Magdeburg (German:[ˈmakdəbʊʁk](listen); Low Saxon: Meideborg[ˈmaˑɪdebɔɐ̯x]) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, after Halle (Saale). It is situated on the Elbe River.[3]
Capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
This article is about the German city. For other uses, see Magdeburg (disambiguation).
City in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Magdeburg
City
From top, left to right: Aerial view to a part of the city centre, Town Hall, "Green Citadel", Our Dear Ladies' Monastery, Magdeburg Cathedral, and panorama - city wall
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the city's cathedral after his death.[3] Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Until 1631, Magdeburg was one of the largest and most prosperous German cities and a notable member of the Hanseatic League.
Magdeburg has been destroyed twice in its history. The Catholic League sacked Magdeburg in 1631,[3] resulting in the death of 25,000 non-combatants, the largest loss of the Thirty Years' War. The Allies bombed the city in 1945, destroying much of it. In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1,200th anniversary. In June 2013 the city was hit by record breaking flooding.[4]
Today, Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.[5] Magdeburg is situated on autobahn route 2 and autobahn route 14, and hence is at the connection point of the East (Berlin and beyond) with the West of Europe, as well as the North and South of Germany. As a modern manufacturing centre, the production of chemical products, steel, paper, and textiles are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical engineering and plant engineering, ecotechnology and life-cycle management, health management and logistics.
History
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Magdeburg.
Early years
Founded by Charlemagne in 805 as Magadoburg (probably from Old High Germanmagado for big, mighty and burga for fortress[6]), the town was fortified in 919 by King Henry the Fowler against the Magyars and Slavs. In 929 King Otto I granted the city to his English-born wife Edith as dower. Queen Edith loved the town and often resided there;[7] at her death she was buried in the crypt of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Maurice, later rebuilt as the cathedral. In 937, Magdeburg was the seat of a royal assembly. Otto I repeatedly visited Magdeburg, establishing a convent here about 937[3] and was later buried in the cathedral. He granted the abbey the right to income from various tithes and to corvée labour from the surrounding countryside.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was founded in 968[3] at the synod of Ravenna; Adalbert of Magdeburg was consecrated as its first archbishop. The archbishopric under Adalbert included the bishoprics of Havelberg, Brandenburg, Merseburg, Meissen and Naumburg-Zeitz. The archbishops played a prominent role in the German colonisation of the Slavic lands east of the Elbe river.
In 1035 Magdeburg received a patent giving the city the right to hold trade exhibitions and conventions. This formed the basis of German town law to become known as the Magdeburg rights. These laws were adopted and modified throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Visitors from many countries began to trade with Magdeburg. The town was burnt down in 1188.[3]
In the 13th century, Magdeburg became a member of the Hanseatic League. With more than 20,000 inhabitants Magdeburg was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The town had active maritime commerce on the west (towards Flanders), with the countries of the North Sea, and maintained traffic and communication with the interior (for example Brunswick).[7]
Reformation
Further information: Sack of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke, and Magdeburg hemispheres
The citizens constantly struggled against the archbishop, becoming nearly independent from him by the end of the 15th century. Around Easter 1497, the then twelve-year-old Martin Luther attended school in Magdeburg, where he was exposed to the teachings of the Brethren of the Common Life. In 1524, he was called to Magdeburg, where he preached and caused the city's defection from Roman Catholicism. The Protestant Reformation had quickly found adherents in the city, where Luther had been a schoolboy. Emperor Charles V repeatedly outlawed the unruly town, which had joined the League of Torgau and the Schmalkaldic League.[7]
As it had not accepted the Augsburg Interim decree (1548), the city, by the emperor's commands, was besieged (1550–1551) by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, but it retained its independence. The rule of the archbishop was replaced by that of various administrators belonging to Protestant dynasties. In the following years, Magdeburg gained a reputation as a stronghold of Protestantism and became the first major city to publish the writings of Martin Luther. In Magdeburg, Matthias Flacius and his companions wrote their anti-Catholic pamphlets and the Magdeburg Centuries, in which they argued that the Roman Catholic Church had become the kingdom of the Antichrist.[7]
In 1629 the city withstood its first siege during the Thirty Years' War, by Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Protestant convert to Catholicism. However, in 1631, imperial troops under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, stormed the city and massacred the inhabitants, killing about 20,000 and burning the city.[8]
After the war, a population of only 4,000 remained. Under the Peace of Westphalia (1648), Magdeburg was to be assigned to Brandenburg-Prussia after the death of the administrator August of Saxe-Weissenfels, as the semi-autonomous Duchy of Magdeburg. This occurred in 1680.[9][10][11]
The city made an astonishingly quick recovery, due especially to the energy and dedication of its mayor Otto von Guericke, who was also a noted scientist. Just six years after the end of the terribly destructive war, Magdeburg was the scene of the famous scientific experiment known as The Magdeburg hemispheres by which the existence of vacuum - hitherto hotly debated - was empirically proven, with enormous implications for the later developments of physics.[12]
19th century
In the course of the Napoleonic Wars, the fortress surrendered to French troops in 1806. The city was annexed to the French-controlled Kingdom of Westphalia in the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit. King Jérôme appointed Count Heinrich von Blumenthal as mayor. In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, Magdeburg was made the capital of the new Prussian Province of Saxony. In 1912, the old fortress was dismantled, and in 1908, the municipality Rothensee became part of Magdeburg.[13]
20th century
Magdeburg was heavily bombed by British and American air forces during the Second World War. The RAF bombing raid on the night of 16 January 1945 destroyed much of the city. The death toll is estimated at 2,000–2,500. Near the end of World War II, the city of about 340,000 became capital of the Province of Magdeburg. Brabag's Magdeburg/Rothensee plant that produced synthetic oil from lignite coal was a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II. The impressive Gründerzeit suburbs north of the city, called the Nordfront, were destroyed as well as the city's main street with its Baroque buildings. It was occupied by 9th US Army troops on 18 April 1945 and was left to the Red Army on 1 July 1945. Post-war the area was part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation and many of the remaining pre-World War II city buildings were destroyed, with only a few buildings near the cathedral and in the southern part of the old city being restored to their pre-war state. Before the reunification of Germany, many surviving Gründerzeit buildings were left uninhabited and, after years of degradation, waiting for demolition. From 1949 until German reunification on 3 October 1990, Magdeburg belonged to the German Democratic Republic.
Map of Magdeburg, 1900
Sealing stamp (1850–1923)
Magdeburg after World War II
Destroyed Magdeburg
Since German reunification
In 1990 Magdeburg became the capital of the new state of Saxony-Anhalt within reunified Germany. Huge parts of the city and its centre were also rebuilt in a modern style. Its economy is one of the fastest-growing in the former East German states.[14]
In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1200th anniversary.
The city was hit by 2013 European floods. Authorities declared a state of emergency and said they expected the Elbe river to rise higher than in 2002. In Magdeburg, with water levels of five metres (16ft) above normal, about 23,000 residents had to leave their homes on 9 June.[15]
Intel will build its largest plant in Europe in the south of the city by 2027.[16]
Magdeburg is the capital and seat of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt
Library of the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
The Green Citadel of Magdeburg, built in 2005
Magdeburg during the 2013 Elbe flood
Magdeburg's centre has a number of Stalinist buildings from the 1950s.
Geography
Magdeburg is one of the major towns along the Elbe Cycle Route (Elberadweg).
Districts
The city of Magdeburg is divided into 40 Stadtteile (districts).[17] Three of these, the former municipalities Beyendorf-Sohlen, Pechau and Randau-Calenberge, have a special status as Ortschaften.[18] The Stadtteile of Magdeburg are:[17]
Alt Olvenstedt
Alte Neustadt
Altstadt
Barleber See
Berliner Chaussee
Beyendorfer Grund
Beyendorf-Sohlen
Brückfeld
Buckau
Cracau
Diesdorf
Fermersleben
Gewerbegebiet Nord
Großer Silberberg
Herrenkrug
Hopfengarten
Industriehafen
Kannenstieg
Kreuzhorst
Leipziger Straße
Lemsdorf
Neu Olvenstedt
Neue Neustadt
Neustädter Feld
Neustädter See
Nordwest
Ottersleben
Pechau
Prester
Randau-Calenberge
Reform
Rothensee
Salbke
Stadtfeld Ost
Stadtfeld West
Sudenburg
Sülzegrund
Werder
Westerhüsen
Zipkeleben
Climate
Magdeburg has a Humid continental climate (Dfb) bordering on an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to Köppen climate classification.
The current mayor of Magdeburg is independent politician Simone Borris since 2022. The most recent mayoral election was held on 24 April 2022, with a runoff held on 8 May, and the results were as follows:
Main article: Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (German: Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg) was founded in 1993 and is one of the newest universities in Germany. The university in Magdeburg has about 13,000 students in nine faculties. There are 11,700 papers published in international journals from this institute.
The Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1991. There are 30 direct study programs in five departments in Magdeburg and two departments in Stendal. The university has more than 130 professors and approximately 4,500 students at Magdeburg and 1,900 at Stendal.
Aerial view of the University area
Campus tower of the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
Magdeburg library
Aerial view of the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
Culture and architecture
Entertainment
Magdeburg has a municipal theatre, Theater Magdeburg.
Magdeburg is well known for its Christmas market, which is an attraction for 1.5million visitors every year. Other events are the Stadtfest, Christopher Street Day, Elbe in Flames, and the Europafest Magdeburg.[20][21] The autumn fair (formerly men's fair) of Magdeburg goes back to Germany's oldest folk festival. The tradition dates back to September 1010, when the holy feast of the Theban Legion was celebrated in Magdeburg (then called Magathaburg).[22]
Event venues
Altes Theater am Jerichower Platz – Former theater, used for parties and large conferences
AMO – Culture and congress building
Buttergasse - Night club near the city centre at "Alter Markt" – house-, electro, pop and black music
Cathedral of Magdeburg
Concert hall Georg Philipp Telemann at "Kloster unser lieben Frauen"
Factory – Former factory building, German and international pop, rock, metal, and indie music artists are featured
Festung Mark – Part of the former city fortification, now reconstructed for parties and conventions
Feuerwache – Former fire station, repurposed for events
GETEC Arena – Biggest multi-purpose hall in Saxony-Anhalt, home of handball team SC Magdeburg
One of Magdeburg's most impressive buildings is the Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice with a height of 104m (341.21ft), making it the tallest church building of eastern Germany. It is notable for its beautiful and unique sculptures, especially the "Twelve Virgins" at the Northern Gate, the depictions of Otto I the Great and his wife Editha as well as the statues of St Maurice and St Catherine.
The predecessor of the cathedral was a church built in 937 within an abbey, called St. Maurice. Emperor Otto I the Great 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 80m (262.47ft) long and 41m (134.51ft) wide.
The construction of the new church lasted 300 years. The cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice was the first Gothic church building in Germany. The building of the steeples was completed as late as 1520.
While the cathedral was virtually the only building to survive the massacres of the Thirty Years' War, it suffered damage in World War II. It was soon rebuilt and completed in 1955.
The square in front of the cathedral (also called the Neuer Markt, or "new marketplace") was occupied by an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz), which was destroyed in the fire of 1207. The stones from the ruin were used for the building of the cathedral. The presumed remains of the palace were excavated in the 1960s.
Other sights
Unser Lieben Frauen Monastery (Our Lady), 11th century, containing the church of St. Mary. Today a museum for Modern Art. Home of the National Collection of Small Art Statues of the GDR (Nationale Sammlung Kleinkunstplastiken der DDR).
The Magdeburger Reiter ("Magdeburg Rider", 1240), the first free-standing equestrian sculpture north of the Alps. It probably depicts the Emperor Otto I.
City hall (1698). This building had stood on the market place since the 13th century, but it was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War; the new city hall was built in a Renaissance style influenced by Dutch architecture. It was renovated and re-opened in Oct 2005.
Landtag; the seat of the government of Saxony-Anhalt with its Baroque façade built-in 1724.
Monuments depicting Otto von Guericke (1907), Eike von Repkow and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
Ruins of the greatest fortress of the former Kingdom of Prussia.
Rotehorn-Park
Elbauenpark containing the highest wooden structure in Germany.
St. Sebastian's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg.
St. John Church (Johanniskirche)
The Gruson-Gewächshäuser, a botanical garden within a greenhouse complex
The Magdeburg Water Bridge, Europe's longest water bridge
"Die Grüne Zitadelle" or The Green Citadel of Magdeburg, a large, pink building of a modern architectural style designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and completed in 2005.
View to a part of the city centre, seen from the tower of the St.-Johannis Church
Sports
Magdeburg has a proud history of sports teams, with football proving the most popular. 1. FC Magdeburg currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second division of German football. They are the only East German football club to have won a European club football competition. The now-defunct clubs SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg and Cricket Viktoria Magdeburg were among the first football clubs in Germany.
There is also the very successful handball team, SC Magdeburg who are the first German team to win the EHF Champions League.
The discus was re-discovered in Magdeburg in the 1870s by Christian Georg Kohlrausch, a gymnastics teacher.
Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany
Gottlieb von Haeseler (1701–1752), entrepreneur in the Duchy of Magdeburg
Ingolf Huhn (born 1955), theatre and opera manager
Hartmann Wilhem Otto (1876–1960), immigrated to the US, where he changed his name to William Hartman and served as a Rough Rider in the Spanish–American War together with Theodore Roosevelt
Christian Georg Kohlrausch (1851–1934), gymnastics teacher and re-discoverer of discus throwing
Carl Hindenburg (1820–1899), cycling official and first president of the German Cyclist Federation (DRB)
Heinrich Jost (1889–1948), typeface designer
Eberhard Jüngel (1934–2021), German Lutheran theologian
Hans Kühne (1880–1969), chemist on the board of I.G. Farben and defendant during the Nuremberg trials
L–Z
Ernst Lehmann (1908–1945), SPD politician, active in the resistance against Nazism
Otto Lehmann (1900–1936), resistance fighter against Nazism
Werner Marcks (1896–1967), lieutenant general in World War II
Olaf Malolepski (born 1946), singer-songwriter
Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern (1770–1852), philologist who coined the term Bildungsroman
Felix von Niemeyer (1820–1871), physician, royal Württemberg personal physician
Leo Nowak (born 1929), Roman Catholic bishop of Magdeburg (1990–2004)
Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (born 1942), biologist, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995
Richard Ölze (1900–1980), painter
Erich Ollenhauer (1901–1963), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1952–1963
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Löffler, Klemens (1910). "Magdeburg". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Guericke, Otto von". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.12 (11thed.). Cambridge University Press. p.670. ...he attempted the creation of a vacuum...
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