Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Magdeburg Cathedral was the first Gothic church in Germany, built in a major city that served as the powerbase for Otto the Great, king of the Germans.
Today, Magdeburg is a little-visited city in former East Germany, best-known to motorists whizzing by on the Hanover- Berlin autobahn. Cologne Cathedral -- newer than Magdeburg’s -- ranked as Germans’ favorite tourist sight in a Tourism Association study. Magdeburg’s church, built in 1209, didn’t feature in the top 15.
Why is it so overlooked, by foreigners and Germans alike?
Rainer Kuhn, a portly, genial archaeologist leading excavations in and around the cathedral, perches on a pew and pauses for a moment to think.
“It is partly to do with recent history,” Kuhn says in a southwest German accent. “The East German regime was not particularly positive toward emperors or the church. Research into Cologne Cathedral began in 1946, so there is much more knowledge. And in general in Germany, the further east you go, the thinner the population and the fewer visitors you get.”
Magdeburg is celebrating the cathedral’s 800th birthday with an exhibition opening today, called “Aufbruch in die Gotik” (The Birth of the Gothic Era) at the Cultural History Museum. The show includes 80 exhibits dug up by Kuhn and his team. Its stars are Otto the Great, who is buried in the cathedral, and his first wife, Queen Editha.
Editha’s Remains
Otto (912-973) was in 962 crowned emperor of what would later become the Holy Roman Empire. A sculpture known as the “Magdeburger Reiter” (Magdeburg Horseman) from 1240, believed to be a portrait of him, is a prize exhibit. As far as is known today, it was the first freestanding equestrian statue created since the Roman era.
His English wife, Editha, makes her star turn in a lead sarcophagus unearthed in the cathedral by Kuhn and his team last year. They found it hidden inside a later tomb. Editha had been reinterred in 1510, more than 500 years after her death.
Inscribed on the top of the small lead tomb were the words: “This coffin contains the remains of Queen Editha.”
“We discovered the sarcophagus with a miniature camera,” Kuhn said. “We opened it in November. Astonishingly, it was full. Full of bones, textiles and mould. All this is being analyzed in the coming months. Of the skeleton, about a quarter has survived, I would guess. As far as the textiles are concerned, it is clear that in 1510, whoever reburied her used a new cloth and put everything found in the old grave into that.”
Imperial Politics
Editha’s marriage to Otto was sanctioned by English royalty, helping to legitimize his rule.
“But from what we know, it was more than politics -- he loved her very much,” Kuhn said. “She died early, between the ages of 33 and 36. When we analyze her bones, we will know more about her. Was she big, small? Why did she only have two children? It’s not many for this period. How did she live? Did she suffer diseases? What did she eat?”
To Kuhn, for all its 800 years, Magdeburg Cathedral is the “new” church. He is looking for its predecessor, built by Otto and Editha. The 1209 cathedral that stands today, with its beautiful marble columns, baptismal font and sandstone sculptures, was constructed on the site overlooking the Elbe river after an earlier church was destroyed by fire in 1207.
So far, Kuhn says, it looks as though there are two churches under the cathedral and the square in front of it.
“It was thought that the building on the square may have been Otto’s palace,” Kuhn explained. “But we found the first grave there in 2001 and then lots more -- at least 10. So we know it isn’t a palace, it must have been a church.”
Two Cathedrals?
The archaeologist has now turned his attention to what is under the cathedral. Evidence of further tombs suggest that it was also a church, he said.
“Both buildings have the measurements of cathedrals,” he said. “There might be a chronological difference. But they both existed in parallel for a significant time.”
Kuhn said the excavations have unearthed hundreds of pieces of marble brought by Otto from Italy, though only 10 percent of the area has been excavated.
“This was imperial politics, plain and simple,” Kuhn said. “The marble says ‘I am the successor of the Roman emperors and Charlemagne.’ Magdeburg was Otto’s strategy for spreading Christianity and empire east of the Elbe.”
As well as Kuhn’s findings, the Magdeburg exhibition borrows from 126 other institutions in 11 countries, according to the organizers.
“Aufbruch in die Gotik” runs through Dec. 6. For more information, go to http://www.gotik2009.de. For more information about the excavations in Magdeburg, go to http://www.domgrabungen-md.de.







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