Magdeburg is the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany with a population of 228.800. Magdeburg used to be one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. During the Cold War era Magdeburg’s population increased rapidly and the city became a socially and economically important center of the GDR. After the German reunification, however, most of the city's economy was shut down. Although Magdeburg is in a continous modernization process and its cityscape changed rapidly, it has to face the same problems like almost all cities of the same size in Eastern Germany: a decline of population due to more attractive jobs in western Germany. The division of Germany is still visible in some ways. Nonetheless Magdeburg has become a modern city with numerous interesting sights of high importance and uniqueness, as well as many parks, which make Magdeburg the third greenest city in Germany. New shopping malls and other attractions have changed the cityscape enormously. Today Magdeburg has the largest retail area in relation to its overall area of whole Germany. Magdeburg is home of two of Germany's top ranking universities, which make it attractive to college students from all over Europe. Other scientific insitutions, like the Max-Planck-Insitut, and one of the largest sites of the Fraunhofer Institut, make Magdeburg an important city for international research. Today's industry includes traditional and also new branches. The company R??stfein is one of the best coffee brands in eastern Germany, and the company Abtshof is known for its traditional and unique vodka production. The world's first artificial sweetener was produced in Magdeburg and is still in production. The production of wind energy is one of the newer industry branches. Magdeburg is one of the greenest cities in Europe and the second greenest city in Germany. Riding your bike in Magdeburg is a perfect freetime activity. Since most of the streets have cycle tracks on the sides you will not...