The ‘Magdeburger Dom’ as it is known in German (full: ‘Dom zu Magdeburg St Mauritus und Katharina’) is located in the city of Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is home to the grave of Emperor Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor, and the remains of his wife Queen Aedgyth (‘Edith of England’).
The cathedral site was originally an abbey church, called St Maurice. In 1207 the entire building was destroyed by a city fire. What ruins were pulled down, and the construction of a completely new cathedral started. Today, only the south wall of the abbey is still standing.
The foundations of the original church were discovered in May 2003, revealing it was 80 metres long and 41 metres wide. The old crypt has been excavated and can be visited.
Otto I obtained a large amount of antiquities that were used for the construction of the original church, some of which survived the fire, were re-used for the Mageburger Dom and are still visible today: antique pillars originating from Ravenna and a baptismal font made from Egyptian porphyry, that was originally a fountain and possible thousands of years old.
The latest excavations at the cathedral (2006-2009), revealed the oldest finds to date on the site, from to the late Bronze Age, 1250-750 BC, as well the intact grave of an archbishop, likely to be Wichmann von Seeburg, who in 1192 died at the age of 80 years. His body was covered with brocade, he worn gilded shoes and his archbishop’s ring and grave gifts were amongst others a chalice and a crozier.
The most spectacial find from the 2006-2009 excavations was the discovery of a lead coffin bearing Queen Eadgyth’s name and acurately recording the transfer of her remains in 1510. Inside the coffin, a nearly complete female skeleton, wrapped in silk, was found.
