Germany: Magdeburg – Magdeburg Cathedral
The magnificent Magdeburg Cathedral (aka Magdeburger Dom) traces its roots to 937 AD, when a church was founded here by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. A massive for those times structure grew by 968 AD, and Otto I brought a lot of expensive materials and stone from northern Italy. The current structure however was built over 300 years between 1209 and 1520. The twin towers rise to 100m (actually the south tower is 99.25m (325 ft) tall, and the north tower is is 100.98m (331 ft) tall. The interior is absolutely amazing and full of medieval treasures, despite the fact that the cathedral was repeatedly looted over the centuries and what’s left is perhaps less then 10% of the original. Otto I is entombed here. There is also a courtyard full of engraved walls and floors. An interesting fact is that the soil in Magdeburg is super soft and boggy because of the Elbe River and no tall buildings can be built in Magdeburg – except for the cathedral which has a massive monolith rock, known as Domfelsen, as its foundation.
