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Sights

MARKTPLATZ

Halle’s market square is famous for its ‘Five Tower’ ensemble formed by the protuberances of the Rote Turm (Red Tower), a freestanding bell tower, and the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen ( 517 0894; admission church free, Luther exhibit €2; An der Marienkirche 2; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 3-5pm Sun Mar-Dec, noon-5pm Mon-Sat, 3-5pm Sun Jan & Feb). The latter is a nice enough church that counts Luther’s original death mask, made of wax, and the Renaissance pulpit from which he preached, as its most prized possessions. They’re displayed in a separate exhibit in the northwest tower. A statue of Händel, who was baptised in the church, graces the square itself, which received a total makeover for the town’s 1200th anniversary in 2006. A new fountain recalls Halle’s medieval heyday as a major salt-mining and -trading town, while a daily farmers’ market adds life, colour and flair.

HÄNDEL-HAUS

The house in which Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759) was born in 1685 is now the Händel-Haus ( 500 900; www.haendelhaus.de, in German; Grosse Nikolaistrasse 5; adult/concession €4/2.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar). An exhibit charts the composer’s life, achievements and impact on the evolution of classical music with an emphasis on his wider European career. There’s the usual assortment of artwork, manuscripts, letters, documents and musical instruments, but it’s all rather engagingly displayed and made more accessible with the help of a multilanguage audioguide. In the second week of June Halle hosts a prestigious Händel Festival (www.haendelfestspiele.halle.de).

KUNSTMUSEUM MORITZBURG

The late-Gothic Moritzburg castle forms a fantastic setting for the superb art collection of the Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt (State Art Museum; 212 590; www.kunstmuseum-moritzburg.de; Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5; adult/concession €5/3; 10am-8.30pm Tue, 10am-6pm Wed-Sun). The recent addition of a glass and aluminium roof over the north and west wings, which had been ruined since the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), nearly doubled the exhibition area. Airy and skylit, the new space is entirely dedicated to classical modern art, starting with works by members of the early-20th-century avant-garde group Die Brücke (Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff) and moving on to post-1945 art, primarily by East German artists such as Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig. Particularly striking are Lyonel Feininger’s paintings of famous Halle landmarks. Older parts of the castle showcase 19th-century works by Liebermann, Corinth and Beckmann as well as medieval painting and sculpture.

BURG GIEBICHENSTEIN

If it’s views of the town and Saale valley you want, you can’t do much better than making the trip up to this romantically ruined castle ( 523 3857; Seebener Strasse 1; adult/child €2.10/1.30; 10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct). Wander among the remaining fortifications and check out the tower and ancient vaulted cellars. Tram 7 will get you here.

Below the castle, at the Giebichenstein-brücke (bridge) are the landing docks of the Reederei Riedel ( 283 2070; www.reederei-riedel-halle.de, in German; adult/child €4.50/2.50), which runs 45-minute river tours hourly from 10am to 6pm (no tours Monday) between May and September. The ticket office is on the Rheinpfalz ship.

BEATLES MUSEUM

Take a ‘magical mystery tour’ through the life and music of the Fab Four at the Continent’s only full-time Beatles Museum ( 290 3900; www.beatlesmuseum.net; Alter Markt 12; adult/child €5/3; 10am-8pm Wed-Sun, last entry 7pm). Uberfan Rainer Moers has amassed enough knick-knacks to cram three floors with baby photos, birth certificates, album covers, film posters, wigs, jigsaws and even talcum powder – nothing is too trivial to be displayed. The gift shop sells many Beatles souvenirs.

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Sleeping

Citystation Hostel ( 315 4413; www.hostel-halle.de; Magdeburger Strasse 28; dm €15-16, s/d/tr €25/38/51, linen €3, breakfast €4;