Magdeburg Cathedral (Magdeburger Dom)
Rising above the Elbe with twin towers of weathered sandstone, Magdeburg Cathedral is the oldest Gothic church in all of Germany. Beneath its soaring vaults rests Otto the Great, the first Holy Roman Emperor, who chose this city as his beloved home.
About this place
Dedicated to Saints Maurice and Catherine, the Magdeburg Cathedral is a landmark of European art and a monument to imperial ambition. Its foundation stones were laid in 1209 on the ashes of an earlier church that had burned down on Good Friday two years before, and the work stretched across three full centuries until the steeples were finally crowned in 1520. Because no Gothic building had yet been raised on German soil, its masons learned the daring French style as they built, and their growing skill can still be read in the stone as the eye travels from the older eastern choir up to the twin towers. Inside, ancient columns of polished porphyry and granite brought from Italy adorn the choir, framing the tomb of Emperor Otto the Great and his English queen Eadgyth. Around the northern porch stand the celebrated sculptures of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, their carved faces alive with joy and despair, while the interior stretches an astonishing 120 metres beneath a vault that floats some 32 metres overhead.
Key facts
- 1209 year — Construction began, making it the first Gothic cathedral raised on German soil
- 973 year — Emperor Otto the Great was laid to rest here beside his English queen Eadgyth
- 300 years — It took roughly three centuries to finish, the towers completed only in 1520
📍 Am Dom 1, 39104, Magdeburg