I have a German friend who grew up in Halle, lately of East Germany, now of plain old Germany. It’s a university town not far from Leipzig. She once told me which old kingdom (not sure if that’s the right term, but bear with me)–i.e., Prussia and the like–it belonged to, but I can’t remember now. I’d ask her, but she’s at school in England and I can’t get in touch with her. It’s just been bugging me lately. Any Germans out there who know?
Well, the political geography of Germany has changed a wee bit over the years. However, assuming that we’re talking about the period from 1871 (when most of the German states were united into the German Empire) to 1918 (when the various monarchies were abolished), it would have been part of the kingdom of Saxony.
Halle was part of Brandenburg from 1648. Brandenburg was a ‘margravate’, for which the term ‘mark’ can be substituted. Anyone who wants more information on the city of Halle or the Mark of Brandenburg can look it up in an encyclopedia, for instance, at http://www.brittanica.com .
Anyone who wants to have an interesting time understanding complicated politics should delve into the Holy Roman ‘Empire’. Italy was almost simple by comparison.