The Technical Hallors and Saline Museum was founded in the buildings of the former Royal Prussian Saline,

Halle upon Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

in 1967. Hallors had been members of a brotherhood of salt producers.

Geological conditions

The salt deposits and the local industry are based on

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

conditions. Four fracture springs with

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

reach the surface at the Market Square Discontinuity in Halle. The salt deposits are situated in the

Lopingian The Lopingian is the uppermost series/last epoch of the Permian. It is the last epoch of the Paleozoic. The Lopingian was preceded by the Guadalupian and followed by the Early Triassic. The Lopingian is often synonymous with the informal terms l ...

(

Zechstein The Zechstein (German either from ''mine stone'' or ''tough stone'') is a unit of sedimentary rock layers of Middle to Late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) age located in the European Permian Basin which stretches from the east coast of Englan ...

) area of the underground.

History of the saline area

The rich history of

salt production Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

in Halle (Saale) goes back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. As it can be traced back today: it based essentially on the use of four wells, near today's Hallmarkt (meaning: salt market square): the Meteritz Well (created 803), and the Gutjahr Well, the Hacke Well and the German Born. Of these, only the Gutjahr Well under a house in Olearius St. is still present but since the 1950s covered and currently not accessible. The boiling of the

and refining to salt took place in nearby simple cots. This Saline was called “

Lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

Saline (german: Pfännerschaftliche Saline) in the Halle Plain” because Hallmarkt is situated lower than the Market Square. Salt production in the Lessee Saline came to its end in 1869.Holger Brülls and Thomas Dietzsch: Architekturführer Halle an der Saale. Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2000, The Royal Prussian Saline was founded by the

Prussian King The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

Frederic William I in on an island in the Saale river in 1721. It competed with the Lessee Saline. Initially the brine was fed through pipeline from the wells around the Hallmarkt. A newly created

brine well A salt well (or brine well) is used to mine salt from caverns or deposits. Water is used as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process, which results in a brine or dry produc ...

had been used on the southern part of the Holzmarkt (lumber market square) from 1926. In 1868 this Saline was taken over by the Brotherhood of Lessees (Pfännerschaft). It was decommissioned in 1964.Michael Pantenius: Stadtführer Halle. Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1995,

Hallors and Saline Museum

The purpose of the museum is to demonstrate the important role that salt production had on the

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

of the city. The principal magnet is the monthly exhibition panning in the Panning House, where technology and procedures of salt production are presented. This includes the extraction of the sole, to the packing of simmered salt which dates back to the 19th century. The Exhibitive Saline has an annual production of about 70 tons of salt, which is sold locally to visitors and bakers in Halle. In addition, visitors are shown the silver treasure of the Hallors consisting of artistically valuable cups and trophies. The oldest date back to the year 1671. Cups and trophies were gifts of local men and citizens for the merits of the brotherhood of the Hallors. In addition, the visitor gets a glimpse into the traditions of this brotherhood, their historic privileges and duties. Salt plants (

halophytes A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. Th ...

) – typical plants growing on salty soils – are to find in the garden of the museum.Stadt Halle (Saale) (ed.): Ein salziger Garten am Siedehaus der Halloren.In: AmtsBlatt der Stadt Halle (Saale). 13. Jg., Nr. 5, Köhler, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 2 (PDF, 2 MB). Starting on August 1, 2010, The Museum of Saline has been maintained and promoted by a non-profit association.

Buildings and the Museum of Saline

The buildings of Saline are now the oldest witnesses of the industrial style architecture in Halle upon Saale. The earliest buildings were erected from 1719 to 1721. The oldest remaining part of the Saline, now designated as a Clock House, is the former Salt Store, a timber frame building from the early 18th century with a high

ridge turret A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building. It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing ...

. Next to it is another Salt Store, a timber frame building from the 19th century, followed by a Simmer House from 1789 attached to the back-side. The latter is one of the oldest Simmer Houses in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Further buildings belong to Saline, including an administration building from 1884 (rebuilt 1910), another Simmer House from 1874 and a Salt Store dated 1845.

Coal railway to Saline

The Pfännerschaftliche coal railway (''Pfännerschaftliche Kohlebahn''), a

Narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

(900 mm), once delivered the

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

fuel required for the boiling of the brine from the ''Alt-Zscherben'' mine to Saline. The

open-cast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...

mine is now flooded and is called ''Friedhofsteich'' (cemetery pond).

References

Notes

External links

*
Technisches Halloren- und Salinemuseum Halle
*
Das Halloren- und Salinemuseum Halle
*
Informationen zur Kohlenbahn Zscherben-Halle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallors And Saline Museum Halle (Saale) Industry museums in Germany

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Salt museums