Overview of all Facilities

The history of the Francke Foundations consists of many stories. Our educational programme at the LeoLab invites especially youths and young adults you to explore and (re)discover this historic cultural monument with its Historic Orphanage, the Cabinet of Artefacts and Natural Curiosities, The Historic Library and utility buildings.

How did the crocodile end up in the Cabinet of Artefacts and Natural Curiosities? What was it like to live behind the walls of the Orphanage more than 300 years ago? The answers to these questions can be found in the Creative Centre for children with a programme that conveys the cultural themes of the foundations and their history in a child-friendly way.

An expression of the true-to-life teaching in Francke's schools was the teaching garden, which served to convey botanical content. The Botanical Garden, a school garden with a pond and a large greenhouse on terraced ground, ties in with this first school garden in Germany. Kindergarten children, school classes and after-school groups from the educational institutions on the grounds of the foundations and the city of Halle experience a comprehensive ecopedagogical programme serving environmental education here in every season of the year.

The Francke Foundations need committed friends. The entire history of the Francke Foundations is marked by heartfelt private commitment. Since its foundation in 1990, the Association of Friends has been a constant and reliable companion to the work of the foundations. Thanks to its large membership and high willingness to donate, it has been able to make significant contributions to the structural restoration of the foundations, to the preservation of the valuable historical collections and to the promotion of the foundation's life.

In February 2020, a modern bookshop with a long tradition was opened in the Francke Foundations: in 1698, August Hermann Francke was granted the electoral privilege for the trade in books here. As a committed and reliable partner for the libraries on the premises, for the events of the Francke Foundations and their partners, it paticipates active in the educational cosmos and is an inspiring bookstore for children, parents and grandparents, for students, scientists or simply curious people.

Founded in the 12th century, the Stadtsingechor zu Halle is one of the oldest boys' choirs in Germany. The choir's work is centred mainly on the cultivation of sacred choral music, with special attention being paid the prominent music tradition of Central Germany including Scheidt, Handel, Schütz and Bach. The choir's many years of participation in the International Handel Festival in Halle and guest performances all over the world are proof of its artistic quality.

Top-class performances by internationally renowned artists and ensembles - the Chamber Music Society Halle e.V. adds this facet to the musical landscape at the Francke Foundations and throughout Halle. The »Hour of Music« series takes place in the Freylinghausen Hall, whose acoustics are particularly suitable for chamber music. The concerts are integrated into the cultural programme of the Francke Foundations.

Since 2010, the Evangelical Church in Central Germany has continued the tradition of pastoral and educational work of the foundation pastors, which has been interrupted since 1956. The diverse offers include religious education projects in the children's facilities, project-based teaching for schools and confirmands. Regular devotions and special church services provide time and space for personal reflection or the celebration of faith.

The German Federal Cultural Foundation is based in an award-winning new building at the entrance to the Francke Foundations. The building, which blends harmoniously into the existing historical row of houses, stands for the goals of the Cultural Foundation - the initiation and promotion of national and international innovative art and cultural projects. It invests in the development of new methods of preserving cultural heritage and in the development of cultural and artistic knowledge potential for the discussion of social issues.

The Noodle Factory Tranquebar offers guests and visitors of the Foundations an attractive assortment of food as well as a place to relax. According to the concept of the “fast casual food kitchen,” homemade pasta, local fruits and vegetables as well as meat and fish produced in a sustainable and ecological manner are served. Sandwiches and fresh salads as well as small desserts are also on offer.

The church, consecrated in 2000, offers a place of worship to Orthodox Christians. The understanding of Orthodox worship is reflected in the icon and fresco painting of the barrel vaults, the subdivision into anterior and main church as well as in the icon wall as a boundary to the Blessed Sacrament. The only Russian Orthodox Church in Saxony-Anhalt is also an ecumenical meeting place, whose location in the Francke Foundations can be traced back to the relations of the Halle Pietists to Russia.

The Study Centre preserves, indexes and digitizes the holdings of the Early Modern Archives and the Historical Library. It makes them accessible to researchers and all interested parties in a modern reading room and via databases. The department shapes with multiple awarded projects the scientific life of the foundations.

The publishing activities of the Francke Foundations go back to the time when Francke's school town was established. Continuing this tradition, publications currently appear under the imprint Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen. Exhibition catalogues, opulently illustrated books on the collections, fascinating source material and reputable research literature are included in the broad spectrum which the Publications' Department presents to its readers.

Interdisciplinary research into the history of the Francke Foundations from the 17th to the 20th century is part of the Foundations’ mission and its self-understanding as a cultural institution focussed on research and education. The Department acts as an engine for scientific perspective planning and as an interface to regional, national and international institutions and cooperation partners.

The Francke Foundations are one of the most important library locations in Saxony-Anhalt. For the branch library Educational Sciences/Theology/Media and Communication Sciences/Jewish Studies of the ULB (Ha10), a bright new library building was erected in 2002. With its extensive holdings, this branch library forms a modern service area and hub of student life on campus.

The Branch Library of Saxony-Anhalt’s University and State Library (ULB) was established in 1998 in connection with the foundation of the international research centre modelled on the Duke August Library Wolfenbüttel. The open access collection includes source editions, bibliographies, handbooks and research literature on the European Enlightenment.

The interdisciplinary Centre of the Martin Luther University is primarily active in the field of basic research in education. Three main areas determine its research profile: school-related research, the combination of educational and school research with childhood and youth research, and organisational and professional research.

For years, the educational sciences of the Martin Luther University have achieved top positions in nationwide university rankings and have become an important location for pedagogical research and teaching. Six main areas of research reflect the work of the faculty in a special way: childhood and youth research, pedagogical professions, institutions of education and social welfare, pedagogical interactions, cultural studies educational research as well as prevention, rehabilitation and health.

The orphanage founder August Hermann Francke taught at the traditional theological faculty of Martin Luther University around 1700. With ten professorships, the faculty offers the diploma course/study for the First Church Examination, all teacher training courses as well as the Bachelor and Master degrees. The scientific work is characterised by the research focus of the faculty members, which also includes Hallan pietism and veil maker research.

The institute represented here by a branch office is one of the largest non-university social science research institutes at federal level. Its tasks are application-oriented fundamental research into the living conditions of children, into adolescents and families, into the initiation and scientific monitoring of model projects as to adolescent and family support, into social reporting as well as into social scientific services.

The Historical Commission for Saxony-Anhalt e.V. is an association of scholars from various disciplines who are concerned with different aspects of researching and communicating the history of Saxony-Anhalt. As a coordination, discussion and research network, it contributes to the creation of identity in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It pursues the goal of giving new impetus to research into the history of the state and connecting new research approaches in the various disciplines.

The association supports research into the history of the city with the aim of stimulating and accompanying scientific research and making the results accessible to a broad public. The city history days, lecture series and theme evenings as well as open-air lectures directly in front of a historical location serve this purpose.

The IZEA of the Martin Luther University - one of the internationally most important German research institutes for the Enlightenment - is dedicated to research and edition projects on the Enlightenment. The Humboldt Professorship for »Modern Literary Culture and European Knowledge Transfer«, which was established in 2014, further expanded the research portfolio. The Immanuel Kant Forum and numerous other collaborations underscore the Centre's wide-ranging collaborative research.

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Pietism Research (IZP) is dedicated to the study of the cultural, social and scholarly reform ideas of Pietism, especially the Pietism which developed in Halle, as well as its structures, organisational forms and world-wide connections during the long 18th century. One of the basic tasks of the Center is the implementation of interdisciplinary research projects.

In 1737 Georg Wilhelm Steller, the physician and naturalist influenced by Halle Pietism, was sent to Kamchatka for research purposes as a participant of the Great Nordic Expedition on behalf of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. The Steller Society has set itself the task of researching Steller's legacy and that of other Siberian and Alaskan researchers of the 18th century.

The research centre is devoted to the edition of the letters of the Lutheran theologian Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705), often referred to as the "Father of Pietism". The indexing of his extensive written correspondence (approx. 3,500 letters) makes an important contribution to church history and early modern research.

In the dovetailing of theory and practice, teachers are trained at the State Seminar, differentiated according to school types, subjects and specialisations, who are to support pupils in their professional and personal development. The State Examination Office is responsible for organising and conducting the career examinations. Together with the local schools and the university, LISA is an ideal location for teacher training.

The pedagogue Amos Comenius, to whom Francke also referred, stands for a holistic concept of learning that goes hand in hand with our understanding of education and does not mean the accumulation of knowledge. By offering a wide range of services, the da care center not only aims to support children at an early age and prepare them for school, but also to strengthen them for life.

This Centre is an after-school leisure educational institution aimed at providing a counterbalance to school and offering activities in a leisure atmosphere. Interculturally oriented offers as well as a broad spectrum of activities for the children are the focus of the day-care centre, in which parents and families are deliberately involved. In 2011, the August Hermann Francke after-school care centre was awarded the Inclusion Prize (Integrationspreis) of Saxony-Anhalt.

The day care center is committed to August Hermann Francke’s tradition of upbringing and education. One aspect of this tradition is to meet modern developments and concepts openly and to tackle present-day problems and future challenges. In celebrations and workshops the children encounter the different customs, languages and landscapes of the continent and the whole world.

The Family Centre is aimed at all generations and aims to strengthen the skills of children, parents and grandparents. Counselling services for young families, learning support as well as sports and health courses are united under one roof with the school social work at the primary school August Hermann Francke and the youth club TiQ. Numerous activities focus on the linguistic and cultural integration of migrants.

According to the concept of Montessori pedagogy, children aged 8 weeks to 6 years are taken care of in the Maria Montessori Day Care Centre (Kinderhaus) in mixed-age groups. Maria Montessori understands the child development as the unfolding of powers following a hidden but reliable inner »blueprint«. To support this self-development - through a prepared environment with special learning materials - is the basis of her pedagogy, which focuses on free work.

The TiQ is the youth club of the Francke Foundations. Here young people aged twelve and over from neighbourhood Glaucha find a place to chill, get active or simply to meet their friends. Varied cultural, sporting, media or environmental education offers awaken talents and new interests.

The school sees itself as a learning and living space in which self-responsible learning is promoted with a variety of teaching methods. The lessons take into account the social and cultural diversity of the school's catchment area as well as the children's life experiences and different learning opportunities. Intercultural learning is part of everyday life here.

At the inclusive Full-time school pupils learn together up to the 9th grade before they receive one of the possible school-leaving qualifications: The secondary modern school qualification (Hauptschulabschluss), the technical high-school diploma (Realschulabschluss) or (in cooperation with the vocational school »Friedrich List«) the high school diploma. In language classes, pupils with a migration background are taught. Evening school classes for second-chance education are also affiliated to the school.

The Bible Centre, sponsored by the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, continues tradition of the Cansteinsche Bibelanstalt, the first Bible Institute in the world, through biblical pedagogical work. An extensive programme offers lecture series, conferences, seminars, advanced tuition, performances and temporary exhibitions.

The non-profit integration organisation seeks to improve the participation of disadvantaged people in the labour market. People with and without a disability work jointly in small work teams and receive assistance from trained instructors. Thus, framework conditions are created for people whose participation in employment on the general labour market encounters particular difficulties after the exhaustion of all funding opportunities and the use of integration services.

Auf dem Stiftsgut Stichelsdorf ansässig, bietet der Kinderbauernhof Halle Stadtkindern und Interessierten von Klein bis Groß einen besonderen Freiraum für Umweltbildung, Erlebnispädagogik und tiergestützte Therapie. In verschiedenen Angeboten können Kinder und Jugendliche hier Gärtnern, Obst und Gemüse anbauen und gemeinsam saisonal verarbeiten, Tiere pflegen oder sportlich und spielerisch die Natur genießen.

The Latina is the oldest of the Francke Foundations’ schools with a history of more than three hundred years. Founded in 1991 as a State Grammar School (Landesgymnasium) it is funded by the Ministry of Education of Saxony-Anhalt. The school's high reputation is due to its specialisation in the linguistic and musical branches. Here it is possible to integrate intensive support for gifted students into everyday school life.

The Maria Montessori School is an integrated, open all-day school with classes for more than one year and an affiliated, integrative after-school care centre. Children learn according to the principles of Montessori pedagogy. As partners in the »House of Generations«, intergenerational projects are a special focus of the school. It is also a recognised observatory for Montessori pedagogy - self-determined, guided by interests and practical action.offers courses for obtaining the Montessori diploma.

This is a place to go for everyone who enjoys making music. In the private music school, about 300 children, adolescents and adults are introduced to music in their free time. Special emphasis is placed on playing music together. The »Central German Children's and Youth Orchestra« also has its seat in the music school.

The nursing home for the elderly in the Francke Foundations, one of four residential care facilities of the Paul Riebeck Foundation in Halle, supports and monitors the participation of every resident in social life by means of its new »group living« model. It aims at bringing people together and maintaining the individual’s autonomy, even in old age and with long-term care dependency.

Since the founding of the Hallesch orphanage in 1698, there has been its own pharmacy, which was initially housed in the main building. Here, among other things, medication was obtained according to in-house recipes such as the famous gold tincture Essentia Dulcis. The pharmacy and the second pharmaceutical facility, the medicine expedition, were important economic pillars of the institutions in the 18th century. Since 1870, the pharmacy has been located in its own building near the Leipzig Tower. Today it is run privately.

Pastoral care lies at the heart of church work. It extends these skills in order to understand people, to guide and strengthen them in their vitality and hope. The Pastoral Seminary of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) offers courses to all those providing people with pastoral care on a full-time, part-time or volunteer basis. The seminar offers short courses with specific thematic content as well as courses on Clinical Pastoral Education (DGfP/KSA).

Since 2003, the historic dining hall of August Hermann Francke's school town has housed the »Mensa Franckesche Stiftungen« of the Studentenwerk Halle. Francke's thoughts and activities to support students and the needy find a good continuation here. The Historic Dining Hall enjoys great popularity and is used for numerous events beyond lunch.

The Spielehaus in the Francke Foundations is the only one of its kind in Germany. For more than twenty years, a meeting place for children, teenagers and adults from different social and cultural backgrounds was created here. More than three hundred games of all kinds provide playful access to the most diverse cultures of the world.

The family-friendly association is dedicated to preventive health promotion through offers for all age groups in the areas of exercise, relaxation, leisure and popular sports. Health and nutrition counselling supplement the range of sports on offer. With our own childcare during the course hours, participation is also uncomplicated for young families.

From 1715 on, students have lived and worked in the Long House at the Linden Courtyard.The former students earned their living by means of teaching in the orphanage. Today the Study House »Evangelisches Konvikt« makes it possible for students to live together again. It consists of 80 single rooms in residential, flat-sharing communities, a library, a hall, seminary and communal rooms.