The Concert Hall Ulrichskirche

Since the completion of it’s concert organ by the firm "Sauer" (Frankfurt/ Oder), the concert hall right at the "Boulevard" became one of the main venues of the Handel Festival from 1980 on. The asymmetric gothic church with two naves provides for 460 visitors. Erstwhile a servit monastery, completed in 1510, the Concert Hall looks back on a very rich intellectual and musical history and tradition, e.g. in 1587 Samuel Scheidt was baptised in this church. Furthermore, August Hermann Francke, founder of the world famous "Franckesche Stiftungen", was a dominie at the Ulrichskirche from 1715 till his death in 1727. From 1806 till 1836 St. Ulrich was used as University church and is therefore closely related to the name of Schleiermacher, the university’s pastor.  Music has always played an important role in the history of the Ulrichskirche. Already the servit monks possessed a large as well as a small organ. The Förner-Organ, built in 1675, whose baroque front today still graces the western gallery of the concert hall, offered the Ulrich-Cantors an ideal possibility to make music. So did among others Daniel Gottlieb Türk (around 1774) and Robert Franz (Organist in 1844), who gave concerts regularly with his choral society.

Today the concert hall, situated in the heart of the city of Halle, is a center for choir-, organ- and orchestra concerts. Improvisation contests on the "Sauer-Organ", the Hallensian Days of Music (Hallische Musiktage) and of course the Handel Festival are climaxes of the concert hall’s repertoire. But there is a lot more on offer for visitors, such as exhibitions and guided tours through the time-honored edifice.