Magdeburg

Magdeburg (German pronunciation: [ˈmakdəbʊrk]; Low Saxon: Meideborg, [ˈmaˑɪdebɔɐx]) is the capital city of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe.

Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, founder of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, was buried in the town's cathedral after his death. Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The city is also well known for the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg, which hardened Protestant resistance during the Thirty Years' War. Prior to it Magdeburg was one of the largest German cities and a notable member of the Hanseatic League. Magdeburg was destroyed twice in its history.

Magdeburg is the site of two universities, the Otto-von-Guericke University and the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.

Nowadays Magdeburg is a traffic junction as well as an industrial and trading centre. The production of chemical products, steel, paper and textiles are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical engineering and plant engineering, ecotechnology and life-cycle management, health management and logistics.

Bezirk Magdeburg

The Bezirk Magdeburg was a district (Bezirk) of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Magdeburg.

History

The district was established, with the other 13, on July 25, 1952, substituting the old German states. After October 3, 1990, it was abolished as part of the process of German reunification, becoming again part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt except Havelberg district, passed to Brandenburg.

Geography

Position

The Bezirk Magdeburg bordered with the Bezirke of Schwerin, Potsdam, Halle and Erfurt. It bordered also with West Germany.

Subdivision

The Bezirk was divided into 22 Kreise: 1 urban district (Stadtkreis) and 21 rural districts (Landkreise):

References

See also

External links

Magdeburg (electoral district)

Magdeburg is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag. One of nine districts covering the state of Saxony-Anhalt, it covers the whole of the Magdeburg district and the municipalities of Barby, Schönebeck, Calbe, Bördeland, all located in the Salzlandkreis district.

In its current form, the constituency was created for the 2009 election, replacing the former Magdeburg – Schönebeck – Wanzleben – Staßfurt constituency. The first two elections in the constituency were won by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who had held the predecessor constituency since the 1994 election. At the 2009 election the constituency was gained by The Left party. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) gained the seat at the 2013 election. The current representative is Tino Sorge of the CDU.

History and boundaries

The constituency was created for the 1990 election, the first following German reunification. It was then called Magdeburg – Schönebeck – Wanzleben – Staßfurt and included the municipality of Magdeburg, excluding the city's south-western districts of Buckau, Fermersleben, Salbke, Westerhüsen, Leipziger Straße, Hopfengarten and Reform. The 1990 election was won by the CDU, but the constituency was gained by the SPD at the 1994 election and held by them until the 2009 election. For the 2002 election the constituency was enlarged and renamed Magdeburg and was coterminous with the city of Magdeburg. It assumed its current boundaries for the 2009 election.