Just 1,5 hours from Berlin, an ancient city of Magdeburg is spread on the mighty Elbe river. That is a perfect getaway from Berlin after Potsdam. In 2005 Magdeburg was celebrating its 1200 years anniversary. What can be found interesting in Magdeburg will be discovered in this article
5 historical facts about Magdeburg
- The Magdeburg's town law, so-called "Magdeburg rights" gained wide popularity in medieval times, spreading across other cities in Central and Eastern Europe.
- The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Otto I is buried in town's cathedral
- The city was destroyed almost completely twice in its history
- The famous experiment with vacuum sphere was conducted in Magdeburg. Hence so many spherical objects are installed in the city.
- Recently, in 2005 city celebrated its 1200 years anniversary
What's more to see in Magdeburg? We were caught in the festival atmosphere on our arrival to Magdeburg. The city was vivid, with a lot of food and drink stalls, souvenir stands and people who celebrated unknown for us holiday.
Architecture
The city of Magdeburg is widely famous for its Green Citadel (Grüne Zitadelle), designed by a famous architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. As outlined by the artist, the odd residential building in the centre of Magdeburg is a safe island, protecting from growing urbanization.
Some facts about "citadel"
- The building does not have two similar windows
- Most of the roofs are covered by grass and the edifice is full of trees - the tenants are looking after them
- "Tree tenants", or actually people who live in green oasis cannot alter the appearance of edifice, except some minor cosmetic repairs
- The building hosts an ARThotel with 42 rooms, designed in Hundertwasser's style
Another famous landmark you can find in Magdeburg is a cathedral in the center of the city. The church, which was built before the cathedral was founded on September 21, 937, and the current edifice was commenced in 1209. The Cathedral has a rich history and is home to a tomb of a Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I. Magdeburg Dom is the oldest Gothic cathedral in Germany.
There are also another edifices in Gothic style in the city which cannot be more enchanting.
The Magdeburg Hemispheres is another card of a city. The famous experiment, conducted to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure was done by a German scientist and mayor of Magdeburg, Otto von Guericke, in 1656. The principle which lies behind the experiment is very simple and is used for educational purposes till now. The air from the hemispheres is sucked out completely creating a vacuum, so when Guericke conducted his experiment in front of the public in 1654, thirty horses could not separate the hemispheres.
Magdeburg is a good getaway from a big city. Honestly, if you like Gothic architecture, visiting churches, museums and other stuff, it might be interesting to visit a city for a day. If not — still a great chance to escape from everybody and get lost in reposeful and serene flow of the city.
Bonus: More photos of the city.
