MAGDEBURG, a government of the Prussian province of Saxony, formed out of the ancient duchy of that name, of the county of Barby, and of all the bailiwick of Gommern except the circle of the Saal; but the principalities of Halberstadt, of Derenburg, of Quedlingburg, of Wernigerode, and of Schauen, are included within it. It extends over 4489 square miles, and comprehends fifty cities or towns once walled, three market-towns, and 1497 villages and hamlets, containing a population (in 1826) of 526,197 persons. It is divided into fifteen cir-
cles, one of which, of the same name, contains the capital of the government. The city of Magdeburg is situated on a rising ground, on the left bank of the river Elbe. It is very strongly fortified on the south side by strong lines, with ditches and sixteen bastions, and by two forts; on the north, the river is a defence, as well as the marshes beyond it, and several powerful outworks. There is a bridge leading to the citadel, which is built on an island formed by one of the branches of the Elbe. The walls are of great thickness, and though the ditches on the land side are dry, they are all undermined. The city is built in the old Saxon style, with large massive houses, and, with the exception of the high street, narrow lanes. There are, however, two good open places, the old market and the cathedral place. Some of the public buildings are magnificent, particularly the government-house and the Domkisch, the latter of which has a tower 330 feet high, which has survived the destruction that visited the city when it was stormed, plundered, and burned by the imperial army under Tilly, in the Thirty Years' War. It contains now sixteen churches, ten of which are Lutheran, the others Catholic, Calvinist, or Menonite. It is a place of great commercial as well as manufacturing industry. Its situation on the Elbe connects it with the sea, through Hamburg and the upper parts of the river, including Prussia, Saxony, and a part of Bohemia, receive their foreign productions by this channel. The goods made in Magdeburg are of linen, cotton, and woolen, hats, hosiery, corn, spirits, leather, soap, and tobacco and snuff. The fields around it are fertile, and the government is the corn granary of Prussia; and large quantities of tobacco are grown. The city and suburbs contain 52,000 inhabitants, exclusive of military. Long. 11. 33. 25. E. Lat. 52. 8. 4. N.