First mentioned in records in 805 and now the regional capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg has an incredible array of monuments that serve as reminders of its turbulent history.
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The townscape has been shaped by
Magdeburg's cultural heritage and features historical monuments as well as the massive buildings dating from the period of communist town planning.
Throughout its colourful history this town on the
River Elbe has been subjected to devastation and destruction and enjoyed frequent periods of prosperity, and this is still very much reflected in the current townscape.
Architectural monuments dating from all the historical periods such as the imperial cathedral and
Monastery of Our Lady hark back to the former glory and wealth of this former centre of imperial power.
Besides the contemporary art museum in the Monastery of Our Lady, other important museums include the
Cultural History Museum with its exhibition commemorating
Kaiser Otto the Great, the man who redrew the map of Europe in the early Middle Ages.
The Millennium Tower in Elbauen Park has an equally exciting interactive exhibition covering 6,000 years of science and technology.
The Cultural History Museum collection currently includes paintings from the 15th to 20th centuries along with textiles, precious wall hangings from Flanders, furniture spanning several centuries, ceramics and some special collections.
The Museum of Natural History houses a collection of more than 25,000 objects from the fields of geology, mineralogy, palaeontology, botany and zoology. Highlights include the section about the region that is today
Saxony-Anhalt with occasional detours into other climatic regions of the earth that were of importance to the region during certain geological periods.
