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Magdeburg

\'Magdeburg', the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies on the Elbe river. As of 1999 it had a population of 245,500.

Table of contents
1 History
2 Cathedral of Magdeburg
3 Other sights
4 Related articles
5 External link

History

Magdeburg was one of the most important medieval cities of Germany. Emperor Otto I lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death. Important dates in the town's history include:

Cathedral of Magdeburg

Magdeburg's most impressive building, the cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice, has a height of 104 m. -- the highest church building of eastern Germany.

The predecessor of the cathedral was a church built in 937 within an abbey, called St. Maurice. Emperor Otto I was buried here beside his wife in 973. St. Maurice burnt to ashes in 1207. The exact location of that church remained unknown for a long time. The foundations were rediscovered in May 2003, revealing a building 80 m long and 41 m wide.

The construction of the new church lasted 300 years. The cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice was the first Gothic church building of Germany. The completion of the steeples took place only in 1520.

While the cathedral was virtually the only building to survive the massacres of the Thirty Years' War, it nevertheless sufferred destruction in World War II. But it was soon rebuilt and completed in 1955.

The place in front of the cathedral (sometimes called "new marketplace", Neuer Markt) was occupied by an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz), which was destroyed in the fire of 1207. The stones of the ruin served for building the cathedral. The presumptive remains of the palace were excavated in the 1960s.

Other sights

Related articles

External link

Official Magdeburg homepage (English)