Magdeburg

Magdeburg, city in north central Germany, capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, on the River Elbe. Magdeburg is an important river port and rail junction and a centre of commerce and industry. Located in the centre of a beet-growing region, its sugar refineries are a key part of its economy. Other factories produce motor vehicles, chemicals, iron and steel products, machinery, paper, and textiles.

Known from 805 as an outpost of the Saxons, Magdeburg was made the seat of an archbishopric in 968; it was ruled by archbishops who were also princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The city was a powerful member of the Hanseatic League, but in 1524, when it embraced the Reformation, and subsequently joined the Schmalkaldic League in 1531, it incurred the wrath of the emperor. Religious tensions continued, and as a result Magdeburg was burned in 1631 (with the loss of about 25,000 lives) during the Swedish phase of the Thirty Years' War. At the close of the war in 1648 the archbishopric was converted into a secular duchy and ruled by the electorate of Brandenburg. Most of the city was destroyed in World War II. The central areas have been rebuilt and many of the historic buildings restored or reconstructed. From 1953 to 1990, it was the capital of the Magdeburg District of East Germany. The composer Georg Philipp Telemann was born here in 1671. Population 226,700 (2005 estimate).