SCHWBISCH HALL

city, Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), southern Germany, on the Kocher River, east of Heilbronn. The centre of the Hohenlohe lands, a free imperial city from 1276 to 1802, it owed both its foundation and its prosperity to its saline springs and the salt trade. It retains its medieval character, with a fine marketplace, half-timbered houses, and wooden bridges. Notable landmarks are the Gothic church of St. Michael (1527, on Romanesque foundations) at the top of a magnificent Baroque flight of steps (used as a summer open-air-theatre stage), the Gothic Fish Fountain (1509), and the Rococo town hall (173135). The Benedictine-abbey mountain fortress of Komburg is nearby. Schwbisch Hall is a busy spa and manufactures building materials, electrical goods, and textiles. Pop. (1989 est.) 31,375.