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CATHEDRAL AT MAGDEBURG
WIENER, Jacques: Germany, 1865, Bronze, 59 mm
Obv: View of exterior DOM ZU MAGDEBURG
Rev: View of interior
On left: GRUNDSTEIN GELEGT 1209
On right: EINGEWEIHT 1363 (incorrectly indicated as 1863 in Van Hoydonck)
Signed: J. WIENER / J. WIENER
Ref: Van Hoydonck 210; Reinecke 29;Bouhy 40;
Ross M271; Weiss
BW275
This cathedral, officially called the Cathedral of Saints
Maurice and Catherine, is the most important building in
Magdeburg. It was begun in the 13th century and completed in the 16th
century and was dedicated to St. Maurice and St. Catherine. The structure,
with two 344-ft-high towers, exhibits an interesting blending of Romanesque
and Gothic architecture.
Magdeburg, which at the beginning of the 9th century was a small trading
settlement on the frontier of Slavonic lands, owes its early importance to
Otto I the Great who established a convent there about 937. Although burned
down in 1188, Magdeburg became a flourishing commercial town during the 13th
century, and was an important member of the Hanseatic league. It became
celebrated for establishing in the 13th century an autonomous municipal
administration, a model of which, known as the "Magdeburg law",
was later widely adopted not only in Germany but also in many countries of
eastern Europe.
During the Thirty Years War, the city was sacked and burned, and almost
40,000 of its inhabitants were butchered. By the peace of Westphalia (1648)
the archbishopric was converted into a secular duchy. In 1806, the fortress
of Magdeburg surrendered to Napoleon and until 1813 was part of the kingdom
of Westphalia.
Side view of cathedral
Statue of Saint Maurice
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