The city on the high bank of the Elbe, at the gateway to the North German Plain, has repeatedly been a focal point of German and European history. Original works of art and contemporary testimonies from the museum’s collections tell the story of Magdeburg’s fate. The tour begins with the first mention of the border fortress “Magadoburg” in a legal text by Charlemagne in 805. Visitors can see for themselves the city’s medieval history, when the trading centre on the Elbe rose to become a European centre of power under the rule of Otto the Great and the archbishopric’s metropolis also became a cultural centre. Under Archbishop Wichmann, the great age of Magdeburg bronze casting began, with products being exported throughout Europe. The exhibition shows the significance of Magdeburg law and the statuary art of the Magdeburg Cathedral workshop, which is associated with the construction of the new Magdeburg Cathedral, the first Gothic cathedral east of the Rhine, starting in 1209. It also illustrates the everyday life of the Hanseatic city between the rule of the council and the power of the bishop.
Around 1500, Magdeburg claimed the rights of autonomy enjoyed by free imperial cities. The ideas of humanism and criticism of church practices strengthened the self-confidence of the patricians, who wanted to assert their municipal privileges in the judiciary and in tax collection against the canons. The first city to follow the teachings of Martin Luther was Magdeburg. In the struggle against the Interim, the return to Catholic beliefs decreed by Emperor Charles V, it was the main place of refuge for the expelled clergy, and Magdeburg developed into the propaganda centre of the Reformation. The pamphlets of the “Lord’s Chancellery” were distributed throughout the Old Empire. However, in 1631, imperial troops under General Tilly conquered the Protestant stronghold. The destruction of Magdeburg became a symbol of the horrors of the Thirty Years’ War. The monumental historical painting “The Magdeburg Maidens” drastically illustrates the downfall of one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Germany.
Under the rule of the Prussian kings, Magdeburg gained a new purpose: large models show the city complex as the largest fortress in Prussia and an architectural work of art with the Breiter Weg in the style of Magdeburg Baroque. After the Napoleonic Wars, further transformations and metamorphoses of the city followed, associated with the rapid industrialisation that began with the founding of the German Empire. The permanent exhibition shows a colonial goods shop and the hustle and bustle of the Alter Markt around 1900. The tour leads from the “Neues Bauen” (new architecture) in 1920s Magdeburg to the period of the Nazi dictatorship, which ended with the second destruction of Magdeburg on 16 January 1945. The final chapters, about the industrial city in the GDR and Magdeburg’s new role as the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, may inspire visitors to compare their own memories.
