Alte Elbe

Yesterday afternoon we had crossed the Elbe River on a bridge. Nothing remarkable you might say, only we were in a boat at the time. The Magdeburg canal bridge , 918m long (longest in Europe) spans 228m of the river to link key canals on the west and east of the river. Two big barges can pass each other.

Built to symbolize the reunification of East and West Germany, it cost €500 million. The aim is to revitalize river transport and reduce carbon emissions. It takes 22 million tonnes of freight off road and rail.

Next stop was the historic city of Magdeburg. A lot of stuff happened there, some good, some seriously bad.

Founded in 805, it was the key city of Holy Roman Emperor Otto the First, crowned in 962. (The golden statue). It was so prosperous it was called “The Third Rome,” after Rome and Constantinople.

Fast forward to the ghastly Thirty Years War 1618-1648. Europe was ravaged by the struggle between the rulers who followed the Lutheran reforms and the Catholic League powers who fought to regain their traditional territory.

In 1631 the city, which had chosen to be Lutheran, was besieged by Catholic League Field Marshal Tilly. Hoping to be relieved by the advancing Swedish (Lutheran) army, they made the mistake of rejecting the surrender terms they were offered. Tilly’s army, now 40,000 strong, breached the walls and the troops ran amok. They burned 90% of the city and slaughtered 20,000 of the population of 25,000, men, women and children. All in the name of religion.

Magdeburg was later built up into the key fortress and barracks for the emerging Kingdom of Prussia. These barracks can still be seen as the low yellow buildings to the right of the church.

In January 1945 it was the Allies’ turn to bomb and destroy this key military target. The pane on a church door shows the women clearing the rubble brick by brick (the men were dead or prisoners of war.) The doorhandle is shaped like a trowel.

Then the Russians took control, reoccupying the barracks in their turn as Magdeburg became part of the East German so-called German Democratic Republic.

When the large Russian garrison finally left in 1991, the Magdeburgers replanted the beautiful parks and gardens destroyed by Russian tanks and lorries and replanted so many trees that their city is now the third most leafy in Germany.

Other statues celebrate the prankster Til Eulenspiegel (composer Richard Strauss wrote a famous tone poem about his tricks); and the remarkable mayor Otto von Guericke, philosopher, physicist and natural historian.

In 1658 he invented the first air pump. He then demonstrated the force of a vacuum by extracting the air from two metal half-balls, harnessing a team of eight horses to each side, and proving they could not pull it apart (shown on his statue).

The city’s cathedral of St Maurice and St Catherine was the first Gothic cathedral built in Germany, and is still the second-biggest after Cologne. It was being used for a children’s service when we arrived, but we nipped in the side door for some pictures as they left .

Star destination was the Hundertwasser Citadel. This quirky complex combines apartments, shops, a theatre, rooftop playground for children and a kindergarden.

Like all his buildings it’s a delightful mix of colours, shapes and textures, all on a human scale.Read more