A formative figure in European history, Otto the Great, has been resting in the Magdeburg cathedral for centuries. Now restoration work has opened unique insights into this final resting place of an emperor, because the stone sarcophagus was opened. Inside is a simple wooden coffin in which the restorer team found textile residues, egg shells and the bones of an older, unusually tall man – presumably from Otto I. More detailed analyzes should now show whether these bones really come to him.
Otto I., also called Otto the Great, was a formative figure in European history. He was the king of the East Franconia, then also Italy and was crowned emperor in 962. He laid the foundation for a revival of the Roman Empire and the later Holy Roman Empire. During its rule, the Reich area experienced a cultural and economic upswing, and Otto of the Great intensely promoted churches and monasteries.
Magdeburg played a special role for Otto I, which he made a archbishopric in 968. After his death in 973, the emperor was buried in the Magdeburg Cathedral. His tomb is central to the domestic choir of the cathedral. His sarcophagus consists of a monolithic block made of limestone on all four sides. The cover forms a reused antique marble slab that protrudes on the sides above the block. As early as 1945, a supporting metal construction was added to the sides. However, experts from the Saxony-Anhalt of the Cultural Foundation and the State Office for Monument Conservation and Archeology in 2024 noted in one of the regular reviews of the tomb.
Restoration of a imperial grave
It was therefore decided to restore the valuable and historically significant tomb. A team of restorers and other experts has been in the process of carefully taking off and restoring and restoring the tomb of Otto’s great tomb of Otto of the Great. “Otto the Great wrote European history and left significant traces in Saxony-Anhalt,” said Minister of State and Minister of Culture Rainer Robra. “In addition to the securing of his tomb in the Magdeburg Cathedral from a conservative and monument conservation perspective, there are now unique occasions on its research.”
In January 2025, Otto I’s grave in the Magdeburg cathedral was covered with a kind of protective hut made of wooden panels, within which the difficile work on the historically significant sarcophagus can be carried out. The restorers initially carried out a detailed drawing and photographic documentation of the tomb and the externally visible damage and created a digital 3D model of the tomb. Sarcophagus and underground were also examined using Georadar and Ultrasound. The experts found that moisture had penetrated the sarcophagus – probably due to some brackets and nails already corroded in the 19th century.
First look inside the sarcophagus
Then followed a delicate step: In March 2025, the approximately 300 kilogram marble cover plate was removed from the sarcophagus under the highest safety precautions. For the first time, the restorers received a view of the simple coffin made of pine wood inside. Radiocar bondatures showed that this wooden coffin was made from the high Middle Ages of different old woods. “In all likelihood, it was made when Otto’s bones of the Great after the cathedral fire of 1207 and the subsequent new building of the cathedral were released,” explains the State Office for Monument Protection. More detailed studies of the wooden coffin showed that its upper area is still well preserved. In the lower part, however, the coffin was exposed to rising moisture and the wood is severely damaged and decomposed, as the conservators found. A board found between stone sarcophagus and wood coffin was apparently already attached in the Middle Ages to cover smaller cracks in the wooden coffin.
In mid -June 2025 the time had come: The researchers also took the lid of the wooden coffin for the first time. This was attached to the coffin with three iron nails, which initially had to be prepared. In the open coffin of Otto of the Great, scattered human remains of a male, older individual were with body height for the Middle Ages – most likely the bones of Otto of the Great. The team plans various anthropological and bio -archaeological analyzes to check the identity of the dead and to learn more about its illnesses, lifestyle and external appearance.
Bones, textile residues and egg shells
In addition to the bones, the Ottos of the Great also find remains of textiles, plant residues and sediment. Under the textiles, a red and a blue colored fabric with diamond pattern stand out. The fragments are sometimes very fragile and in need of preservation. The coffin also contains bowls of eggs. “The addition of eggs is not unusual in Christian graves of the Middle Ages, since the egg is a symbol of Christ’s resurrection,” explains the state office. In the next step, the bones and all other remains in the coffin must be carefully recovered and removed. The research team will then temporarily move the sarcophagus in order to get to the surface and to be able to insulate it better against moisture and to stabilize it. Once this has been completed, the old wood coffin is replaced by a new one and the bones can then be put back in.
“The grave of Otto of the Great in Magdeburg Cathedral is of outstanding cultural-historical importance for Saxony-Anhalt. We are obliged to preserve this place of remembrance of German and European history for the future,” emphasized Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff. “I would like to thank the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archeology, the Saxony-Anhalt Culture Foundation and everyone else who contribute to the urgently needed preservation of the tomb.”
Source: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum for Prehistory
