Magdeburg

Industrial city and capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on the River Elbe; population (2003 est) 224,100. Products include chemicals, metal products, precision instruments, paper, textiles, and machinery; food-processing is also important, primarily in sugar refining and flour milling. A former capital of Saxony, Magdeburg became capital of Saxony-Anhalt on German reunification in 1990. A large inland port, the city was linked by canal with the Rhine and Ruhr rivers in 1938. It was heavily bombed during World War II; about 65% of the city, including the entire old city, was destroyed.

Magdeburg was a leading member of the Hanseatic League, and has a 13th-century Gothic cathedral (damaged by bombing). There is a technical university here. Magdeburg county has an area of 11,530 sq km/4,451 sq mi, and a population of 1,250,000.