Magdeburg

Magdeburg is the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, with a population of 228,800.

Magdeburg used to be one of the most important medieval cities in Europe. It served as a more or less de facto "Eastern Capital" of the Ottonian dynasty in the 10th and 11th century and stayed one of Germany's most important cities until the early modern era. As a center of the reformation and a town that refused to bow to the emperor's authority in the thirty year's war, Magdeburg became a target of one of the most horrific battles of this war with more than 25,000 dead at the hand of the Catholic forces under Tilly and Pappenheim in the employ of the imperial forces. Tilly himself christened the event "Magdeburger Hochzeit" or Magdeburg marriage, based on the fact that the "maiden" Magdeburg (Magd is an old German word that can be translated as maid, Magdeburg also has a woman in its coat of arms) had defied the emperor for over a hundred years and was to be "married" and thus made to obey again. While the whole ordeal was seen as a horrible breach of the laws of military conduct even back then, and most buildings were utterly destroyed by the flames, Magdeburg was soon rebuilt, but never gained the strength and importance it once had. During that time the mayor of Magdeburg was one Otto Gericke who is known even to this day for scientific experiments about vacuum, that some German schoolchildren read about in their textbooks. Thus and because of the Ottonian dynasty, Magdeburg is sometimes called "city of Ottos". During the Cold War era Magdeburg's population increased rapidly and the city became a socially and economically important center of the GDR.

After the German reunification, however, most of the city's economy was shut down. Although Magdeburg is in a continuous modernization process and its cityscape changed rapidly, it has to face the same problems like almost all mid-sized cities in Eastern Germany: a decline of population due to more attractive jobs in western Germany or in Berlin.

The division of Germany is still visible in some ways.

Nonetheless, Magdeburg has become a modern city with numerous interesting sights of high importance and uniqueness, as well as many parks, which make Magdeburg the third greenest city in Germany. New shopping malls and other attractions have changed the cityscape enormously. Today Magdeburg has the largest retail area in relation to its overall area of whole Germany.

Magdeburg is home of two of Germany's top ranking universities, which make it attractive to college students from all over Europe. Other scientific institutions, like the Max-Planck-Insitut, and one of the largest sites of the Fraunhofer Institut, make Magdeburg an important city for international research.

Today's industry includes traditional and also new branches. The company "Röstfein" is one of the best coffee brands in eastern Germany, and the company "Abtshof" is known for its traditional and unique vodka production. The world's first artificial sweetener was produced in Magdeburg and is still in production. The production of wind energy is one of the newer industry branches.

• St. Maurice and St Catherine. Gothic cathedral, known as the Magdeburger Dom, is possibly the most well-known sight in the city. It was built on the remains of a roman cathedral from 1209 to 1520.
• Kloster unser lieben Frauen, Regierungsstraße 4. founded in the 11th century, is one of the most important romanesque buildings in Germany. Today it is, among other things, home to an art gallery.
• St. John's Church, Johannisbergstraße 1. recently rebuilt as a multipurpose space after being severely damaged in WWII.

St. Maurice and St Catherine. [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedral, known as the Magdeburger Dom, is possibly the most well-known sight in the city. It was built on the remains of a roman cathedral from 1209 to 1520.

Kloster unser lieben Frauen, Regierungsstraße 4. founded in the 11th century, is one of the most important romanesque buildings in Germany. Today it is, among other things, home to an art gallery.

St. John's Church, Johannisbergstraße 1. recently rebuilt as a multipurpose space after being severely damaged in WWII.

• Millennium Tower. attracts many visitors. There is an exhibition on nature and history of humanity inside.
• Green Citadel, Breiter Weg 8A (In the city centre near the Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen and the cathedral. a house designed by the famous architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Millennium Tower. attracts many visitors. There is an exhibition on nature and history of humanity inside.

Green Citadel, Breiter Weg 8A (In the city centre near the Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen and the cathedral. a house designed by the famous architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

• Kulturhistorisches Museum, Otto-von-Guericke-Straße. home to the statue Magdeburger Reiter

Kulturhistorisches Museum, Otto-von-Guericke-Straße. home to the statue Magdeburger Reiter

Magdeburg is one of the greenest cities in Europe and the second greenest city in Germany. Riding your bike in Magdeburg is a perfect freetime activity. Since most of the streets have cycle tracks on the sides you will not have any problems with taking your bike into the city. Streetcars, busses, ferries and S-Bahn trains allow you to take your bike with you, however, you may have to purchase an extra ticket for your bike.

A very nice way to explore the idyllic nature in and around Magdeburg is using the Elberadweg. This cycle path leads you all the way along the river Elbe and invites you to explore the unique biosphere reserve around Magdeburg. The cycle path's symbol is a white e on a blue ground. Signs guide you along the path and show you directions and distances to other towns, villages, and attractions. Many restaurants and beer gardens are right next to the river, as well as some nice hotels, playgrounds and parks. The web site for the Elberadweg is www.elberadweg.de (partly in English).

There are several different river cruises offered by the Magdeburger Weiße Flotte GmbH. Here are some of the offers:

• Panoramafahrt: A 1.5 hour cruise along the skyline of Magdeburg. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 8€, children 4€
• Große Acht: A cruise along the biggest waterway cross of Europe. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 19.90€, children 12€
• Kleine Acht: A cruise along the biggest waterway cross of Europe. Starts and ends at the mooring Rothensee. Adults 14€, children 8€
• Trogbrückenüberfahrt: A small cruise over the waterway cross. Starts and end at the mooring Rothensee. Adults 5€, children 3€
• Kaffeefahrt: River cruise from the city center out to the town Schönebeck. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 12€, children 6€
• Fahrt in den Abend: Rivercruise in the evening. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. 15€ for everyone

Times and current special prices can be found directly at the moorings or in the tourist information center (Ernst-Reuter Allee 12, phone: 0391/19433). Tickets can be purchased on board. Reservations are not necessary most of the time if you come early enough. If you want to reserve tickets, contact the tourist information center in the city center (address and phone above)! Also contact the tourist information center for day-trip offers.

Panoramafahrt: A 1.5 hour cruise along the skyline of Magdeburg. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 8€, children 4€

Große Acht: A cruise along the biggest waterway cross of Europe. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 19.90€, children 12€

Kleine Acht: A cruise along the biggest waterway cross of Europe. Starts and ends at the mooring Rothensee. Adults 14€, children 8€

Trogbrückenüberfahrt: A small cruise over the waterway cross. Starts and end at the mooring Rothensee. Adults 5€, children 3€

Kaffeefahrt: River cruise from the city center out to the town Schönebeck. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. Adults 12€, children 6€

Fahrt in den Abend: Rivercruise in the evening. Starts and ends at the mooring Petriförder. 15€ for everyone

There are numerous shopping malls all over the city. In the center you have Karstadt, which used to be a mall during the cold war and is therefore the oldest of the city with its building still representing socialist architecture. After the reunification the city center got several new shopping malls. The biggest of them is called Allee Center and has 3 floors. Also located in the city center are the Ulrichshaus and the City Carré. You will also find numerous stores (as well as bars and cafés) along the road Breiter Weg, which used to be one of the largest shopping streets in Europe before WWII and has now regained most of its popularity with modern architecture.

Some malls were also established in the suburbs of Magdeburg like the Elbe-Park, Flora-Park, Börde-Park and Pfahlberg. You will find pretty much all kinds of goods at any of the named places.

For the most part stores are open from 8am to 20pm (22pm in some cases) from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays only the large malls open until 20pm, smaller stores are open until 12:00 or 18:00. On Sundays stores are usually closed apart from stations and petrol stations.

• Solo Food, Berliner Chaussee 53 (39114 Magdeburg, +49 391-811 69 83. Mo - So 10:00 - 22:00. Indian/Pakistani Cuisine, e.g., chicken curry, chicken karahi, chicken vindaloo, chicken jalfrezi. 9 Euro.
• Curry 54.
• Qilin.
• Tokiohaus.
• Wenzel Prager Bierstuben.

Solo Food, Berliner Chaussee 53 (39114 Magdeburg, +49 391-811 69 83. Mo - So 10:00 - 22:00. Indian/Pakistani Cuisine, e.g., chicken curry, chicken karahi, chicken vindaloo, chicken jalfrezi. 9 Euro.

Curry 54.

Qilin.

Tokiohaus.

Wenzel Prager Bierstuben.

• Hyde, Sternstraße 29. Brilliant bar, good prices and friendly staff.

Hyde, Sternstraße 29. Brilliant bar, good prices and friendly staff.

• Helmstedt, former German-German border town during the Cold War, 55 km west (25 minutes by intercity, 45 minutes by regional train)
• Halberstadt in the foothills of the Harz mountains, old town rich in history, with a church playing a musical piece that's scheduled to end in the year 2640, 55 km southwest (45 minutes by train)
• Stendal, biggest town in the Altmark region, well-preserved old town with many medieval buildings, birthplace of J.J. Winckelmann, 65 km to the north (40–50 minutes by train)
• Dessau, with the Bauhaus school of modern architecture, Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm (World Heritage sites), 65 km southeast (45–55 minutes by train)
• Halle, Saxony-Anhalt's most populous city, rich in history with an interesting old town, birth place of George Frideric Handel, 85 km south (50 minutes by train)
• Brandenburg an der Havel, 85 km east (45–50 minutes by train; about halfway between Magdeburg and Berlin)
• Berlin, 155 km northeast (1:40 hours by regional express train)