Green Citadel of Magdeburg

Green Citadel from street

The Grüne Zitadelle ("Green Citadel") is a mixed use building in Magdeburg designed by Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Completed in 2005, the structure was one of Hundertwasser's final projects before his death in 2000.

History

The Green Citadel is located in the city center on Magdeburg's main shopping street Breiter Weg, near Cathedral Square and State Parliament building. Construction was overseen by developer Gero AG and the contractor Montage-Bau GmbH. Artistic oversight was provided by Guener Janura AG, a company founded by Hundertwasser.[1] The total cost to construct the Green Citadel was approximately 27 million euros.[2]

The site of the Green Citadel was first occupied by St. Nicholas's Church (demolished 1959), and several surrounding buildings which had been destroyed by bombing in World War II. In the 1970s, a Plattenbau was constructed on the site. In 1995, Rolf Opitz then chairman of "Stadt Magdeburg von 1954" proposed approaching Hundertwasser to redesign the existing apartment structure. Hundertwasser initially agreed, but later decided to construct a new building so as to allow for greater creative freedom.[1] This was done with the hopes that Magdeburg could attract greater tourism in the post-war era.[3]

Features

The Green Citadel is roughly 121,632 square feet. The mixed-use structure contains retail space, cafe, restaurant, theater, art space, daycare center, information center, office space, medical center, and 55 apartments.[1] The Green Citadel also has two courtyards and a large fountain.

Each of the windows is different, combining a mix of window panes, window shapes, and window ornamentation. Tenants also have the right to decorate the facade around their windows ("Fensterrecht").[4]

The building's name comes from its grass covered roof and large number of trees on, around, and within the building.[5] Some trees were planted on the roof while others took root along exterior walls of the apartments. These trees are subsequently cared for by the respective residents of the apartments.[6] The building's exterior is intended to change with minimal upkeep as the trees grow and paint fades, emphasizing the aging of the structure.

Pictures

References

  1. 1 2 3 “Hundertwasser - DIE GRÜNE ZITADELLE VON MAGDEBURG.” 2015. Hundertwasser.Com. 2015. https://hundertwasser.com/en/architecture/arch128_die_gruene_zitadelle_von_magdeburg_1555.
  2. ↑ Report (archived version from January 26, 2012, in the Internet Archive) in *Brand eins* magazine, November 2011.
  3. ↑ Racoń-Leja, Kinga. (2019). Impact of Wartime Destruction and Post-War Politics on the Social Reconstruction of a Modern City – on the Example of Magdeburg. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 471. 112099. 10.1088/1757-899X/471/11/112099.
  4. ↑ “Window Dictatorship and Window Rights · Hundertwasser Manifestos and Texts · Hundertwasser.” 2025. Hundertwasser.At. 2025. https://www.hundertwasser.at/english/texts/philo_fensterdiktatur.php.
  5. ↑ “Grüne Zitadelle in Magdeburg Von Friedensreich Hundertwasser | Sdg21.” Sdg21.Eu, 6 Jan. 2020, https://sdg21.eu/en/db/gruene-zitadelle-in-magdeburg. Accessed 14 July 2026.
  6. ↑ “Hundertwasser - Text Detail.” Hundertwasser.Com, https://hundertwasser.com/en/texts/dein_fensterrecht_-_deine_baumpflicht. Accessed 14 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.