Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, after Halle (Saale). It is situated on the Elbe River. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the city's cathedral after his death. 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, 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 1200th anniversary. In June 2013 the city was hit by record breaking flooding. Today, Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto-von-Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. 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. Intel plans to build its largest plant in Europe in Magdeburg by 2027. History. Early years. Founded by Charlemagne in 805 as Magadoburg (probably from Old High German "magado" for "big", "mighty" and "burga" for "fortress"), 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; 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 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 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. 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). 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Geography. Magdeburg is one of the major towns along the Elbe Cycle Route (Elberadweg). Divisions. The city of Magdeburg is divided into 38 "Stadtteile" (quarters). Three of these, the former municipalities Beyendorf-Sohlen, Pechau and Randau-Calenberge, have a special status as "Ortschaften". The "Stadtteile" of Magdeburg are: Climate. Magdeburg has a Humid continental climate (Dfb) bordering on an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to Köppen climate classification. Demographics. Population change. Population change since 1400: Education. The Otto -von-Guericke University Magdeburg (German: Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg) was founded in 1993 and is one of the youngest 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. Culture and architecture. Entertainment. Magdeburg has a municipal theatre, Theater Magdeburg . Magdeburg is well known for its Christmas market, which is an attraction for 1.5 million visitors every year. Other events are the "Stadtfest", "Christopher Street Day", "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). Architecture. Cathedral. One of Magdeburg's most impressive buildings is the Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice 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 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 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. Sports. Magdeburg has a proud history of sports teams, with football proving the most popular. 1. FC Magdeburg currently play in the 3. Liga, the third 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. Magdeburg is twinned with: