Magdeburg Cathedral, Magdeburg, Germany
Magdeburg's Cathedral is one of my
favorite parts of the city. It is arguably the
trademark of Magdeburg.
Magdeburg Cathedral, dedicated to St. Maurice and St.
Catherine, is the first Gothic cathedral erected on
German soil as well as the highest cathedral in East
Germany with a height of 341.2 feet (104m). The
beginning of the cathedral can be traced back to 937
when Emperor Otto the First founded a monastery.
Otto the First had many precious Italian pieces of art
shipped to Magdeburg (such as the baptismal font and
columns) which can still be admired in today's
cathedral. Together with the Emperor's palatinate the
monumental cathedral formed the center of the so-called
"Third Rome". When Otto the First died in 973,
he was buried at the side of his wife Editha in a tomb
in the Magdeburg Cathedral. In 1207, the imperial
cathedral suffered extensive damage in a devastating
fire. Two years later reconstruction work began on the
site of the former building and it took more than 300
years to build the monumental and venerable cathedral of
today. [More
about the Magdeburg Cathedral]
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