Dom

Central Germany


Magdeburg’s main historical landmark traces its roots to 937 when Otto I founded a Benedictine monastery and built it into a fully fledged cathedral within two decades. The burial place of the king and his English wife Editha, it's packed with artistic highlights ranging from the delicate 13th-century Magdeburg Virgins sculptures to a haunting anti-war memorial by Ernst Barlach. The original building was destroyed by a fire, then rebuilt as a Gothic three-aisled basilica with transept, choir and pointed windows.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Central Germany attractions

1. Grüne Zitadelle

0.17 MILES

This piglet-pink building with trees growing from its facade and meadows sprouting on its rooftops was the final design of Viennese artist Friedensreich…

2. Kulturhistorisches Mueum

0.2 MILES

This restored and enlarged museum boasts the original Magdeburger Reiter statue from 1240. A gilded copy is on Alter Markt.

3. Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen

0.22 MILES

Magdeburg’s oldest building, a decommissioned medieval monastery, is now a museum presenting regional sculptures and contemporary art from Saxony-Anhalt…

4. Rathaus

0.52 MILES

After the original bronze door of the Rathaus (town hall) on Alter Markt was destroyed by WWII bombing, local artist Heinrich Apel designed the current…

5. Elbauenpark

1.75 MILES

The Elbauenpark was carved out of the landscape for a 1999 garden exhibition, and has rose, sculpture and other gardens along with a butterfly house. Its…

6. Wasserstrassenkreuz

7.86 MILES

You’ll rub your eyes in disbelief when you first see it: a massive, water-filled bridge straddling the Elbe River. The Wasserstrassenkreuz is Europe’s…

7. John Cage Orgel Kunst Projekt

29.61 MILES

The performance of American avant-garde composer and musical theorist John Cage's Organ²/ASLSP began in the shell of the former Kirche St Burchardi in…

8. Schloss & Park Grosskühnau

29.92 MILES

Visitors are free to roam the delightful gardens, which include vineyards and partially restored fruit plantations. The neoclassical Schloss Grosskühnau,…