Magdeburg Cathedral

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Magdeburg Cathedral (

The first church built in 937 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 300 years starting from 1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in 1520. Despite being repeatedly looted, Magdeburg Cathedral is rich in art, ranging from antiques to modern art.

History

Previous building

The first church was founded September 21, 937 at the location of the current cathedral was an

The entire cathedral St. Maurice was destroyed on Good Friday in 1207 by a city fire. All but the southern wing of the cloister burned down. Archbishop Albrecht II von Kefernburg decided to pull down the remaining walls and construct a completely new cathedral, against some opposition of the people in Magdeburg. Only the south wall of the cloister is still standing. The exact location of the old church remained unknown for a long time, but the foundations were rediscovered in May 2003, revealing a building 80 m long and 41 m wide. The old crypt has been excavated and can be visited by the public.

The place in the north of the cathedral (sometimes called "new marketplace", Neuer Markt, now: Cathedral square = in German language: Domplatz) was occupied by an imperial palace (Kaiserpfalz), which was destroyed in the fire of Good Friday 1207. In the southeast corner of the Domplatz stood a second large church, the "North Church", which burned down 1207 and was not rebuilt after the fire.^[1] The stones of the ruin served for building the cathedral. The presumptive remains of the palace were excavated in the 1960s.

Construction of the current building

The highly educated Prince-Archbishop Albert I of Käfernburg, having traveled in Italy and France, decided to construct the new cathedral modelled upon the Gothic architecture that had intrigued him in France. The French style was completely unknown in Germany, and the hired craftsmen only gradually mastered it.

The construction of the choir started in 1209, only two years after the fire that destroyed the previous church, but this choir is still in a very Romanesque style, initially still using Romanesque groin vaults, combined with a gothic center stone, which however is not needed for Romanesque groin vaults.

The Gothic influence increased especially between 1235 and 1260 under Archbishop Wilbrand. As the construction was supervised by different people in the span of 300 years, many changes were made to the original plan, and the cathedral size expanded greatly. The people of Magdeburg were not always happy with this, since they had to pay for the construction. In some cases already constructed walls and pillars were torn down to suit the wishes of the current supervisor.

Construction stopped after 1274. In 1325, Archbishop Burchard III. von Schraplau was killed by the people of Magdeburg because of extreme

In 1901 a steam heating was installed. It needed one railway car with coal to made a temperature from 57,2 °F = 14 °C in winter. Ernst Röver build a new main organ with pneumatic key and stop action, 3 manuals and 100 stops in 1906.

The frequent Allied bombings of World War II completely destroyed the windows of the cathedral. During the heaviest bomb attacks on January 16, 1945, some vaults were destroyed. In February or March 1945 one firebomb from a deep flying attack hit the cathedral on the west facade between the towers, destroying the facade and the Röver-organ. Fortunately, the fire brigades were able to extinguish the flames on the roof structures in time, so damage to the cathedral was only moderate. Also the steam heating was destroyed in WW II and to now not rebuilt. The cathedral was opened again in 1955, and a new organ with mechanical action and 37 stops from Alexander Schuke Orgelbau was installed over the "paradies door" in 1969.

With the end of World War II and the establishment of the communist-led German Democratic Republic in 1949, Magdeburg fell under Soviet control and the ownership of the cathedral to the GDR. Communist leaders tried to suppress religion as a potential threat to communist doctrine, thus being active in church was a social disadvantage. The eradication of religion could not be accomplished, however, and weekly peace prayers were held in the cathedral beginning in 1983 in front of the Magdeburger Ehrenmal, a sculpture by Ernst Barlach. This led to the famous Monday demonstrations of 1989 (similar to those in Leipzig), which played a significant role in the German reunification process.

The cathedral is currently undergoing a reconstruction phase that began in 1983 under the East German Government. In 1990, a number of solar cells were installed on the roof, marking the first solar cell installation on a church in East Germany. The solar cells provide energy for use in the church, with excess energy being added to the regional power network. The maximum output was 418 watts. In 2004, a funding drive started in 1997 for a new main organ was completed, collecting €2.2 million. The new main organ was built by the firm of Alexander Schuke Orgelbau (Werder an der Havel) near Potsdam and was completed in May 2008 and dedicated on Trinity Sunday, May 18, 2008. Specs: ~36 tonnes, 4 manuals, 93 stops and 6193 pipes.^[3]

Barry Jordan of

The Schelle, 1500 kg, tone f¹, manufactured in 1396, is only for the clock and hits the quarters of an hour.

The two largest bells and the Schelle are in the North tower, the Orate since 1994 in the spire. The "Dominica" was out of order since ≈2004, but it has been repaired in summer 2019, and now is awaiting installation together with the new "Amemus" in the North tower in the following years.

In the next years eight new bells from 440 kg to 14000 kg will be installed in both towers. The first new bells, the "Amemus" with 6525 kg (tone g⁰) for the North tower and the "Benedicamus" with 1300 kg (tone e¹) for the South tower were manufactured in September and October 2022 by the Bell-manufacturer Bachert in Neunkirchen. The next five little bells for the south tower with the tones d¹, f sharp¹, g¹, a¹ and h¹, made by Bachert, followed in 2023.^[5] The "Credamus" with 14 metric tons and the tone d⁰ will be installed at the former place of the "Maxima" (destroyed in 1540) in the South tower and will be the second heaviest ringing bell in Germany (after the Petersglocke in Cologne cathedral).^[6]

Architecture

The current cathedral was constructed over a period of 300 years starting from 1209, and the completion of the steeples took place only in 1520. As there were no previous examples of gothic architecture in Germany, and German craftsmen were still very unfamiliar with the style at the start of the construction. Hence they learned by doing, and their progress can be seen in small architectural changes over the construction periods, which started with the Sanctuary in the east side of the church near the river Elbe and ended with the top of the towers. This sanctuary shows a strong Romanesque architecture influence. Unlike most other Gothic cathedrals, Magdeburg Cathedral does not have flying buttresses supporting the walls.

The building has an inside length of 120 metres, and a height to the ceiling of 32 metres. The towers rise to 99.25 and 100.98 metres, and are among the highest church towers in eastern Germany. The layout of the cathedral consists of one

A secondary building around a large non-rectangular cloister is connected to the south side of the cathedral. The cloister, whose south wall survived the fire of 1207 and is still from the original church, was parallel to the original church. Yet, the current church was constructed at a different angle, and hence the cloister is at an odd angle with the church.

The ground around the

Art

Despite having lost much to plunderers, Magdeburg Cathedral is rich in art, ranging from antiquities to modern art. Highlights include:

• Marble porphyry and granite columns removed from buildings in Ravenna for use in the apse of the Ottonian basilica;
• The late-antique, porphyry baptismal font.
• The tomb of Otto I, the first Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor (962 - 973). When the tomb was opened in 1844, a skeleton and remains of clothes were found, but no grave goods, which were presumably stolen during the Thirty-Years War. The Latin inscription on the bronze plaque is modern.
• The (incomplete) sculpture of Saint Maurice, created around 1250, is the first realistic depiction of an ethnic African in central European art. It shows the same high degree of naturalism as the founder's effigies of Naumburg Cathedral. The same sculptor carved the image of Saint Catherine.
• The sculpture known as The Royal Couple (Herrscherpaar), located in the sixteen-sided chapel, also dates from c. 1250) may represent Otto I and his consort, Edith.
• The sculptures of the five wise and the five foolish virgins (see
  List of Bible stories
  ), also around 1250. This is the most remarkable piece of art in the cathedral. The five wise virgins are prepared and bring oil to a wedding, whereas the five foolish virgins are unprepared and bring no oil. Hence they have to go find oil and subsequently arrive late and cannot join the wedding anymore. The unknown artist masterfully expresses the emotions in the faces and the body languages of the girls, showing a much more realistic expression than what was common in art around that time. All figures are different, and have ethnic Slavic features. The sculptures are outside of the north entrance to the transept.
• The seats in the choir from 1363 are masterfully carved and show the life of Jesus. The unknown master also created the seats in the choir in Bremen's Cathedral.
• The Magdeburger Ehrenmal by Ernst Barlach was ordered as a heroic war memorial, but due to his voluntary participation during World War I Barlach was against the war and showed the pain and suffering of the war instead. This created a great controversy, and the work was almost destroyed. The spot in front of this sculpture was also the starting point of the Monday demonstrations.
• The Lebensbaumkruzifix (literally: Tree of life cross) is a painted bronze sculpture from 1986 and expanded in 1988 that shows Jesus nailed to a tree instead of a cross. Jesus is attached to the tree only with his hands and feet, and is otherwise hanging freely. The sculpture was designed not only to be viewed from the front but from all sides. The tree is barren except for a small leaf of hope/life where the blood of Jesus drips on the tree. The artist, Prof. Jürgen Weber, wanted the sculpture to be the centerpiece near the altar, but the sculpture was placed on the south side of the transept against his wishes.
• The Magdeburg Ivories, 17 carved panels thought to be created for an unidentified object in Magdeburg Cathedral around the time of its dedication and now dispersed in museums across the world, a prime example of Ottonian art.

Saint Maurice

It was not until the Middle Ages that the portrayal of blackness arose in art,^[7] evident in the sculpture of Saint Maurice in Magdeburg Cathedral. However, during this time, much of the portrayal of blackness in art was to emphasize social and racial hierarchy, so, by portraying blackness in sculpture, it was easier for viewers to understand that the use of different skin colors was to demonstrate "the other."^[8] The attention to black facial structure to portray foreignness can be traced back to Hohenstaufen iconography and the Crusades, as there was a rising interest in black social standing during the period.^[9] This led to the emergence of black portrayals in art, particularly under Frederick II, who had black Muslims brought to Lucera, Apulia, to become his personal servants. Thus they became a large part of the art he commissioned.^[10] During Fredericks's reign, due to his interest in the Hohenstaufen tradition, black people were depicted as servants, specifically intelligent guardians of the royal treasury, or in high court positions. Yet, rather than defining them through race, there was greater attention to detail in facial structure, which was used to indicate their foreignness.^[11] Looking at Saint Maurice, it is clear that he embodies the traits of the time, and the shift towards naturalism in sculpture during the Gothic period, as there is a focus on the portrayal of his distinctly black features.^[12] The statue of Saint Maurice changed the idea of black Africans in art from a violent and savage-like stereotype to that of a saint and martyr.^[12] The portrayal of Saint Maurice in a position of power is evident through his clothing, as he is dressed as a mighty knight, making it clear that he is not a servant. This sculpture not only represents blackness, but the importance of African ancestry as well, as this sculpture was one of the earliest representations of a black African in European art history.^[12] This statue thus became a model in the representation of blackness in medieval European sculpture.

References

Sources

• Nicola Coldstream (2002) "Medieval Architecture", Oxford History of Art, Oxford University Press,
  ISBN 0-19-284276-5
  .
• "Der Dom zu Magdeburg", DKV Kunstführer Nr. 415/2, Munich.
• Buchholz, Ingelore (2001): Magdeburg: Der Stadtführer, Verlag Janos Stekovics,
  ISBN 3-932863-84-4
  .
• Sussman, Michael (1997): Der Dom zu Magdeburg, Passau.
• Ullmann, Ernst (1989): Der Magdeburger Dom: ottonische Gründung und staufischer Neubau, Leipzig

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cathedral of Magdeburg.

• Official website of the cultural heritage of Saxony-Anhalt (in English)
• Official website of the evangelical cathedral church (in German)
• virtual media website with 360° views and pictures (in German)

1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.