Emergency protection of Holy Roman Emperor Otto

Emperor Otto of the Cathedral of Magdeburg in northeastern Germany is underway for an emergency recovery and stability plan. The State Monument Conservation and Archaeology Office Saxony-Anhalt (LDA) found such a serious damage that time is the essence of saving this cultural site of great historical significance.

Otto I, also known as Otto the Great, inherited the Duke of Saxons and King of East Francia (part of the ancient Frank Empire, Basically corresponding to today’s Germany), his father Henry I. Henry was crowned emperor by the pope, fighting carefully and hard-working battles with other German tribes, Margmas and the Danes expanded and strengthened his son’s inheritance The Kingdom of Otto picked up where his father left, weakened the power of the feudal aristocracy, unified Germany into a centralized country under his rule, and eventually defeated Magyars. Then, he would Attention turned to Italy and conquered the candid kingdom of Italy in 961 (Lombardy, Tuscany and Spoleto, the calves of the boots). When he was nearby, he went to Rome and was exampleed by Charlemagne the Great Inspired by Pope John XII as the Roman Emperor. By certain standards, Otto was considered the first Holy Roman Emperor to be different from the Charlemagne Empire. Of course, he was the first of the uninterrupted rulers. He will hold the title until Napoleon conquered Germany and abdicated in 1806 the last Holy Roman emperor.

Otto I spent ten years in Rome trying to consolidate his power in Italy and gain recognition from the Byzantine Emperor. He returned to Germany in 972. Less than a year later, he died in Memleben. His heart was buried there in the Church of St. Mary, and his embalmed body was transferred to the Cathedral of Magdeburg, where he was buried next to his first wife, Queen Eadgyth, the granddaughter of Emperor Alfred the Great.

Lying in a stationary state, Otto The Great is a sarcophagus made of a carved limestone and decorated with Fuji on all four sides. The cover is a reused antique marble slab. When the cathedral was rebuilt in the 13th century, his tomb was moved to the remaining internal choir.

The grave is often monitored by the Saxony-Anhalt Cultural Foundation and the LDA, and recent inspections have found damage to the exterior of limestone limestone and marble covers, mainly due to stabilization measures taken when the grave was last opened in 1844. . The worst offender is installing iron clips to keep thin walls stable. Iron is corroding and expanding, causing severe cracks that are left to their own equipment and may damage the sarcophagus and cover them. More iron in question comes from the planks, which are nailed inside the sarcophagus, an incredibly misleading attempt to strengthen the fragile walls.

The protector is also worried about the status of the contents of the sarcophagus. Interventions in 1844 showed that wooden coffins contained human remains and textiles that had been plagued by many centuries ago. The camera threaded into the sarcophagus found holes and cracks in the wood, and the skeletal remains were no longer in their articulated original position. Fluctuations in temperature and humidity in the cathedral environment penetrate the interior of the sarcophagus through cracks and joints.

Since the sarcophagus and contents are too fragile to move, the measures necessary to repair and stabilize Otto’s tomb can only be taken on site. Instead, almost the entire high chorus space where the sarcophagus is located is surrounded by wooden boards to create an in-situ protective room. The damage will be inspected in detail in various non-invasive methods and then recorded digitally and photographically.

The marble cover will have to fall off to repair the damage and inspect the wooden coffin. Once the lid is closed, you won’t wear a complete protective clothing to prevent contamination.