• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 2227 0

birthday cake accidentally stuck in the oven for a few minutes. It has towers, turrets, golden spheres, trees growing from its facade and meadows sprouting on its rooftops. Right across from the cathedral, the Grüne Zitadelle (Green Citadel; 620 8655; www.gruene-zitadelle.de; Breiter Weg 9; tours adult/concession/child €6/5/2.50; information office 10am-6pm, tours 11am, 3pm & 5pm Mon-Fri, hourly 10am-5pm Sat & Sun) is Magdeburg’s newest, brightest and most inspired landmark. Completed in 2005, it was the final design of Viennese artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and perfectly reflects his philosophy of creating highly unique spaces in harmony with nature, an ‘oasis for humanity’, as the master himself put it. Inside are offices, flats and shops, as well as a small hotel (see opposite) and a cafe. If you understand German, join the one-hour guided tours to learn more about the man and his intriguing vision.

HEGELSTRASSE & HASSELBACHPLATZ

Sometimes just turning the corner in Magdeburg can transport you into another century, metaphorically at least. Step onto tree-lined Hegelstrasse, for example, and you’ll find yourself back in the early 1900s, with pristine cobbled footpaths and immaculately restored terraced buildings. It’s worth continuing on to Hasselbachplatz, the city’s pub quarter, where more pretty-as-a-picture historic streets radiate off the square.

ELBAUENPARK & JAHRTAUSENDTURM

One of Magdeburg’s finest green patches, the Elbauenpark ( 593 4263; www.elbauenpark.de, in German; adult/concession incl Jahrtausendturm & butterfly house €3/2; 9am-8pm May-Sep, reduced hours in winter) has rose, sculpture and other gardens, plus a butterfly house ( 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-4pm Nov-Mar). Its most unusual attraction, though, is the conical Jahrtausendturm (Millennial Tower; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), which soars 60m high and bills itself as the world’s tallest wooden tower. It’s fun to walk up its external spiral walkway and it looks wonderful when lit up at night. German-speakers will also be attracted by the fun, hands-on experiments and physics exhibits within.

Take tram 6 to Messegelände/Elbauenpark.

* * *

CANAL IN THE SKY

You’ll rub your eyes in disbelief when you first see it: a massive water-filled bridge straddling the Elbe River. About 15km northeast of central Magdeburg, the Wasserstrassenkreuz is Europe’s longest canal bridge and a miracle of modern engineering. The 918m-long ‘bathtub’ links two major shipping canals and has made life a lot easier for barge captains navigating between Berlin and western Germany.

You can drive yourself there (take Magdeburg-Rothensee exit off the A2), take a 4½-hour boat trip with Weisse Flotte ( 532 8891; www.weisseflotte-magdeburg.de, in German; Petriförder 1; adult/child €20.50/12; mid-Mar–Oct) or rent a bicycle (see Getting Around, Click here) and pedal along the scenic Elberadweg (Elbe River Bicycle Trail).

* * *

OTHER PARKS

Closer to town, a long stretch of the eastern river bank is hemmed in by the Stadtpark Rothehorn, with playgrounds, picnic areas, the Stadthalle concert hall and a lovely lake where you can take your sweetie for a spin in a rowboat or while away an hour or two in a beer garden. Tram 6 stops about 300m north of the lake. Ride along to the tram terminus to get to Herrenkrug Park, another popular spot for strolling and cycling.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Magdeburg’s oldest building, a decommissioned medieval monastery, is now the Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen ( 565 020; cloister admission free, museum adult/concession €2/1; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun) and presents regional sculptures and contemporary art from Saxony-Anhalt. The front door, designed by popular local artist Heinrich Apel (b 1935), is fun: you knock with the woman’s necklace and push down on the man’s hat to enter.

Apel also designed the relief bronze door of the 17th-century Rathaus (town hall) on Alter Markt square, which traces the city’s history through to 1969, as well as the gilded copy of the Magdeburger Reiter, a famous statue of a handsome lad on horseback