Halle (), officially Halle (Westf.) or Halle Westfalen (i.e. Westphalia) to distinguish it from the larger Halle (Saale), is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 15 km west of Bielefeld. It belongs to the district of Gütersloh in the region of Detmold.
Geography
Location Halle is situated on the sandy plain of the river Ems on the southern slopes of the Teutoburg Forest, which crosses the town territory from northwest to southeast. This mountain range delimits the eastern part of the Münsterland and the Westphalian Basin and is the drainage divide between the rivers Ems and Weser here. The highest points are the Hengeberg (316 m) and the Eggeberg (312 m). The lowest point, at 70 m, is at the south-western outskirts of the borough. There three streams, the Hessel, Rhedaer Bach and Ruthebach, leave the town's territory, while the Ruthebach joins the Lodenbach. All of the streams have their source in the Teutoburg Forest and ultimately join the River Ems. The territory of Halle is essentially characterized by agriculture, but has also a substantial amount of forest areas, namely the Teutoburg Forest and the Tatenhausen Forest as well as of municipal forest. The 52nd line of latitude crosses the southern part of the town area in its southern part.
Geology
The northern part of the town area of Halle is situated in the Teutoburg Forest mountain range, with the town limits running on the ridge in large parts. Towards the south the borough levels off into the sandy plains of the river Ems.
Halle is part of the north-eastern rim of the Westphalian Bay, that has approximately the shape of a bowl. Here the stones of the subsoil are steeply erected. They consist of marlstone with a high share of clay, marlstone with a high share of limestone, as well as limestone and marl themselves, but also of sandstone and sandy marl of the Mesozoic era (Cretaceous). These stones lie above a base of folded stones of the Paleozoic era (Devonian, Carboniferous). In the transition area towards the Münsterland the cretaceous layers are increasingly covered by a slim and mostly sandy layer of loose stones from the ice age (Quaternary), that consist of sedimentation of the river Ems and of deposits like ground moraines or meltwater sands.
With respect to soil, the Halle territory can be geomorphologically structured into three sections. The soils of the ditches, dells and lowlands in the southwest are filled with groundwater close to the surface. These gley soils are natural locations for grasslands. Peaks and ridges are rising from the lowlands consisting of dune sands und meltwater sands, which are sediments and sedimentary rock of the quaternary.
These sands have decomposed to nutrient-poor, acidic heather soils (Podsols), partly with hardpan in the subsoil. On the south-western slope of the Teutoburg Forest, for example near Künsebeck, they occupy large areas. As a consequence of historic tillage techniques and long-term agricultural usage these soils are partly composed of deeply rooting humus, in scattered areas with a sod coat. Some isolated dells are located in south-westerly direction of the main ridge of the Teutoburg Forest, for example the Hesseln mountains. Slim clay-loam soils (Rendzina) have developed here from limestone and marlstone of the Cretaceous. These basic soils are typical locations for precious hardwood. The main ridge, for example represented by the Große Egge (=Big Harrow), is composed of sandstone of the Cretaceous. On this stone thick, acidic and rocky heather soils have built up.Geological Service North Rhine Westphalia, Geo-scientific characterization Halle (Westfalen)
Halle is fairly to well, in areas on or near the ridge very well suited to use geothermal power sources by means of geothermal probes and heat production using a heat pump (see also adjoining map).
Dimensions and usage of urban area
The town covers an area of . The major part consists of agricultural area () and forests (), in total approx. 83%, followed by developed area () and circulation area (), in total approx. 15%. The maximum stretch both in northern – southern direction and in western – eastern direction is approx. 10 km. The northernmost point is north of Eggeberg at approx. 52° 5´ 4´´ northern latitude, the southernmost point is south of Kölkebeck at approx. 51° 59´ 38´´.
Area acc. toType of Usage AgriculturalArea ForestArea Buildingsand Free Space TrafficArea IndustrialArea WaterArea Sports Area andPublic Green Space OtherUsage 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%
Neighbouring communities 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 the southwest and the town of Versmold in the west, all belonging to the district of Gütersloh. Major neighbouring cities are Bielefeld and Gütersloh, both in approx. 15 km distance.
Subdivisions of the town Halle (Westf.) is divided into ten urban districts, of which (besides Halle itself) only the industrial-suburban Künsebeck as well as the rural-agrarian villages Bokel, Hesseln, Hörste and Kölkebeck are built-up areas. While the rural-agrarian districts can be clearly distinguished as separate parts within the town limits the transition between Halle and Künsebeck is flowing. Oldendorf and Gartnisch have been entirely merged into Halle itself, Eggeberg and Ascheloh are only minor settlements. This segmentation is not regulated in the main statutes of Halle, no differentiation between the settlement areas is made there.
The following table gives an overview over the population in the parts of the town:Website of Stadt Halle (Westfalen), population as of April 10th, 2007
Urban District Inhabitants Urban Districts of Halle (Westfalen) Bokel 854 Halle 13,558 Hesseln 1,406 Hörste 1,681 Kölkebeck 503 Künsebeck 3,583 Total 21,585 As of 2024, the population of Halle is 22,291.
Climate Halle lies in the temperate zone of central Europe. It is located in an area of subatlantic oceanic climate. Due to the atlantic influence winters are mild and summers moderately warm. The average temperature is 8–8,5 °C,Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen: Fachbericht I, Niederwald und Hochwald – ein faunistisch-ökologischer Vergleich, S. 314 where towards the north in elevated and/ or leeward microclimates temperatures can fall substantially short of that. In certain areas the blooming period can begin two to four weeks later than further south.
Due to its location in the subatlantic oceanic climate a year-round humid climate with uniformly distributed precipitation prevails. At the weather station Brockhagen (belonging to Steinhagen (Westphalia)), situated just south of Halle, a yearly total of 775 mm precipitation is recorded on long-term average. Hence more precipitation than on German average is recorded, but considerably less than in a northern direction towards Halle. Due to the rain catching effect of the Teutoburg Forest orographic rainfall can amount to 1,200 mm per year.
History Halle is located in the Ravensberg 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 Holy Roman Empire's County of 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, part 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 (Landesherr) 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.
Religion
More than half of the population is member of Lutheran churches, some 15% are Roman Catholic. Besides the Lutheran parish of Evangelical Church of Westphalia (with the two churches of St. Johannis and Hörste) and the Catholic parish Herz-Jesu (Sacred Heart of Jesus) there are also the Free Church congregations of the Mennonites-Plymouth Brethren, the New Apostolic Church and the Free Evangelical Church.