Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

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Tour durch die Theologische Fakultät

Welcome to a guided tour of the Faculty of Theology.

This page provides a closer look at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. Click on the images to enlarge.

Main Buliding Francke Foundations

Main Buliding Francke Foundations

The Faculty of Theology is located in the Francke Foundations. This is the Main House of the Foundations, a regular site of exhibits, concerts and other events. To its right is the entrance to the Foundations and the home of their founder, August Hermann Francke. At the extreme right of the picture you may catch a glimpse of the Faculty's main building.

August Hermann Francke's motto was: "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40, 31).

Turning right behind the Francke home, one heads straight for the main building of the Theology Faculty (on the right). At the far end of the path, you will see the building that currently houses the libraries of theology and education.

The Low Warehouse (House 30) was built in 1732 to provide storage space in the Foundations. Its unusual dimensions (70m long, yet with only 4.5m usable width), as well as the dormer windows with cable winches for hoisting loads into the attic, remind today's viewer of the building's original purpose.

A cobblestone street once led through the central archway, the building's main entrance today, and connected the dairy to the east with the gardens along the stone path. The gate was wide enough to allow farm equipment to pass through.

Upon entering House 30, you will find one of the many informal meeting and lounge areas in the building. Here, too, are offices of Practical Theology and Seminar for Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology with its collection of esoteric literature. To the left is what used to be the back wall of the house. The space was expanded outwards (going right in the picture) with a contemporary glass hall as an addition to the original building, as well as with two auditoriums on consecutive stories. One of these, the Melanchthon Auditorium (Hörsaal 1), is behind the wall on the right.

On the left, Schleiermacher monitors the path to the lounge area. In this part of the building, you will find the Dean's office and Academic Counseling, as well as the Friedrich Loofs Seminar Room (Seminarraum A). On the right side of the picture is a chart providing information on the Faculty and its Institutes.

Art Works. The department of Christian Archaeology and Church Art has provided the building with a number of its exhibit pieces. Here in the north stairway is part of the 4th-century sarcophagus of Dellys (Algiers Museum).

In the north section of the second floor, you can see one of the doors to the Schleiermacher Auditorium (Hörsaal 2) on the left. Next to it are the two founding figures Ekkehard and Uta (c. 1250, west choir of the Naumburg Cathedral) gazing upon the Church History, Practical Theology, Global History of Christianity and Orthodox Christian Studies across the hall. A little further back is the Johann Salomo Semler Seminar Room (Seminarraum B) and rooms used by the students Fachschaft.

A gallery leads to the south part of the second floor and provides ample study space with internet access. This part of the building also houses Church History, Practical Theology, Christian Archaeology and Church Art as well as  . Also visible are the little 'bridges' linking the new part of the building to the original warehouse, where today's offices are located.

The space between the bridges is used for display cases containing smaller pieces of the art collection, here items from the cathedral treasures of Milan and Hildesheim.

At the north end of the Low Warehouse lies a second building: the Laboratory. Nearly as old as the Warehouse, the Laboratory's economic and historical significance for the Foundations was great; it was here that new drugs and medicines were developed, produced and sold throughout the world.

The Laboratory and Warehouse stand at right angles to each other, forming an interior courtyard popular during the warmer seasons. Here is an exterior view onto the north staircase and a lounge area.

A view of the building from the Southwest. To the left are the two auditoriums.

Old and New. A harmonious contrast visible not only in our buildings, but cultivated as a way of life in Halle's Faculty of Theology.

Here is a full-length view of the Faculty as seen from the Library. Francke's House and the Main Building of the Foundations are visible in the background. A right-turn at the end of the path leads to the Faculty's second large building.

House 25, the Mägdeleinhaus, is part of an extensive timber-framed building complex, one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The complex houses a number of resources, including the Faculty of Education and the Evangelical Seminary.

In House 25 itself, we find the departments of Old Testament and  New Testament. In addition, the building provides classroom space, including the Martin Kähler, Gustav Warneck, and Wilhelm Gesenius Seminar Rooms (Seminarräume C, D, E).

In House 26 itself, we find the departments of Systematic Theology.

The Theology Library is nearby in House 31. Along with the Libraries of Education, Media and Communications Sciences, and Jewish Studies, which are housed here too, it forms a branch (Ha 10) of the university library system.

Covering three floors, the library complex offers numerous workplaces. Private study spaces are also available.

The Cafeteria (Mensa) is in House 27.

From Monday to Friday, the Studentenwerk Halle    offers a wide range of food choices in a pleasant dining atmosphere. Here    is their menu.


This brief tour is merely a selection of the Theology Faculty's diverse and varied architecture. Its research and teaching are equally manifold and may be sampled in our semester course listings. For further information, please contact our staff or the webmaster.

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