About this place
The Fürstenwall stretches along the top of Magdeburg's old riverside fortifications, between the cathedral, the Monastery of Our Lady, and the wide sweep of the Elbe. Beginning in 1722, Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, the fearsome military reformer nicknamed the Old Dessauer, ordered the cramped double wall known as the Zwinger to be filled in and planted with lime trees, opening a shady walkway up to twelve metres wide to the city's citizens. It is remembered as Germany's first civic promenade, a place designed not for war but for leisure. Two stout medieval towers survive from the fortress of 1430, and today walkers share the path with modern sculptures, benches, and one of the finest open views of the river in the whole city.
Key facts
- 1722 year — Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau began transforming the old ramparts into a public walkway
- 12 metres — The width of the tree-lined promenade raised above the Elbe on the filled-in fortifications
- 1430 year — The surviving defensive towers Kiek in de Köken and Hinter der Möllenvogtei were built
📍 Fürstenwall 3b, 39104, Magdeburg