Editing Magdeburg (section)

====Cathedral====
{{Main|Cathedral of Magdeburg}}

One of Magdeburg's most impressive buildings is the [[Protestant Church in Germany|Lutheran]] Cathedral of Saints [[Catherine of Alexandria|Catherine]] and [[Saint Maurice|Maurice]] with a height of {{cvt|104|m|2}}, making it the tallest church building of eastern Germany. It is notable for its beautiful and unique sculptures, especially the "Twelve Virgins" at the Northern Gate, the depictions of [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I the Great]] and his wife [[Eadgyth|Editha]] as well as the statues of [[Saint Maurice|St Maurice]] and [[Catherine of Alexandria|St Catherine]]. 
The predecessor of the cathedral was a church built in 937 within an abbey, called St. Maurice. Emperor Otto I the Great was buried here beside his wife in 973. St. Maurice burnt to ashes in 1207. The exact location of that church remained unknown for a long time. The foundations were rediscovered in May 2003, revealing a building {{cvt|80|m|2}} long and {{cvt|41|m|2}} wide.

The construction of the new church lasted 300 years. The cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice was the first [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] church building in Germany. The building of the steeples was completed as late as 1520.

While the cathedral was virtually the only building to survive the massacres of the Thirty Years' War, it suffered damage in World War II. It was soon rebuilt and completed in 1955.

The square in front of the cathedral (also called the ''Neuer Markt'', or "new marketplace") was occupied by an imperial palace (''Kaiserpfalz''), which was destroyed in the fire of 1207. The stones from the ruin were used for the building of the cathedral. The presumed remains of the palace were excavated in the 1960s.