Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [174]
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MAGDEBURG
0391 / pop 230,000
There’s no denying that much of Magdeburg is aesthetically challenged, thanks to WWII bombs and socialist city planners in love with wide boulevards and prefab concrete apartment blocks, the so-called Plattenbauten. But don’t let this deter you: the capital of Saxony-Anhalt has plenty of surprises in store. This is, after all, one of the country’s oldest cities, founded some 1200 years ago and home to the first Gothic cathedral on German soil. Magdeburg’s newest architectural attraction, meanwhile, is the whimsical Grüne Zitadelle (Green Citadel), the last building of eccentric artist-architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Thanks to 17,000 students, night owls can look forward to the most happening nightlife between Hanover and Berlin, then nurse their hangover in one of the city’s many parks and gardens. There’s so much green space here, in fact, that Men’s Health magazine has named Magdeburg the country’s second-greenest city (after Hanover). The Elbe River, too – demoted to industrial waterway in GDR times – is again a vital part of the city, lined by beer gardens, beach bars, a promenade and a paved bikeway.
Back in the 10th century, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, regarded Magdeburg as his favourite place. Find out why for yourself.
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Orientation
Magdeburg’s city centre is reasonably compact and easily navigated thanks to the postwar street grid. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the train station to the Grüne Zitadelle and Dom and another five to the Elbe River. The main streets are east–west Ernst-Reuter-Allee and north–south Breiter Weg, which links Hasselbachplatz and the university. The city’s main parks are all east of the river.
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Information
INTERNET ACCESS
Mocc@ ( 734 6350; www.mymocca.de; Olvenstedter Strasse 45a; per hr €3; 10am to last customer Mon-Fri, from 6pm Sat) Terminals and wi-fi.
LAUNDRY
Anne’s Waschparadies ( 541 2593; Walther- Rathenau-Strasse 60; 9am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat)
MEDICAL SERVICES
Krankenhaus Altstadt ( 7910; Max-Otten-Strasse 11-15) Modern, full-service hospital with emergency services.
POST
Post office (Breiter Weg 203-206; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Tourist office ( 194 33; www.magdeburg-tourist.de; Ernst-Reuter-Allee 12; 10am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat Apr-Oct, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 3pm Sat Nov-Mar)
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Sights & Activities
The tourist office publishes free self-guided tour pamphlets that can also be downloaded from their website. Throughout town, bilingual information panels provide background about key sights and instructions for accessing additional details via your mobile phone.
DOM
This grand cathedral ( 543 0436; admission free; 10am-6pm May-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov, Dec & Apr; 10am-4pm Jan-Mar) is Magdeburg’s main historical landmark and traces its roots to 937 when Otto I (912–73) founded a Benedictine monastery and had it built up into a full-fledged cathedral within two decades. Alas, fire destroyed the original a couple of centuries later. But by then the Gothic style was all the rage, which is why its successor is a three-aisled basilica with transept, choir and pointed windows. The burial place of Otto I and his English wife Editha, it’s packed with artistic highlights ranging from the delicate 13th-century Magdeburg Virgins sculptures to a haunting antiwar memorial by Ernst Barlach. The church also has impressive eco-credentials: in 1990 it became the first one in eastern Germany to get its own solar roof.
Learn more during German-language tours (adult/concession €3/1.50; at 2pm daily, 11.30am Sunday) or ask for an English booklet (€3.50).
GRÜNE ZITADELLE
It’s piglet pink and resembles an iced