Roter Turm

The Roter Turm — the Red Tower — stands on its own on the Marktplatz, the fifth of Halle's five towers. Eighty-four metres high, slim and square, with a tapering top in pale red sandstone, it was completed in 1506 after nearly a century of construction.

A massive 76-bell carillon hangs in the upper stages and plays at fixed times throughout the day. The tower can be climbed; the platform near the top gives the best overall view of the city centre and the river beyond. The little Roland statue at the base is a copy of a 1719 figure of the medieval imperial symbol.

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A story
The Red Tower was built between 1418 and 1506 not as part of any church but as a standalone civic belfry — a demonstration of municipal independence by a town that wanted its own bell, separate from the cathedral and the parish church. The carillon of 76 bells is one of the largest in Europe.