Magdeburg (Low Saxon: Meideborg [1]), the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. Emperor Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor, lived during most of his reign in the town and was buried in the cathedral after his death. Magdeburg's version of German town law, known as Magdeburg rights, spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The city is also well-known for the 1631 Sack of Magdeburg, which hardened Protestant resistance during the Thirty Years' War. History and his wife Edith arrive near Magdeburg]] Although settlement on the site had existed for centuries, the town is first mentioned in writing as Magadoburg in the Diedenhof Capitulary, dating to 805. By this date, the emperor Charlemagne had conquered the small fishing and trading town. In 919 King Henry I the Fowler