Kollegiatstift St. Peter und Paul

A collegiate foundation once stood in Magdeburg’s Neustadt, now part of the city centre. Founded in 1200 by Archbishop Ludolf of Kroppenstedt, it began south of the cathedral in Sudenburg before moving north in 1228–29 under Archbishop Albrecht I of Käfernburg. The new site lay along today’s Peter-Paul-Straße, where the collegiate buildings once formed a distinct quarter. The foundation held lands around Olvenstedt as well as in the immediate neighbourhood. During the Thirty Years’ War the entire complex was destroyed when Magdeburg was sacked.

The collegiate church of St Peter and St Paul was one of four similar institutions in the city. Its canons followed a common life under a provost appointed by the archbishop. Records from the 13th century list endowments made by local nobles and merchants. After the war the site was cleared and later built over, so little remains above ground today. Archaeologists have traced the foundations beneath modern streets and cellars.

Visitors walk along Peter-Paul-Straße where the old collegiate precinct once stood. Nearby streets preserve the memory of the foundation in their names. The area forms part of Magdeburg’s historic Neustadt quarter, close to the cathedral and the Elbe river. A modest plaque marks the likely location of the former church. The collegiate’s story is told in the nearby monastery museum.