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MAGDEBURG

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 301 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MAGDEBURG , a See also:

city of See also:Germany, See also:capital of the Prussian See also:province of See also:Saxony, a fortress of the first See also:rank and one of the See also:principal commercial towns of the See also:German See also:Empire. It lies in a broad and fertile See also:plain, mainly on the See also:left See also:bank of the See also:Elbe, 88 m. S.W. from See also:Berlin and at the junction of See also:main lines to See also:Leipzig, See also:Brunswick, See also:Cassel and See also:Hamburg. Pop. (1885), 159,520; (1890), 202,234; (1905), 240,661. It consists of the See also:town proper, and of the five suburbs of Friedrichstadt, Wilhelmstadt, See also:Neustadt, Sudenburg and Buckau; the last four are separated from the town by the ramparts and See also:glacis, but are all included within the new See also:line of advanced bastions, while Friedrichstadt lies on the right bank of the See also:river. In the Elbe, between the old town and the Friedrichstadt, lies an See also:island whereon stands the citadel; this is See also:united with both See also:banks by See also:bridges. With the exception of the Breite Weg, a handsome thoroughfare See also:running from See also:north to See also:south, the streets of the town proper are narrow and crooked. Along the Elbe, however, extend See also:fine promenades, the Furstenwall and the Fiirsten Vier. To the south of the inner town is the See also:Friedrich Wilhelms Garten, a beautiful See also:park laid out on the site of the celebrated See also:convent of Berge, which was founded in 968 and suppressed in 'Soo. By far the most important See also:building in Magdeburg is the See also:cathedral, dedicated to SS See also:Maurice and See also:Catherine, a handsome and massive structure of the 14th See also:century, exhibiting an interesting blending of Romanesque and See also:Gothic See also:architecture. The two fine western towers were completed about 1520.

The interior contains the tombs of the See also:

emperor See also:Otto the See also:Great and his wife Edith, an See also:English princess, and the fine See also:monument of See also:Archbishop Ernest (d. 1513), executed in 1495 by See also:Peter See also:Vischer of See also:Nuremberg. The Liebfrauenkirche, the See also:oldest See also:church in Magdeburg, is an interesting Romanesque edifice of the 12th and 13th centuries, which was restored in 189o-1891. The See also:chief See also:secular buildings are the town-See also:hall (Rathaus), built in 1691 and enlarged in 1866, the See also:government offices, the See also:palace of See also:justice, the central railway station and the See also:exchange. The Breite Weg and the old See also:market contain numerous fine gable-ended private houses in the See also:style of the See also:Renaissance. In front of the town-hall stands an equestrian statue of Otto the Great, erected about 1290. The See also:modern streets are spacious, and the houses well-built though monotonous. There are two theatres, an agricultural See also:college, an See also:art school, several gymnasia, a commercial and other See also:schools, an See also:observatory, and two fine hospitals. The first See also:place amongst the See also:industries is taken by the ironworks (one being a See also:branch of the See also:Krupp See also:firm, the Grusonwerke, employing about 4000 hands), which produce See also:naval See also:armour and munitions of See also:war. Of almost equal importance are the See also:sugar refineries and See also:chicory factories. Then come establishments for making See also:tobacco, gloves, See also:chocolate, artificial manure, See also:cement, See also:varnish, chemicals and pottery. There are also distilleries and breweries, and factories for themanufacture of See also:cotton and See also:silk goods.

Magdeburg is the central market in Germany for sugar and chicory, but trades extensively also in cereals, See also:

fruit, vegetables, groceries, See also:cattle, horses, See also:wool, See also:cloth, See also:yarn, See also:leather, See also:coal and books. A new See also:winter See also:harbour, made at a cost of £400,000, facilitates the river See also:traffic along the Elbe. Three million tons of merchandise pass Magdeburg, going upstream, and nearly 1 million tons, going downstream, annually. Magdeburg is the headquarters of the IV. See also:corps of the German See also:army and the seat of the provincial See also:court of See also:appeal and administrative offices, and of a Lutheran See also:consistory. See also:History.—Magdeburg, which was in existence as a small trading See also:settlement at the beginning of the 9th century, owes its See also:early prosperity chiefly to the emperor Otto the Great, who established a convent here about 937. In 968 it became the seat of an archbishop, who exercised sway over an extensive territory. Although it was burnt down in 1188, Magdeburg became a flourishing commercial town during the 13th century, and was soon an important member of the Hanseatic See also:League. Its See also:bench of jurats (Schoppensluhl) became celebrated, and " Magdeburg See also:law " (Magdeburger Recht), securing the administrative See also:independence of municipalities, was adopted in many parts of Germany, See also:Poland and Bohemia. During the See also:middle ages the citizens were almost constantly at variance with the archbishops, and by the end of the 15th century had become nearly See also:independent of them. It should, however, be noted that Magdeburg never became a See also:free city of the Empire. The town embraced the See also:Reformation in 1524, and was thenceforth governed by See also:Protestant titular archbishops (see See also:BISHOP). On the refusal of the citizens to accept the " See also:Interim," issued by the emperor See also:Charles V., Magdeburg was besieged by Maurice of Saxony in 1550, and capitulated on favourable terms in See also:November 1551• During the See also:Thirty Years' War it was twice besieged, and suffered terribly.

It successfully resisted See also:

Wallenstein for seven months in 1629, but was stormed and sacked by See also:Tilly in May 1631. The whole town, with the exception of the cathedral, and about 140 houses, was burned to the ground, and the greater See also:part of its 36,000 inhabitants were butchered without regard to See also:age or See also:sex, but it recovered from this deadly See also:blow with wonderful rapidity. By the See also:peace of See also:Westphalia (1648) the archbishopric was converted into a secular duchy, to fall to See also:Brandenburg on the See also:death of the last See also:administrator, which happened in 1680. In 18o6 Magdeburg was taken by the See also:French and annexed to the See also:kingdom of Westphalia, but it was restored to See also:Prussia in 1814, on the downfall of See also:Napoleon. Otto von See also:Guericke (1602–2686), the inventor of the See also:air-See also:pump, was burgomaster of Magdeburg. See also:Count Lazare See also:Carnot died here in See also:exile, and was buried in the See also:cemetery, but his remains were exhumed in 1889 and conveyed to See also:Paris. See also:Luther was at school here, and sang in the streets for See also:bread with other poor choristers. See W. Kawerau, Aus Magdeburgs Vergangenheit (See also:Halle, 1886) O. von Guericke, Geschichte der Belagerung, Eroberung and Zerstorung von Magdeburg (Magdeburg, 1887) ; M. Dittmar, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Stadt Magdeburg (Halle, 1885) ; F. W. See also:Hoffmann, Geschichte der Stadt Magdeburg (Magdeburg, 1885–1886) ; F.

Hiilsse, See also:

Die Einfuhrung der Reformation in der Stadt Magdeburg (Magdeburg, 1883); R. Volkholz, Die Zerstorung Magdeburgs 1631 (Magdeburg, 1892); W. Leinung and R. Stumvoll, Aus Magdeburgs See also:Sage and Geschichte (Magdeburg, 1894) ; and the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Magdeburg (1892).

End of Article: MAGDEBURG

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