Magdeburg

Magdeburg is the capital city and the second largest city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Elbe River.

Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the town's cathedral after his death. Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The city is also well known for the Sack of Magdeburg, at the hands of Catholics in 1631, which sparked outrage across the Protestant world and was the worst massacre of the Thirty Years' War. Prior to this, Magdeburg was one of the largest and most prosperous German cities, and a notable member of the Hanseatic League. Magdeburg has been destroyed twice in its history: the second occasion was through aerial bombing from the Allies, which destroyed much of the city in 1945.

Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto-von-Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.

Magdeburg is a situated on autobahn route 2, and hence is at the connection point of the East (Berlin and beyond) with the West of Europe, as well as the North and South of Germany. As a modern manufacturing centre, the production of chemical products, steel, paper and textiles are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical engineering and plant engineering, ecotechnology and life-cycle management, health management and logistics.

In 2005 Magdeburg celebrated its 1200th anniversary. In June 2013 Magdeburg was hit by record breaking flooding.