Welcome to Schwäbisch Hall
**Schwäbisch Hall is a picture-perfect town. Its beautifully preserved historic center provides the ideal setting for art and culture.**
Schwäbisch Hall has made a name for itself with its unusual stages for art. A church staircase serves as a theater stage, and a church interior as an art museum.
The former Staufer town prospered in the Middle Ages through the salt trade. This can be seen in many of the houses as you stroll through the winding streets of the old town. The market square in particular is an architectural gem. All architectural styles from Romanesque to Rococo are represented here. On its eastern side is the imposing open staircase of the wonderful Gothic hall church of St. Michael.
In summer, the 53 steps become a breathtakingly steep open-air stage with a unique flair. Theater fans celebrate the magnificent productions under the night sky. The audience experience in the "New Globe" on an island in the Kocher River is also extraordinary. It was modeled after Shakespeare's Globe Theater on the Thames. The three-story round open-air theater can be used without a roof or with a roof.
But on four days a year, the whole city becomes a huge stage. That's when Schwäbisch Hall celebrates one of the most beautiful local festivals in the state, the Cake and Fountain Festival. It's all about the tradition of salt boiling. Historical reenactments, a demonstration of salt boiling, and an XXL cake are the highlights. If you want to experience tradition just outside the city walls, head to the Wackershofen Open-Air Museum.
Here you can see farmhouses and craftsmen's houses from the 16th to the 20th century. Art lovers make a pilgrimage to the modern Kunsthalle Würth. Old masters are exhibited in its annex, the Johanniterkirche. Visitors marvel in awe at the ethereal beauty of the Madonna of Mercy. It was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1525. The Hällisch-Fränkisches Museum is also part of this outstanding cultural landscape. Admission to all three museums is free. This is also unusual, but typical of Schwäbisch Hall.
Source: DZT Knowledge Graph
