About this place
Standing proudly in front of Magdeburg's town hall, the Magdeburger Reiter is one of the most important sculptures of the German Middle Ages. Created by the cathedral workshop around 1240, it was the first fully three dimensional, free standing equestrian monument made anywhere north of the Alps since Roman antiquity, reviving a tradition that had lain dormant for more than a thousand years. The mounted figure is almost certainly Otto the Great, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who made Magdeburg his favourite residence and was buried in its cathedral. He does not ride alone but is flanked by two attendant figures, one bearing a shield and the other once holding a banner. As a secular monument placed at the very heart of the medieval marketplace, the rider proclaimed the city's imperial privileges and the far reaching authority of its famous market law.
Key facts
- 1240 year — The stone original was carved around this date, making it the oldest free standing equestrian statue north of the Alps
- 3 figures — The monument is a group of three sandstone statues, the emperor flanked by a shield bearer and a banner bearer
- 1961 year — The fragile original was moved indoors to the Cultural History Museum for protection, replaced on the square by a copy
📍 Alter Markt, 39104, Magdeburg