Geography of Magdeburg
Magdeburg, Germany, a city in Saxony-Anhalt state. It is on the Elbe River, about 80 miles (130 km) west-southwest of Berlin. The city is a river port and a railway and industrial center. Magdeburg was a Saxon trading post by 805 A.D. It became a leading member of the Hanseatic League in the 1200's. The city was burned in 1631, during the Thirty Years' War.
A famous physics demonstration involving two metal hemispheres (the “Magdeburg Hemispheres”) was performed here in 1687. .) The city was severely bombed during World War II, and was taken by United States forces in 1945. From 1949 until 1990 Magdeburg was part of East Germany.
Population: 274,000.