Magdeburg (; nds, label=
Low Saxon
Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...
, Meideborg ) is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and second-largest
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
. The city is situated at the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
river.
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
, the first
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
and founder of the
Archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
of Magdeburg, was buried in the city's
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
after his death.
[ Magdeburg's version of ]German town law
The German town law (german: Deutsches Stadtrecht) or German municipal concerns (''Deutsches Städtewesen'') was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg Law became the inspiration for regional ...
, known as Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
, spread throughout Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and Eastern Europe. In the Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, Magdeburg was one of the largest and most prosperous German cities and a notable member of the Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. One of the most notable people from the city is Otto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; November 20, 1602 – May 11, 1686 ; November 30, 1602 – May 21, 1686 ) was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental me ...
, famous for his experiments with the Magdeburg hemispheres
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum a ...
.
Magdeburg has been destroyed twice in its history. The Catholic League sacked Magdeburg in 1631,[ resulting in the death of 25,000 non-combatants, the largest loss of the ]Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
. During the World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
bombed the city in 1945 and destroying much of it. After World War II the city belonged to the German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
from 1949 to 1990. Since then many new construction projects were implemented and old buildings have been restored.
In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1.200th anniversary.
Magdeburg is situated on Autobahn 2 and Autobahn 14, and hence is at the connection point of the East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
(Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and beyond) with the West of Europe, as well as the North and South of Germany. For the modern city, the most significant industries are: the Machine industry
The machine industry or machinery industry is a subsector of the industry, that produces and maintains machines for consumers, the industry, and most other companies in the economy.
This machine industry traditionally belongs to the heavy industr ...
, Healthcare industry
The healthcare industry (also called the medical industry or health economy) is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, a ...
, Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
, Environmental technology
Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as ''clean technology'' (''cleantech''), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic device ...
, Circular economy
A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...
, Logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
, Culture industry
The term culture industry (german: Kulturindustrie) was coined by the critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and was presented as critical vocabulary in the chapter "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment ...
, Wood industry
The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furnitu ...
and the Information and communications technology
Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...
.
The city is the location of two universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...
and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
The Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences is a public university of applied sciences with two locations. One location is situated in Magdeburg, the capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and the other one is located in Stendal.
History
Since t ...
.
History
Early years
Founded by Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
in 805 as Magadoburg (probably from Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
''magado'' for ''big'', ''mighty'' and ''burga'' for ''fortress''), the town was fortified in 919 by King Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
against the Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
and Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
. In 929 King Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
granted the city to his English-born wife Edith
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...
as dower
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law.
...
. Queen Edith loved the town and often resided there; at her death she was buried in the crypt of the Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
abbey of Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...
, 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[ and was later buried in the cathedral. He granted the abbey the right to income from various tithes and to ]corvée
Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year.
Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...
labour from the surrounding countryside.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
Planned since 955 and established in 968, the Roma ...
was founded in 968[ at the ]synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
of Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
; Adalbert of Magdeburg
Adalbert of Magdeburg (c. 91020 June 981), sometimes incorrectly shortened to "Albert", known as the Apostle of the Slavs, was the first Archbishop of Magdeburg (from 968) and a successful missionary to the Polabian Slavs to the east of what is ...
was consecrated as its first archbishop. The archbishopric under Adalbert included the bishoprics of Havelberg
Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...
, Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
, Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
, Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
and Naumburg-Zeitz. The archbishops played a prominent role in the German colonisation of the Slavic lands east of the Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
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
The German town law (german: Deutsches Stadtrecht) or German municipal concerns (''Deutsches Städtewesen'') was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg Law became the inspiration for regional ...
to become known as the Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...
. 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.[
In the 13th century, Magdeburg became a member of the ]Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. With more than 20,000 inhabitants Magdeburg was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. The town had active maritime commerce on the west (towards Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
), with the countries of the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, and maintained traffic and communication with the interior (for example Brunswick).
Reformation
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
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
attended school in Magdeburg, where he was exposed to the teachings of the Brethren of the Common Life
The Brethren of the Common Life (Latin: Fratres Vitae Communis, FVC) was a Roman Catholic pietist religious community founded in the Netherlands in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religio ...
. In 1524, he was called to Magdeburg, where he preached and caused the city's defection from Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. The Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
had quickly found adherents in the city, where Luther had been a schoolboy. Emperor Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
repeatedly outlawed the unruly town, which had joined the League of Torgau
The League of Torgau (german: Torgauer Bund) was an alliance of Lutheran princes, including Philip of Hesse and John, Elector of Saxony, John of Saxony, which was formed 27 February 1526 to oppose the terms set forth in the Edict of Worms. Becau ...
and the Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
.
As it had not accepted the Augsburg Interim
The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Diet ...
decree (1548), the city, by the emperor's commands, was besieged (1550–1551) by Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity.
...
, 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
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
. In Magdeburg, Matthias Flacius
Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strong ...
and his companions wrote their anti-Catholic pamphlets and the ''Magdeburg Centuries
The ''Magdeburg Centuries'' is an ecclesiastical history, divided into thirteen ''centuries'', covering thirteen hundred years, ending in 1298; it was first published from 1559 to 1574. It was compiled by several Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg, kn ...
'', in which they argued that the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
had become the kingdom of the Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...
.
In 1629 the city withstood its first siege during the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, by Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
, a Protestant convert to Catholicism. However, in 1631, imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
troops under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's ...
, stormed the city and massacred the inhabitants, killing about 20,000 and burning the city.
After the war, a population of only 4,000 remained. Under the Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
(1648), Magdeburg was to be assigned to Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
after the death of the administrator August of Saxe-Weissenfels, as the semi-autonomous Duchy of Magdeburg
The Duchy of Magdeburg (german: Herzogtum Magdeburg) was a province of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1680 to 1701 and a province of the German Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1807. It replaced the Archbishopric of Magdeburg after its secula ...
. This occurred in 1680.
The city made an astonishingly quick recovery, due especially to the energy and dedication of its mayor Otto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; November 20, 1602 – May 11, 1686 ; November 30, 1602 – May 21, 1686 ) was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental me ...
, 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
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum a ...
'' by which the existence of vacuum
A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often dis ...
- hitherto hotly debated - was empirically proven, with enormous implications for the later developments of physics.
19th century
In the course of the Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, the fortress surrendered to French troops in 1806. The city was annexed to the French-controlled Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...
in the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...
. King Jérôme appointed Count Heinrich von Blumenthal
The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Je ...
as mayor. In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, Magdeburg was made the capital of the new Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merge ...
. In 1912, the old fortress was dismantled, and in 1908, the municipality Rothensee became part of Magdeburg.
20th century
In 1912, the old fortress was dismantled, and in 1908, the municipality Rothensee became part of Magdeburg.
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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the city of about 340,000 became capital of the Province of Magdeburg
The Province of Magdeburg (german: Provinz Magdeburg) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Free State of Prussia within Nazi Germany from 1944 to 1945. The provincial capital was Magdeburg.
The province was created on 1 July 1944 out of ...
. Brabag Brabag (Braunkohle Benzin AG) was a German firm, planned in 1933 and operating from 1934 until 1945, that distilled synthetic aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline, lubricants, and paraffin wax from lignite. It was an industrial cartel firm closely ...
's Magdeburg/Rothensee plant that produced synthetic oil
Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially modified or synthesised. Synthetic lubricants can be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil, but can also be syn ...
from lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
coal was a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II. The impressive ''Gründerzeit
(; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...
'' 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
The Ninth Army is a field army of the United States Army, garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM).
Activated just eight weeks bef ...
troops on 18 April 1945 and was left to the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
on 1 July 1945. Post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
the area was part of the Soviet Zone of Occupation
The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...
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
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, 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
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
.
Magdeburg Stadtplan 1900.jpg, Map of Magdeburg, 1900
Magdeburg Geschäftshaus der Magdeburger Feuerversicherungs-Gesellschaft in Magdeburg.jpg, "Breiter Weg", approx. 1900
Fountain and Breiter Weg, Magdeburg, Germany, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany-LCCN2002720637.jpg, "Hasselbachplatz", approx. 1900
Siegelmarke Kreis Versicherungskommissar - Magdeburger Land - Feuer - Societaet W0251229.jpg, Sealing stamp (1850–1923)
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-14898-0002, Magdeburg, Blick auf die zerstörte Altstadt.jpg, Magdeburg after World War II
Magdeburg, Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945 CL3459.jpg, Destroyed Magdeburg
MagdeburgStalinist.jpg, Magdeburg's centre has a number of Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
buildings from the 1950s.
Since German reunification
In 1990 Magdeburg became the capital of the new state of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
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.
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 above normal, about 23,000 residents had to leave their homes on 9 June.
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
will build its largest plant in Europe in the south of the city by 2027.
Landtag-sachsen-anhalt-2012.jpg, Magdeburg is the capital and seat of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt
The Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt is the parliament of the Germany, German States of Germany, federal state Saxony-Anhalt. It convenes in Magdeburg and currently consists of 97 members of six parties. The current majority is a coalition of the Social ...
UB Magdeburg.JPG, Library of the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...
Grüne Zitadelle von Magdeburg.jpg, The Green Citadel of Magdeburg, built in 2005
Stadion Magdeburg Luftbild 2.JPG, The MDCC-Arena - a Soccer stadium, built in 2006
Haus BreiterWeg Magdeburg.JPG, Restored building - Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...
City-Carr%C3%A9.jpg, Shopping complex - City Carré
Hegelstraße 41 (Magdeburg).jpg, Restored building - Renaissance Revival architecture
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...
Geography
Magdeburg is one of the major towns along the Elbe Cycle Route (Elberadweg). Its area is .
Districts
The city of Magdeburg is divided into 40 ''Stadtteil
A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.
A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area). Such a ...
e'' (districts).[Bevölkerung & Demografie 2021]
Magdeburger Statistik. Three of these, the former municipalities Beyendorf-Sohlen, Pechau and Randau-Calenberge, have a special status as ''Ortschaften''.[Lesefassung der Hauptsatzung der Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg]
9 November 2017. The ''Stadtteile'' of Magdeburg are:[
* 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
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(Dfb) bordering on an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(Cfb) according to Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
.
Demographics
Population development
Population development since 1400:
Politics
Mayor
The current mayor of Magdeburg is independent politician
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views th ...
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:
! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate
! rowspan=2, Party
! colspan=2, First round
! colspan=2, Second round
, -
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Simone Borris
, align=left, Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
( FDP, future!, MUT
Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian l ...
)
, 33,065
, 44.3
, 39,201
, 64.8
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Jens Rösler
, align=left, SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
/ Greens
, 20,080
, 26.3
, 21,298
, 35.2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Tobias Krull
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union
, 9,327
, 12.2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Nicole Anger
, align=left, The Left
, 5,230
, 6.8
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Frank Pasemann
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
, 3,802
, 5.0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Till Isenhuth
, align=left, Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, 1,676
, 2.2
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Sarah Biedermann
, align=left, Free Voters
Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...
, 1,289
, 1.7
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Bettina Fassl
, align=left, Animal Protection Alliance
, 1,103
, 1.4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, André Jordan
, align=left, Die PARTEI
(''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...
, 860
, 1.1
, -
! colspan=3, Valid votes
! 76,432
! 99.6
! 60,508
! 99.4
, -
! colspan=3, Invalid votes
! 302
! 0.4
! 340
! 0.6
, -
! colspan=3, Total
! 76,734
! 100.0
! 60,848
! 100.0
, -
! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout
! 189,916
! 40.4
! 189,471
! 32.1
, -
, colspan=7, Source
City of Magdeburg
City council
The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows:
! colspan=2, Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, 55,969
, 18.6
, 6.6
, 10
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
(SPD)
, 50,794
, 16.9
, 8.5
, 9
, 5
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
(Grüne)
, 46,127
, 15.4
, 4.8
, 9
, 3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, The Left (Die Linke)
, 45,922
, 15.3
, 6.9
, 9
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
(AfD)
, 43,200
, 14.4
, 9.6
, 8
, 5
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, 16,157
, 5.4
, 2.1
, 3
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, Magdeburg Garden Party (Gartenpartei)
, 12,709
, 4.2
, 2.3
, 2
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Human Environment Animal Protection
The Human Environment Animal Protection Party (german: Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz, short form: Animal Protection Party, german: Tierschutzpartei, links=no) is a political party in Germany, founded in 1993. In 2014 one candidate was elected ...
(Tierschutzpartei)
, 9,871
, 3.3
, 1.2
, 2
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, future!
, 8,651
, 2.9
, 0.9
, 2
, 1
, -
,
, align=left, Alliance for Magdeburg (BfM)
, 4,384
, 1.5
, 0.1
, 1
, ±0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alliance for Human Rights, Animal and Nature Protection (Tierschutzallianz)
, 4,061
, 1.4
, 1.0
, 1
, 1
, -
, colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey,
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Die PARTEI
(''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...
, 2,548
, 0.8
, New
, 0
, New
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 300,393
! 100.0
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Valid votes
! 101,994
! 98.5
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Invalid votes
! 1,547
! 1.5
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 103,541
! 100.0
!
! 56
! ±0
, -
! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout
! 193,826
! 53.4
! 15.1
!
!
, -
, colspan=7, Source
City of Magdeburg
Education
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...
(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
The Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences is a public university of applied sciences with two locations. One location is situated in Magdeburg, the capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and the other one is located in Stendal.
History
Since t ...
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.
Blick auf die Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg.JPG, Aerial view of the University area
Campus Tower und Fakultät für Elektro- und Informationstechnik.jpg, Campus tower of the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
UB MD innen.JPG, Magdeburg library
Hochschule Magdeburg.jpg, Aerial view of the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal (FH).jpg, Building No.1 of the University of Applied Sciences in Magdeburg
Culture and architecture
Entertainment
Magdeburg has a municipal theatre, Theater Magdeburg
Theater Magdeburg is the principal theatre organization in Magdeburg, Germany, the capital of the state Saxony-Anhalt. It was formed in 2004 with the merger of two theatres, the Theater der Landeshauptstadt (Theatre of the state capital) and the ' ...
.
Magdeburg is well known for its Christmas market
A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
, which is an attraction for 1.5 million visitors every year. Other events are the ''Stadtfest'', ''Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day (CSD) is an annual European LGBTQ+ celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and against discrimination and exclusion. It is Germany's and Switzerland's counterp ...
'', ''Elbe in Flames'', and the ''Europafest Magdeburg''. 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).
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
Magdeburg Cathedral (german: Magdeburger Dom), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (german: Dom zu Magdeburg St. Mauritius und Katharina), is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the cou ...
* 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
The GETEC Arena (until 2011: ''"Bördelandhalle"'') is an indoor sporting arena located in Magdeburg, Germany. The maximum capacity of the arena is 8,071 people for handball games and 8,820 for boxing matches. It is the current home to SC Magde ...
– Biggest multi-purpose hall in Saxony-Anhalt, home of handball team SC Magdeburg
SC Magdeburg is a handball club from Magdeburg, Germany, and is competing in the Handball-Bundesliga.
History
During the time in the GDR, the club won 10 national championships (1970, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991) an ...
* halber85 - Conventions, partys, conferences
* Kunstkantine – Factory cafeteria, monthly electro-music parties
* MDCC-Arena – Home of 1. FC Magdeburg
* Messe Magdeburg - Official trade fair site
* Paulus Church
* Prinzzclub – Night club at Halberstädter Straße – house-, electro, and black music
* Seebühne at Elbauenpark
* Stadthalle – Concert hall
* Studentenclub Baracke - Night club especially for students - house-, electro, rock, pop, indie and black music
* St. Johannis Church
* St. Petri Church, with stained glass by Charles Crodel
Charles Crodel (September 16, 1894 – November 11, 1973) was a German painter and stained glass artist.
Life
Crodel was born in Marseille, he studied in 1914 with Richard Riemerschmid, one of the founders of the Deutscher Werkbund, at the M ...
* Tessenow Loft - Conventions, partys, conferences
Museums
* Magdeburg Museum of Cultural History
* Otto-von-Guericke-Museum Lukasklause
* Jahrtausendturm
Jahrtausendturm (german: millennium tower) is, at , one of the highest wooden towers in the world. It was established on the occasion of the Bundesgartenschau 1999 in the Magdeburger Elbauenpark in Magdeburg, Germany. The tower houses an exhib ...
* Magdeburg Museum of Nature
* Magdeburg Museum of Technology
* Art Museum in the Monastery of Our Lady
* Magdeburg Circus Museum
* Magdeburg Hairdressing Museum
* Steamboat Württemberg - a museum ship
Architecture
Cathedral
One of Magdeburg's most impressive buildings is the Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
Cathedral of Saints Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
and Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
with a height of , 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
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...
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 long and wide.
The construction of the new church lasted 300 years. The cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice was the first Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
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
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
.
* 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
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style influenced by Dutch architecture. It was renovated and re-opened in Oct 2005.
* Landtag
A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
; the seat of the government of Saxony-Anhalt with its Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
façade built-in 1724.
* Monuments depicting Otto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; November 20, 1602 – May 11, 1686 ; November 30, 1602 – May 21, 1686 ) was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental me ...
(1907), Eike von Repkow and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...
.
* Ruins of the greatest fortress of the former Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
.
* Rotehorn-Park
* Elbauenpark containing the highest wooden structure in Germany.
*St. Sebastian's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Magdeburg
The Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, located in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Its seat is Magdeburg; it is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Paderborn.
The Diocese was erected out of Paderborn terr ...
.
* St. John Church (Johanniskirche)
* The Gruson-Gewächshäuser, a botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
within a greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
complex
* The Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge (german: Kanalbrücke Magdeburg) is a large navigable aqueduct in central Germany, located near Magdeburg. The largest canal underbridge in Europe, it spans the river Elbe and directly connects the Mittelland Canal, Mitt ...
, 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
Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...
and completed in 2005.
* Jerusalem Bridge
* Zoo Magdeburg
Sports
Magdeburg has a proud history of sports teams, with Association Football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
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 the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
. 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
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
team, SC Magdeburg
SC Magdeburg is a handball club from Magdeburg, Germany, and is competing in the Handball-Bundesliga.
History
During the time in the GDR, the club won 10 national championships (1970, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991) an ...
. They won multiple times the Handball-Bundesliga (HBL), DHB-Pokal
The DHB-Pokal (English: German Handball Federation Cup) is an elimination handball tournament held annually in Germany. It is the second most important handball national title in the country after the Handball-Bundesliga
The Handball-Bund ...
, DHB-Supercup
The DHB-Supercup (English: German Handball Supercup) is an handball tournament held annually between the Handball-Bundesliga
The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was spon ...
, EHF European League
The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Previ ...
, EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
, EHF Men's Champions Trophy
The EHF Champions Trophy (named IHF Supercup between 1979 and 1983, named EHF Supercup between 1996 and 2007) was an official annual club competition of the European Handball Federation, that was contested until 2008.
History
Regarded as one of t ...
and the IHF Men's Super Globe
The Men's Super Globe is a handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands ...
.
The discus was re-discovered in Magdeburg in the 1870s by Christian Georg Kohlrausch, a gymnastics teacher.
Twin towns – sister cities
Magdeburg is twinned with:
* Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1977)
* Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
, Germany (1987)
* Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, United States (2003)
* Zaporizhzhia
Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...
, Ukraine (2008)
* Radom
Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...
, Poland (2008)
* Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
, China (2008)
* Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, France (2011)
People
A–K
*Max Albert
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
(1905–1976), writer
*Ernst Anders
Ernst Anders (26 March 1845, Magdeburg – 1911, Mölln) was a German painter.
He began his artistic education as a private student of Andreas Müller then, in 1863, enrolled at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he studied with Rudolf Wie ...
(1845–1911), portrait and genre painter
*Richard Assmann
Richard Assmann (Anglicized spelling of the German name Richard Aßmann) (13 April 1845 in Magdeburg – 28 May 1918 in Gießen) was a German meteorologist and physician who was a native of Magdeburg. He made numerous contributions in high altitud ...
(1845–1918), meteorologist
* Theodor Avé-Lallemant (1806–1890), music critic and writer on music
* Alfons Bach, (1904–1999), industrial designer
*Kurt Behrens
Kurt Behrens (November 26, 1884 – February 5, 1928) was a German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German ...
(1884–1928), springboard diver
*Arno Bieberstein
Arno Bieberstein (October 24, 1884 in Magdeburg – July 7, 1918 in Magdeburg) was a German backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London ...
(1884–1918), swimmer
* Jessica Böhrs (born 1980), actress and singer
*Henry Busse
Henry Busse Sr. (May 19, 1894 – April 23, 1955) was a German-born jazz trumpeter. A 1948 review in ''Billboard'' magazine said that Busse had "a keen sense of musical commercialism".
Early life
Born May 19, 1894, in Magdeburg, Germany, t ...
(1894–1955), trumpeter and bandleader, emigrated to the US at 18
* Adelbert Delbrück (1822–1890), banker and lawyer
*Friedrich Ernst Fesca
Friedrich Ernst Fesca (15 February 1789 – 24 May 1826) was a German violinist and composer of instrumental music.
Life and career
He was born at Magdeburg. His father, Johann Peter August Fesca, was the market judge of Magdeburg and active in ...
(1789–1826), violinist and composer
*Hans Gericke
Hans Gericke (27 July 1912 – 15 February 2014) was a German architect and urban planner. From 1953 to 1958, he was the deputy director of the Institutes für Theorie und Geschichte der Baukunst for the Deutschen Bauakademie. In 1965, he became ...
(1912–2014), architect
*Frank Giering
Frank Giering (23 November 1971 – 23 June 2010) was a German actor.
Biography
Giering studied at the HFF Potsdam. He starred in a production of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole'' and was cast by Austrian filmmaker, Michael Haneke for the ...
(1971–2010), actor
* Harry Giese (1903–1991), actor and spokesman in Nazi newsreels
*Georg Gradnauer
Georg Gradnauer (16 November 1866 – 18 November 1946) was a German newspaper editor and politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), and the first elected Minister-President of Saxony following the end of the monarchy.
Born in M ...
(1866–1946), newspaper editor and politician
* Alfred Grünberg (1901–1942), worker, KPD member and resistance fighter against Nazism
*Otto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; November 20, 1602 – May 11, 1686 ; November 30, 1602 – May 21, 1686 ) was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental me ...
(1602–1686), mayor and inventor of the Magdeburg hemispheres
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum a ...
. The Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg
The Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg () (''OvGU'') was founded in 1993, making it one of the youngest universities in Germany. The university is located in Magdeburg, the Capital city of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 13.000 students in nine ...
is named after him
* Carl Gustav Friedrich Hasselbach (1809–1882), mayor and member of the Prussian House of Lords; a square in the centre of Magdeburg is named after him
* Ulrike Helzel, soprano
* Gottlieb von Haeseler (1701–1752), entrepreneur in the Duchy of Magdeburg
*Ingolf Huhn
Ingolf Huhn (born in 1955) is a German opera manager and theatre director.
Life
Born in Magdeburg, after the Abitur Huhn studied opera direction in Berlin, musicology in Leipzig and theology. Afterwards he was a master student at the Academy ...
(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 throw
The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...
ing
* Carl Hindenburg (1820–1899), cycling official and first president of the German Cyclist Federation (DRB)
*Heinrich Jost
Heinrich Jost (13 October 1889 – 27 September 1948) was a German typographer and graphic designer. He was the art director of the Bauer Type Foundry from 1923 until 1948.
Biography
Jost was born in 1889 to a bookbinder father in Magdeburg, wher ...
(1889–1948), typeface designer
*Eberhard Jüngel
Eberhard Jüngel (5 December 1934 – 28 September 2021) was a German Lutheran theologian. He was Emeritus Professor of Systematic Theology and the Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University of Tübingen.
Lif ...
(1934–2021), German Lutheran theologian
*Georg Kaiser
Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, (25 November 1878 – 4 June 1945) was a German dramatist.
Biography
Kaiser was born in Magdeburg.
He was highly prolific and wrote in a number of different styles. An Expressionist dramatist, ...
(1878–1945), writer
* Nadine Kleinert (born 1975), retired shot putter, Olympic and World Championship silver medallist
*Wilhelm Kobelt
Wilhelm Kobelt (20 February 1840 – 26 March 1916) was a German zoologist born in Alsfeld, Grand Duchy of Hesse. He specialized in the field of malacology.
Kobelt is remembered for his work as curator of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am ...
(1865–1927), member of the Reichstag and local politician in Magdeburg
* Rolf Kohnert (born 1938), engineer, 3 times Australian masters cycling champion
*Stefan Kretzschmar
Stefan Kretzschmar (; born 17 February 1973, in Leipzig) is a retired professional German handball player. The son of Peter Kretzschmar, a legendary handball player and coach in the former GDR (East Germany) and Waltraud Kretzschmar, a former h ...
(born 1973), handball player and Olympic medallist
* 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
Werner Marcks (17 July 1896 – 28 July 1967) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several armoured divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
Awards and decorations
...
(1896–1967), lieutenant general in World War II
*Olaf Malolepski
Die Flippers (The Flippers) were a German Schlager group formed in 1964. They were one of the most successful Schlager groups of all time, and have been constantly recording and releasing new music since their self-titled debut album was relea ...
(born 1946), singer-songwriter
*Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern
Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern ( – ) was a German philologist in Livonia, the first director of the library of the Imperial University of Dorpat. He coined the term ''Bildungsroman''.
Biography
Morgenstern was born in Magdeburg. He studied at t ...
(1770–1852), philologist who coined the term Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
*Felix von Niemeyer
Felix von Niemeyer (31 December 1820 – 14 March 1871) was a German internist born in Magdeburg. He was the grandson of theologian August Hermann Niemeyer (1754–1828).
Biography
He studied medicine at the University of Halle and in 1844 st ...
(1820–1871), physician, royal Württemberg personal physician
* Leo Nowak (born 1929), Roman Catholic bishop of Magdeburg (1990–2004)
*Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
Christiane (Janni) Nüsslein-Volhard (; born 20 October 1942) is a German developmental biologist and a 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. She is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences.
Nü ...
(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
Erich Ollenhauer (27 March 1901 – 14 December 1963) was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1952 until 1963. He was a key leader of the opposition to Konrad Adenauer in the Bundestag. In exile under the Nazis, he re ...
(1901–1963), leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
1952–1963
*Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler ( he, מנחם פרסלר; born 16 December 1923) is a German-born Israeli-American pianist.
Pressler is Jewish. Following Kristallnacht, he and his immediate family fled Nazi Germany in 1939, (born 1923), pianist
*Ernst Reuter
Ernst Rudolf Johannes Reuter (29 July 1889 – 29 September 1953) was the mayor of West Berlin from 1948 to 1953, during the time of the Cold War.
Biography
Early years
Reuter was born in Apenrade (Aabenraa), Province of Schleswig-Holstein ...
(1889–1953), Mayor of Magdeburg 1931–1933, then Mayor of West Berlin in 1948–1953
*Willy Rosen
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
(1894–1944) composer and songwriter
*Arthur Ruppin
Arthur Ruppin (1 March 1876 – 1 January 1943) was a German Zionist proponent of pseudoscientific race theory and one of the founders of the city of Tel Aviv.Todd Samuel Presner, ’German Jewish Studies in the Digital Age:Remarks on Discipline ...
(1876–1943), Zionist thinker and leader
*Ekkehard Schall
Ekkehard Schall (29 May 1930 in Magdeburg – 3 September 2005 in Berlin) was a German stage and screen actor/director.
He was one of the best-known interpreters of Brecht's works and together with Helene Weigel a member of the Berliner ...
(1930–2005), actor and theatre director
*Marcel Schmelzer
Marcel Schmelzer (; born 22 January 1988) is a German former professional footballer who last played as a left-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, serving as captain from 2016 to 2018. He was capped by Germany at international level. A ...
(born 1988), footballer
*Karl Schmidt (1902–1945), resistance fighter against Nazism
*Petra Schmidt-Schaller
Petra Schmidt-Schaller (born 28 August 1980) is a German actress. She is noted for the roles of ''Helene'' in '' Runaway Horse'' alongside Ulrich Noethen, Ulrich Tukur and Katja Riemann, and ''Maud Brewster'' in '' The Sea Wolf'' (2008 ProSieb ...
(born 1980), actress
*Manfred Schoof
Manfred Schoof (born 6 April 1936) is a German jazz trumpeter.
Career
Schoof was born in Magdeburg, Germany, and studied music in Kassel and Cologne, where one of his teachers of the big band leader Kurt Edelhagen. Schoof performed on Edelhagen' ...
(born 1936), jazz trumpeter
*Wolfgang Schreyer
Wolfgang Schreyer (20 November 1927 – 14 November 2017) was a German writer of fiction, historic adventures mixed with documentary, science fiction for TV shows and movies and is best known as the author of over 20 adventure stories.
Life ...
(1927–2017), writer
*Margarete Schön
Margarete Schön (born Margarethe Schippang; 7 April 1895 – 26 December 1985) was a German stage and film actress whose career spanned nearly fifty years. She is internationally recognized for her role as Kriemhild in director Fritz Lang's ''Die ...
(1895–1985), stage and film actress
* Ivan Shyshkin (born 1983), Ukrainian footballer
* Kurt Singer (1886–1962), philosopher
*Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...
(1730–1794), American patriot
*Christoph Christian Sturm
Christoph Christian Sturm (1740–1786) was a German preacher and author, best known for his ''Reflections on the Works of God in Nature''. The son of Johann Jakob Sturm, a lawyer, at Augsburg, was born at Augsburg, January 25, 1740. He studied a ...
(1740–1786), preacher and author, wrote the majority of his devotional works here
*Bruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut (4 May 1880 – 24 December 1938) was a renowned German architect, urban planner and author of Prussian Lithuanian heritage ("taut" means "nation" in Lithuanian). He was active during the Weimar period and is know ...
(1880–1938), city architect 1921–1923, completed two housing projects in Magdeburg
*Georg Philipp Telemann
Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...
(1681–1767), composer
*Klaus Thunemann
Klaus Thunemann (born 19 April 1937) is a German bassoonist, considered "one of the finest bassoonists of his generation".
Biography
Klaus Thunemann was born in Magdeburg on 19 April 1937. He originally studied piano but from the age of 18 foc ...
(born 1937), bassoon professor
*Henning von Tresckow
Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the Nazi Germany, German Army who helped organize German resistance to Nazism, German resistance again ...
(1901–1944), major general in the ''Wehrmacht'', active in the military resistance
*Lothar von Trotha
General Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxe ...
(1848–1920), military commander notorious for presiding over the near-extermination of the Herero in German South-West Africa
German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
*Karl Wallenda
Karl Wallenda (; January 21, 1905 – March 22, 1978) was a German-American high wire artist and founder of The Flying Wallendas, a daredevil circus act which performed dangerous stunts, often without a safety net.
Personal life
Wallenda was bor ...
(1905–1978), highwire acrobat
* Camillo Walzel (1829–1895), librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
and theatre director
*Wilhelm Weitling
Wilhelm Christian Weitling (October 5, 1808 – January 25, 1871) was a German tailor, inventor, radical political activist and one of the first theorists of communism. Weitling gained fame in Europe as a social theorist before he emigrated t ...
(1808–1871), utopian Communist
* Dieter Zahn (born 1940), double-bassist
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
* Dejan Zavec (born 1976), Slovenian welterweight boxer, IBF Welterweight Champion
*Heinrich Zschokke
Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke (22 March 177127 June 1848) was a German, later Swiss, author and reformer. Most of his life was spent, and most of his reputation earned, in Switzerland. He had an extensive civil service career, and wrote hist ...
(1771–1848), author and reformer
* George William Ziemann (1809–1881), Christian missionary who served in Magdeburg in the infantry
Gallery
Blick über Magdeburg.JPG, View over a part of Magdeburg in 2012
Magdeburger Dom Cathedral (40705658233).jpg, Cathedral of Magdeburg
Magdeburg Cathedral (german: Magdeburger Dom), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (german: Dom zu Magdeburg St. Mauritius und Katharina), is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the cou ...
Haus 60a - Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg.jpg, Main building of the university hospital
St. Johannis (Magdeburg-Altstadt).ajb.jpg, St.-Johannis Church
Kirchentrio Magdeburg.jpg, The three churches on the banks of the Elbe river
Hauptbahnhof MD.jpg, Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof (German for Magdeburg main station, sometimes translated as Magdeburg Central Station) is the main railway station in the city of Magdeburg in the northern part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Importance
The station ...
(Central Station)
Opernhaus magdeburg 11.JPG, Magdeburg Opera
Magdeburg Hundertwasserhaus.jpg, The Grüne Zitadelle (Green Citadel)
.00 1533 Magdeburg - Gebäude Justizzentrum.jpg, Judiciary center
Elbauenpark.jpg, View over Elbauenpark with Jahrtausendturm
Jahrtausendturm (german: millennium tower) is, at , one of the highest wooden towers in the world. It was established on the occasion of the Bundesgartenschau 1999 in the Magdeburger Elbauenpark in Magdeburg, Germany. The tower houses an exhib ...
Elbufer Magdeburg mit Dom.jpg, Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
river in Magdeburg
Magdeburg Alter Markt mit Rathaus.jpg, City Hall with Sankt-Johannis-Church
Magdeburg Nordbrueckenzug.jpg, Jerusalem Bridges
Saxonia bei Dämmerung in Magdeburg.jpg, The Elbe in Magdeburg
Magdeburg Kanalbrücke aerial view 13.jpg, Magdeburg Water Bridge
The Magdeburg Water Bridge (german: Kanalbrücke Magdeburg) is a large navigable aqueduct in central Germany, located near Magdeburg. The largest canal underbridge in Europe, it spans the river Elbe and directly connects the Mittelland Canal, Mitt ...
Magdeburg Hasselbachplatz 2006-11-18.jpg, The Hasselbachplatz, an important transport hub
Gruson-Gewächshäuser Außen.JPG, Gruson-Gewächshäuser
Magdeburger Reiter Gruppe im Museum.jpg, The Magdeburger Reiter (Magdeburg equestrian)
Allee-Center Magdeburg Innen.jpg, The "Allee-Center" Shopping complex is one of seven shopping centres
Magdeburg Sternbrucke 2.jpg, Embankment of the city park
Kulturhistorisches-Museum-Magdeburg.JPG, Museum of culture and history
2019-09-27 17-45 G90T3345 AL Commons Landtag.jpg, The parliament of Saxony-Anhalt
See also
* The Magdeburg hemispheres
The Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating rims. They were used to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum a ...
, an experimental apparatus used to demonstrate the force of atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
in 1656 by scientist Otto von Guericke
Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; November 20, 1602 – May 11, 1686 ; November 30, 1602 – May 21, 1686 ) was a German scientist, inventor, and politician. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental me ...
* Timeline of Magdeburg
References
External links
Official website
Official website for tourists
Virtual city tour Magdeburg
The city of Otto
{{Authority control
German state capitals
Martin Luther
Members of the Hanseatic League
Populated riverside places in Germany
Populated places on the Elbe