Germany

Commemorative coin

2021

Saxony Anhalt " Cathedral of Magdeburg "

(Part of the National series " Lander’-series I ")

Official Journal of the European Union

The design shows the Magdeburg Cathedral, the first Gothic-style cathedral to be constructed on German soil. The inner part also features the name ‘SACHSEN-ANHALT’ and the issuing country’s country code ‘D’ at the bottom, the mint mark of the respective mint (‘A’, ‘D’, ‘F’, ‘G’ or ‘J’) as well as the the year ‘2021’ on the left and the engraver’s mark on the right. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

Construction of the first Gothic cathedral on German soil began at the instigation of Archbishop Albrecht I of Käfernburg in 1209, after the late Romanesque predecessor building was destroyed in the Magdeburg city fire of 1207. Archbishop Burchard III, who rigorously raised the beer tax, among other things, to finance the construction, was slain by outraged citizens in 1325. In 1363, the nave of the unfinished cathedral was consecrated. Construction work was resumed in 1477 and completed in 1520 under Archbishop Ernst II of Saxony. At the time of the Reformation, Magdeburg was a stronghold of Protestantism; the cathedral became Protestant in 1567. During the Thirty Years' War, army commander Tilly conquered Magdeburg in 1631. The subsequent massacre, sarcastically called the "Magdeburg Wedding", cost the lives of 20,000 citizens - Pope Urban VIII rejoiced at the "destruction of the heretic's nest". After severe damage from air raids on Magdeburg in January 1945 and restoration after the war, the cathedral was reopened in 1955. It is the burial church of the Roman-German Emperor Otto the Great (912-973) and is depicted on the coin in a north-east view.

Edge lettering

Designer