-Mark and about a century later via the Margraviate of Brandenburg of the kingdom of Prussia.
In the year 1246 bishop Engelbert of Osnabrück swapped the church "tor Halle", situated on the southern edge of his diocese, with all rights and duties with the castle and Benedictine Abbey Iburg in exchange for the church in Rheda with all rights and earnings. In the document, dating May 9, 1246, which seals the exchange - in a manner of speaking the certificate of birth - Halle is mentioned for the first time. The two villages Oldendorf and Gartnisch, today subdivisions of Halle embracing it in the east and west, are older than the present core of settlement. They are already mentioned as early as in the 11th century.
The Ravensberg rent-roll, finalized in 1556, lists 49 names in Halle between the years 1491 and 1541, thereof 26 free citizens and 23 bondmen of the territorial lord respectively of the noble landlords in Steinhausen and Tatenhausen. The population is estimated around 350 heads in the 16th century. During this time the Protestant Reformation began in Halle, gradually but largely changing people's religious affiliation. Only few noble families remained Roman Catholic, among them the Lords of castle Tatenhausen, in whose territory the catholic community Stockkämpen continues to exist to date.
On April 17, 1719 Halle was granted town privileges by king Frederick William I of Prussia and it was capital of the district of Halle for 150 years. As a result of the Prussian defeat against Napoleon the town came under French reign between 1807 and 1813. Temporarily Halle was divided, the border between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Westphalia passed through the town (partly alongside the Laibach creek). During this time the population suffered from the pressing encumbrances caused by the necessity to finance the French Revolutionary Wars.
In 1813 Prussia regained the administration. Halle was allocated to the Regierungsbezirk Minden in the Province of Westphalia and again became capital of its own district.
Until well into the 19th century Halle remained largely agrarian- oriented, mainly grain, flax or hemp was cultivated and animal husbandry was run. The traffic infrastructure of Halle, being located alongside several supra-regional roads, was not disadvantageous; however there were no paved roads until 1844 and the town was always outshined by Bielefeld.
In the mid 19th century the town changed its face with industrialization setting in and gained significance. In particular, the connection to the railway line "Haller Willem" (Bielefeld-Osnabrück) since 1886 played a prominent role. A brandy distillery (Kisker), cold-meat factories and woodwork undertakings came into existence.
The next essential change was brought by World War II respectively its consequences. Owing to the absorption and integration of a large number of refugees grave economic and demographic shifts were brought about.
After almost 160 years Halle lost its position as district capital due to a reorganization of administrative districts in 1973: Gütersloh became capital of the new district. Until then Halle even had its own license plate code "HW".
There are no known documents about the name Halle and the nascence of the town. The most common (but non- provable) explanation is that it is derived from "hale", meaning salt.
More than half of the population is member of Protestant churches, some 15 % are Roman Catholic. Besides the two Landeskirche parochials, the protestant-Lutheran parochial and the Catholic parochial Herz-Jesu (Heart of Jesus) there are also the Free Church parochials Mennonite-Plymouth Brethren, New Apostolic parochial and Free Evangelic Church. Additionally Jehovah's Witnesses as well as the Kurdish Yazidi are represented with one parochial each and muslims can attend services in the Turkish- Islamic cultural association.
Due to the "Bielefeld-law", dating October 24, 1972 the town of Halle was united with the communities of Bokel, Hesseln, Hörste, Kölkebeck and Künsebeck on January 1, 1973. The new city of Halle also replaced the former administrative office of Halle. Based on the same law parts of the communities of Amshausen, Borgholzhausen, Brockhagen and Theenhausen were integrated into the city. On July 1, 1972 the villages Ascheloh, Eggeberg and Gartnisch had already been integrated.
With a few restrictions the population figures on Halle can be traced back to the year 1491. In the years 1491 – 1541 the inhabitants count is stated with approx. 49. Between 1500 and 1600 this number grew to approx. 350.
It is for the year 1871 that an exact number of inhabitants is known, Halle had 5,545 inhabitants at the time, including later incorporations to the city limits. Without these incorporations Halle had roughly 1,600 inhabitants in the year 1880. For the year 1939 a number of 3,500 (without incorporations) and 8,169 (with incorporations) is known.
Due to a large number of refugees that came into Halle as a consequence of World War II the number of inhabitants grew to 15,258 (with incorporations until December 31, 1961.
Since the incorporation of surrounding villages in 1973 generally only one combined figure is surveyed. While in 1998 Halle had 20,023 inhabitants, this number grew continually to 21,638 until April 30, 2007. The table on the right illustrates the increase in population across the entire known stretch, prior to 1871 the numbers are stated without incorporations, since 1871 with incorporations.
The Community Profile[2] of the North Rhine-Westphalian authority for data processing and statistics typecasts Halle as a "small medium-sized town" and compares it to other cities of that type. While the population development was comparable to other cities of the same type until ca. 2001 the increase in Halle is substantially higher since then. On an Index the average for the type "small medium-sized town" arrived at 115 (1976 = 100), whereas Halle reached 119, in effect roughly 3.5% higher. Comparing the population increase with North Rhine-Westphalia in total, the figure increases to 12.3%. However, the growth mainly recruits from migration since for a number of years the relation between birth rate and death rate has been even.
Compared to other cities of the same type as well as to North Rhine-Westphalia there are no statistically significant deviations with respect to the population structure based on age groups, but Halle has a significantly lower number of severely disabled persons.
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As a result of communal elections on September 26, 2004 currently the CDU, the SPD, the The Greens, the FDP as well as two independent voters alliances, the UWG and the STU (agenda party favouring a specific marked-out route for the unfinished motorway) are represented in the Halle town council.
Communal politics are strongly coined by local topics, with one of the major issues of the voters being the future dealing with the Bundesautobahn 33 (see below). The above mentioned STU stood for election for the first time in 2004, their only agenda being the continuation of the Autobahn on a specific marked-out route. The STU gained 6 seats at the first go and took away votes mainly from the CDU, but also from the SPD.
Sitting mayoress since 2002 is Anne Rodenbrock-Wesselmann (SPD).
The coat of arms of Halle shows three silver lilies on red ground. In the foreground as the heart sign it shows the coat of arms of the County of Ravensberg (three red chevrons on silver).
It was granted for the first time in 1908 by order of the King of Prussia, continued to be used unchanged after the incorporations of 1973. The three chevron presumably hint to the former to the belonging to county of Ravensberg, the three lilies assumedly date back to an official community seal of the 18th century.
The town twinning between Halle and Ronchin (France) dates back to September 22, 1984. In honour of the twinning a central square in Halle was named Ronchin-Platz (Platz = square). There is regular cultural exchange and sporting encounters. During the town fest Haller Willem Ronchin is represented with a stand offering local delicacies.
Halle has no laid-out parks. Merely the Friedhof I (Cemetery I) near the train station is park-like with large free spaces. Numerous playgrounds, among them those covering a relatively vast area, e.g. the Laibach-playground, are used like parks by the population.
Halle has the only "museum for works of childhood and adolescence of important artists" in the world. Namely paintings during adolescence of artists like Paul and Felix Klee, August Macke, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Pablo Picasso are in the focus of the museum's work.
In the remise of the Kisker House there are regular single and group exhibitions of visual arts with regional reference. Contemporary artwork, sculptures, acrylic, oil and aquarelle paintings and photo arts are presented.
In the former leather manufacture Güttgemanns more than 15 local artists and artisans took domicile. They regularly organize joint exhibitions and presentations.
In February Halle hosts the super regionally renowned "Haller Bachtage", with choir- and orchestra concerts, chamber and organ concerts being staged during one week. In many cases international celebrities of classical music can be engaged (Peter Schreier, Thomas Quasthoff, Petr Eben a.o.).
Approx. 437 acres of the Tatenhausen Forest are protected by the Habitats Directive of the European Union. This area hosts rare bats like the Bechstein bat (Myotis Bechsteinii), the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis Myotis) and the lake bat (Myotis Dasycneme). Moreover the Laibach creek is a habitat for the common kingfisher. The reserve is the only known habitat for a rare bug species (Heldbock ). Typical types of biotopes are mixed forests of beech and oak with a high degree of old wood and alder-ash tree-pasture forests.
Every year in June Halle hosts the Gerry Weber Open, one of a handful of ATP tournaments in the world played on grass. Tennis professionals use this tournament as a tune-up for Wimbledon.
In 2007 the Gerry-Weber-Stadium, which is the 2nd- biggest stadium in the district of Gütersloh, hosted several matches of World Men's Handball Championship.
The men's team of "TC Blau-Weiß Halle" have won the German Team Tennis Championships in 1995 and 2006.
There is a number of possibilities to do sports in clubs[3]:
Besides the Gerry-Weber-Open and the "Haller Bachtage", mentioned in earlier sections, the town fest "Haller Willem" traditionally takes place on Ascension Day.
Further regular events are:
The highway B68 runs through Halle. The marked- out path of the Bundesautobahn 33 runs trough Halle. For decades the planning of this highway is politically controversial. On one hand it is bound to take pressure of the highway B68 in city centre, on the other hand the marked- out path runs through the Tatenhauser Wald, part of which is protected by the FFH.
The train stations "Halle (Westf.)", "Künsebeck", "Halle Gerry-Weber-Stadion" and "Hesseln" are located alongside the railway tracks of the Haller Willem (KBS 402). The identically named Regionalbahn commutes hourly between Bielefeld, Halle and Osnabrück (during weekdays partly half- hourly between Bielefeld and Halle). The service is run by the NordWestBahn which uses Talent trains for speeds up to 120 km/h. The line was opened in 1886.
Regional buses run to Bielefeld, Gütersloh, Werther (Westfalia), Steinhagen (Westfalia), Brockhagen and Versmold.
For all public transport within North- Rhine Westfalia there are two unified tariffs: Der Sechser and the NRW- tariff. For connections to Osnabrück an additional tariff (VOS plus) is valid.
Lines within Halle are reinforced by four taxi-bus lines during early morning/ late evening hours and the weekend.
Halle is located on four supra- regional bike routes. The BahnRadRoute Teuto-Senne leads from Osnabrück via Halle and Bielefeld to Paderborn. The routes R3 from Haaksbergen to Bad Pyrmont and R45 from Schledenhausen to Hainchen lead through Hörste and Bokel. The Wellness(i.e. Fitness)- bike route Teutoburg Forest, which is laid out as a circular route of roughly 500 km, also runs through Halle. Additionally four circular routes, each approx. 20 km long, run through Halle, developing in a shamrock shape starting at the train station.
Halle has a car-free zone which is host to the weekly market and hikers find a choice of twelve signposted circular routes.
Bielefeld, being the next bigger town, does not have a commercial airport. Hence farther drives must be accepted, which timewise, however, do not differ substantially from those in large cities. There is a choice of four regional commercial airports within one to one and a half, thus the number of destinations that can be reached with a direct flight is quite high. The Münster/ Osnabrück- Airport lies within 55 km distance, the Paderborn/ Lippstadt- Airport is ca. 70 km away. Dortmund Airport lies within 100km, that of Hanover roughly within 130 km distance.
The most renowned employers in Halle are:
The Haller Kreisblatt, a subsidiary of the Neue Westfälische, and a local edition of the Westfalen-Blatt are published as daily newspapers Monday through Saturday with a comparable number of copies. Both papers receive their non-local content from their head offices in Bielefeld. Both papers cover the entire former district of Halle. Additionally the free-of-charge-paper "OWL am Sonntag" (East-Westfalia on Sundays), a branch of the Westfalen-Blatt is published each Sunday. The city magazine "Haller Willem" is published monthly with a number of copies of 10,550.
Halle belongs to the reporting area of the regional studio of the WDR and also to the coverage area of Radio Gütersloh (a local radio station).
The town offers a number of public services for its citizens. The public library holds approx. 30.000 books. It is located in a landmarked distillery building of the Kisker- Brennereien. This building also hosts the municipal archive.
The Lindenbad is fun spa that combines indoor and outdoor swimming pools. It is operated by the Technische Werke Osning GmbH which is owned by the town.
The local hospital with 163 beds available is run by the Klinikum Ravensberg gGmbH which also operates a hospital in Versmold.
The County Court in Halle is also responsible for the former district of Halle, i.e. Borgholzhausen, Steinhagen, Versmold and Werther.
The auxiliary fire brigade of Halle is responsible for fire protection and fire fighting and deployed out of Halle, Hörste and Kölkebeck.
With one exception (Comprehensive School] Halle offers all available types of schools. There are four elementary schools (Grundschule) within the city limits:
Secondary schools are:
Hauptschule and Realschule reside on the same premises.
Additionally there is the special school
and for adult education the
Some schools of Halle are of relevance beyond Halle since they provide offers for adjacent communities, namely the Berufskolleg, the Kreisgymnasium and the Folk High School, since neighbouring communities do not always offer these school types.
In the year 2006 in Halle's schools (except Berufskolleg and Folk High School) 198 teachers taught a total of 2,933 students, about 33% thereof in elementary schools, ca. 8% in Haupt- and 24,2% in Realschule, approx. 30,2% at the Kreisgymnasium, and finally some 4,2% at the special school.[4]
Born in Halle are:
Not born in Halle, but living/ having lived or worked there:
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