Medieval Germany. Magdeburg Cathedral and Quedlinburg

Magdeburg and Quedlinburg.
One day tour. It is better to start the tour at 9:00.

Magdeburg is 130 km from Berlin. The most famous cathedral in Germany is Cologne, but the very first Gothic cathedral is in Magdeburg. It was founded in 1209. Unlike the Cologne Cathedral, whose towers were completed until the 20th century, the construction of the towers of the cathedral in Magdeburg was completed already in the 16th century (104 m! height).

Located on a small hill off the coast of the Elbe, Magdeburg Cathedral rises above the city. On closer inspection, one can find traces of the completed Romanesque era in this Gothic temple. Before the fire of 1207 on this site was the monastery of St. Mauritius, founded by Otto the Great in 937

Emperor Otto the Great is one of the most prominent figures in German history. Son of a king of the Frankish state, in 962 he took the imperial crown from the hands of the Pope and became ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Otto and his wife Edith are buried in Magdeburg. You will get acquainted with the history of the cathedral and monastery, their architecture, see the burials of Otto and Edith, the Archbishops of Magdeburg, hear many myths and legends associated with them.

Not far from the cathedral are the remains of the fortress wall. Monastery garden and towers of the fortress. 200 meters from the medieval buildings is the building of the Green Citadel. This is the last project of the Austrian artist and architect Hundertwasser. There's no straight angle here. This cheerful building painted in the spirit characteristic of the artist (built according to the project of Hundertwasser in 2005, the artist himself died in 1999) is located on the site of gray monotonous blocks of the GDR. Magdeburg was badly damaged in the 1945 bombing. The city was significantly transformed in Soviet times. But we would like to show the old Germany, so after coffee in the Viennese café in the green citadel, we will go to Quedlinburg. Unique for North-East Germany, the town is under UNESCO protection. About 1.5 thousand half-timbered houses, some of them are 600 years old. Cathedrals in Romanesque and Gothic styles. Monastery and temple in the Romanesque style of St. Matilda. The burial place of the first Saxon king, father of Otto the Great, Heinrich birdelov, owner of the legendary “Spear of Destiny” After lunch in a typical German restaurant (brewery) go to Berlin.