MAGDEBURG CIVITAS

Magdeburg has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dededicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Magdeburg is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. Founded in 805 A.D. on the Elbe river by Charlemagne, Magdeburg was annected to the Carolingian Empire and elevated as capital of the Nordmark and fortified to resist the Slavs and Magyars assaults. Included in the Regna Germanorum with the Treaty of Verdun and poned under rule of different Saxons knights loyal to the christian emperors, with the reform of Otto I 'said the great' Magdeburg became seat of the biggest Archibishopric of eastern Europe including the bishoprics of Havelberg, Brandenburg, Merseburg, Meissen and Naumburg-Zeitz, to lead the colonisation and christianisation of lands over the Elbe river under the guide of St. Adalbert of Magdeburg consecrated first archibishop in 968 A.D. at the synod of Ravenna. At his dead the Reich Empire founder was buried in the enormous cathedral ordered by him over the ancient Benedictine abbey of Saint Maurice, in which crypt had been already buried his first wife Edith, already eleved dower of the civitas where the emperor built a convent in 927 A.D. with the right to income from tithes and to corvée labour from the surrounding countryside and to host any royal assembly.

The crucial, strategic and political position of Magdeburg made its history during Middle Age, when received a patent giving the civitas the right to hold trade exhibitions and conventions: this formed the basis of the German town law ('Magdeburg rights'), adopted and modified throughout Central and Eastern Europe after visitors from many countries began to trade with it. From 1134 A.D. Magdeburg became the capital of Brandeburg Margraviade under rule of Albert 'said the Bear' of the Ascani dinasty, already Duke of Saxony and Marquise of Lausitz, rising its power and prestige all around, so that in XIII century A.D. the city entered the Hanseatic League: Magdeburg became one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire, thanks to its active maritime commerce towards West (towards Flanders and its capital Ghent), with the countries of the North and the Baltic seas, maintaining traffic and communication with the interior and the Eastern christian regnas capitals as Gniezno, Prague and Budapest.

So the citizens constantly struggled against the archbishop becoming nearly independent from him at end of XV century A.D. when M. Luther attended school in Magdeburg, where he preached and caused the city's defection from Roman Catholicism: so the Protestant Reformation quickly founded lots of adherents in the city, causing the emperor Charles V repeatedly outlawed the unruly town, which had joined the rebel Schmalkaldic League. As it had not accepted the Augsburg Interim decree (1548), Magdeburg was besieged by the new Elector of Saxony, Duke Maurice, but it retained its independence and the rule of the archbishop was replaced by administrators belonging to Protestant dynasties: then in the following years the city gained the reputation as a stronghold of Protestantism and became the first major city to publish the writings of its fautor. There began the decadence of the ancient christian civitas: in 1629 A.D. Magdeburg withstood its first siege during the Thirty Years' War by Albrecht von Wallenstein and 2 years later the imperial troops stormed the city, massacred the inhabitants and burned it. With the Peace of Westphalia, Magdeburg was to be assigned to the Duchy of Prussia and its ruler dinasty of Hohenzollern, since then following its destiny and of Germany.

During the Second World War the Allies bombed the city in 1945 A.D. and destroyed much of the city centre, so today less then half of Magdeburg consists of buildings from before. After the war, the city belonged to the German Democratic Republic until 1990 A.D. when Germany reunited: since then many new construction projects have been implemented and old buildings have been restored, especially for the celebration of Magdeburg 1,200th anniversary in 2005 A.D.. Nowadays Magdeburg is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt Lander within Germany, a significant centre for industries including machines, healthcare, mechanical engineering, environmental technology, circular economy, logistics, culture, wood and information and communications technology. In city centre are present numerous cultural institutions such as the Theater Magdeburg, the Museum of Cultural History, the Jahrtausendturm, added in contemporary epoch to the historical Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice, the Unser Lieben Frauen Monastery (Our Lady) of XI century A.D., containing the church of St. Mary, the Magdeburger Reiter ('Magdeburg Rider'), the first free-standing equestrian sculpture north of the Alps probably of the Emperor Otto I, the City Hall (dated 1698 A.D.) rebuilt after the Thirty Years War and the Landtag, the seat of the government of Saxony-Anhalt. To remember for tourist the Magdeburg Christmas market, which is an attraction for over one million visitors every year and other events such ad the Stadtfest, the Christopher Street Day, the Elbe in Flames and the Europafest Magdeburg: the 'autumn fair' (formerly men's fair) of Magdeburg goes back to Germany's oldest folk festival, a tradition dating back to 1010 A.D. when the holy feast for the Theban Legion was celebrated in honour to one of them, the city patron Saint Maurice.

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