Germany · Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburger Dom

Magdeburg Cathedral (Magdeburger Dom) is dedicated to Saints Mauritius and Katharina. Its history is closely connected with Emperor Otto I. He had a church built in Magdeburg and founded the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 968. In particular, it was intended to support ecclesiastical organization and missionary work in the areas east of the Elbe and Saale. Magdeburg thus became a center of Ottonian rule. After his death in 973, Otto I was buried in the cathedral church of the time; his tomb is located in the present-day cathedral.

After the predecessor building was largely destroyed in a city fire in 1207, construction of the present cathedral began in 1209. The work extended over several centuries, with lengthy interruptions. The western towers were not completed until 1520. The long construction period explains why different stages in the development of medieval architecture can be recognized in the building.

The furnishings include a medieval sculpture of Saint Mauritius. It was created in the 13th century and depicts the saint as an African. According to tradition, Mauritius was a Roman officer and Christian martyr; Otto I promoted his veneration as patron saint of the Empire. The cathedral also houses Ernst Barlach’s “Magdeburger Ehrenmal,” created in 1929, which addresses death and mourning resulting from the First World War.

The German Federal States series began in 2006. Each year, a federal state was presented with a building or landmark. The order was generally based on the rotating presidency of the Bundesrat. Sachsen-Anhalt held the presidency from November 2020 to October 2021; the President of the Bundesrat was the then Minister-President Reiner Haseloff. As a result, the issue for the state fell in 2021. The choice of the cathedral highlighted a building that refers both to Magdeburg’s medieval history and to the city’s role as the present-day state capital.