Architectural Magic

The Magdeburg cathedral (officially called the Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice) and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the country, has always swept the architectural vote. But what really has lovers-of-the-unusual excited, is a visit to the Green Citadel. The last of Freidensreich Hundertwasser’s buildings, it is definitely iconic. First off, the pink citadel is called Green, because of the twigs and leafy branches of trees peeping out from all its balconies. In Hundertwasser’s own words – the citadel, was meant to be an “oasis for humanity and nature within a sea of rational houses.” The ideas that drive the very quirky architecture (easily seen if you take a tour through its little shops and galleries, colorful corridors and rooms) are imaginative, eccentric, and colourful. That the city holds its contradictions is also clear. Walk around town a bit more and you’ll see some fine examples of the modern architecture movement, streets of colorful houses, art nouveau style homes with their floral ornamentation, and resplendent Patrician edifices.