Grüne Zitadelle (green citadel)

In addition to the ‘Hundertwasserschule’ in the Luther city of Wittenberg, Magdeburg's ‘Grüne Zitadelle’ is the second building in Saxony Anhalt which was designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The project began in 1995 and was completed in 2005. The building derives its name from its roof, on which grass and bushes are planted.

 

The building is used for a range of purposes, with the ground floor containing a number of shops, a cafe and restaurant.  In addition the building is home to a theatre, an ART hotel and the 'FriedensReich' children's nursery. The upper floors contain offices, medical and legal practices and 55 apartments.

Wasserstraßenkreuz (waterway intersection)

The ‘Wasserstraßenkreuz’ to the north of Magdeburg is where the Mittelland canal crosses the Elbe river. The trough bridge, which was completed in the year 2003, forms the centre of the waterway intersection and links the Mittelland canal and the Elbe-Havel canal. Also part of the complex are the Rothensee lift lock and the parallel Rothensee water-saving lock, together with the Niegripp lock and the Hohenwarthe lock on the east bank of the Elbe which regulate the difference in altitude between the two canals.

 

The waterway intersection created a continuous link by water between the west and the east of Germany, and is well worth a visit.

Magdeburg Cathedral

Magdeburg Cathedral is the first Gothic edifice on German soil, an episcopal church of the Protestant faith in Central Germany and, as a Protestant parish church, at the same time the emblem of the city. In the tenth century Otto I erected the Cloister of St. Mauritius here, which was later to become the place of burial for him and his first wife Editha. In 1207 this Romanesque cathedral was destroyed almost completely, but the archbishop of Magdeburg immediately laid the foundations of today's Gothic building on the site.

 

The cathedral is 117 m long and 40 m wide. The towers have a height of 104 m, and the height of the interior of the building is 32 m.

Further places of interest …

  • Museum Wolmirstedt
  • romanesque cloister of ‘Unser Lieben Frauen’ in Magdeburg
  • start, centre and destination of the Straße der Romanik (Romanesque Route), Magdeburg
  • Magdeburg Cultural History Museum (regularly changing Council of Europe exhibitions)
  • Magdeburg's Elbauenpark with its wooden ‘Jahrtausendturm’ (millenium tower), featuring 6000 years of technology
  • commemorative site celebrating the work of Otto von Guericke, Magdeburg
  • river trips on the Elbe (Magdeburg Weiße Flotte)
  • Rothehornpark, Herrenkrugpark, Klosterbergegarten, Magdeburg
  • Haldensleben and Hundisburg with their Baroque castle and traditional brickworks (pottery courses)