Mauritius und Katharina , is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the country. It is the proto-cathedral of the former Prince-Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Today it is the principal church of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany.
The south steeple is The cathedral is likewise the landmark of Magdeburg , the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt , and is also home to the grave of Emperor Otto I the Great and his first wife Edith. The first church built in at the location of the current cathedral was an abbey called St.
Maurice, dedicated to Saint Maurice. The current cathedral was constructed over the period of years starting from , and the completion of the steeples took place only in Despite being repeatedly looted, Magdeburg Cathedral is rich in art, ranging from antiques to modern art. The first church was founded September 21, at the location of the current cathedral and was an abbey called St.
Maurice St. Otto wanted to demonstrate his political power after the successful Battle of Lechfeld in , and ordered the construction even before his coronation as Emperor on February 2, Many of those antiques were subsequently used for the second church in The church had most likely one nave with four aisles, a width of 41 meters and a length of 80 meters.
The height is estimated as up to 60 meters. The wife of Otto, Queen Eadgyth grand-daughter of Alfred the Great , was buried in the church after her death in ; isotopic analysis of her bones confirms her early life in Wessex. The church was expanded in Hence, the church became a cathedral. In , Emperor Otto I selected Magdeburg as the seat of an archdiocese with Adalbert von Trier as archbishop , even though the city was not centrally located but at the eastern border of his kingdom.
