The best day so far…by far! We went first to Eisleben where Luther was born and happened to die. The church where he was baptized was closed, so we did not get to see inside. Thankfully they posted a picture of the font, etc. outside the front doors.
In the main square, there is a HUGE statue of Martin Luther. It is really magnificent and stands in the shadow of St. Andrew’s Church. We had a group picture taken here. Luther was here in February 1546 to settle a dispute between 2 princes. They settled on February 17 and the next morning, Luther died. They’re not exactly sure what it was, but he had several health problems, including kidney stones. It is said that when he passed one of these stones, he wrote to Katie that he felt like he “had been born again.” I can imagine!
At the base of the statue on the Square there are 4 scenes: The Triumph of the Reformation, Luther debating John Eck, Luther and family singing with a lute, and Luther translating the Bible from Greek into German. There is a lovely depiction of the Luther Rose on the first one, and I explained The Rose to the group. We found this icon in several places, including as a decoration among the cobblestones.
St. Andrew’s Church was lovely. They were finishing up worship at the time, and the pastor got kind of ticked off at us for standing in the back during the prayers. I tried to pray the Lord’s Prayer along with the congregation, and although I got stuck on a few words, I thought I did pretty well trying to pray it from memory.
They have a big bust of Luther in there on the west side of the chancel. Right next to him is his right-hand-man, Melanthon.
There are 2 caskets on the other side and many thought they belonged to Luther and Melanthon, but they are both buried in Wittenberg.
Across the street is the house where Luther died. We did not get to go in there either, as it was rather crowded. It cost money, too. But I did get a great shot of the house and another of the big plaque that is posted out front. From there we went to the church where he was baptized. As I said, it was closed, so we moved on to the house where we was born. Somehow I fell behind the rest of the group, and when I finally got in there, they were already gone upstairs. I managed to explain to the woman at the desk (in German) that I was with them, and she let me in without a fee. We saw the kitchen/dining area, a bedroom, and then upstairs there was a display of several of the Electoral Princes of Germany. They were called this because it was their job to cast votes for the next Pope. That’s why Frederick the Wise was so important – and why he was so powerful.
There was also a huge bronze swan on display. Jan Hus, while they were burning him at the stake, was to have said, “You may be cooking a goose, but there is a swan coming after me whom you will never roast!” Because of this, Luther took on the image of a swan as his personal “icon” sometime in the 15th century.
From there we went on to Wittenberg. Wow was that amazing! We saw where the 95 Theses had been posted – the original doors were lost in a fire several years ago, but were replaced with bronze ones that have the Theses embossed on them. We saw his pulpit – which was blocked off L - and his grave as well as Melanthon’s. Beautiful, lovely church…and immense pipe organ. It would have been thrilling to have heard “A Mighty Fortress” in there today!
From there we walked down the street to St. Mary’s Church. This church has a painting done by Lucas Cranach that depicts the apostles and Jesus at the Last Supper. But instead of the table being long and narrow (think Leo DaVinci), it is round. This was a statement against the authority of the Papacy and how faith in Jesus establishes equality. Really quite interesting.
A visit to the University of Wittenberg where Luther earned his Doctorate of Theology and became a professor was next. The Luther House is right behind it, and we got to walk through it. The house is a museum now, but there are a couple of room that are still in tact, like the living room. The light was really low in the more “authentic” spaces, so my pics are a bit blurry. But I think you can still see what I’m trying to show. I spent a good hour in there, taking all kinds of pictures.
There also a really cool statue of Katie Luther in the garden. She tended the garden and chicken coop and grew a lot of their food. Somehow I missed the stoop where they sat and drank Katie’s homemade beer together.
On the way back to the bus, I noticed the sun was shining behind the large tower of the castle church. I got a really cool picture of that!
From there we drove to Berlin. We passed the Wald See (I think) where the Nazis met to determine “The Final Solution” for the Jews (i.e. Concentration Camps and extermination). We also passed the old check point station from the Cold War days as you passed from the West into the East. Chilling. We’ll do more Nazi history stuff tomorrow. A group is going out to Sachen Hausen, which was a Concentration Camp outside of Berlin. I think I’ll head toward the Gedaechtnis Kirche (Memorial Church) instead. Plus there is hundred’s of other things to do as well.
We are staying in a very posh hotel tonight. My room is about half the size of our house in Nevada! King-sized bed with down pillows and comforters. And dinner was really good, too. All in all, I must say, it was a terrific day.
In the main square, there is a HUGE statue of Martin Luther. It is really magnificent and stands in the shadow of St. Andrew’s Church. We had a group picture taken here. Luther was here in February 1546 to settle a dispute between 2 princes. They settled on February 17 and the next morning, Luther died. They’re not exactly sure what it was, but he had several health problems, including kidney stones. It is said that when he passed one of these stones, he wrote to Katie that he felt like he “had been born again.” I can imagine!
At the base of the statue on the Square there are 4 scenes: The Triumph of the Reformation, Luther debating John Eck, Luther and family singing with a lute, and Luther translating the Bible from Greek into German. There is a lovely depiction of the Luther Rose on the first one, and I explained The Rose to the group. We found this icon in several places, including as a decoration among the cobblestones.
St. Andrew’s Church was lovely. They were finishing up worship at the time, and the pastor got kind of ticked off at us for standing in the back during the prayers. I tried to pray the Lord’s Prayer along with the congregation, and although I got stuck on a few words, I thought I did pretty well trying to pray it from memory.
They have a big bust of Luther in there on the west side of the chancel. Right next to him is his right-hand-man, Melanthon.
There are 2 caskets on the other side and many thought they belonged to Luther and Melanthon, but they are both buried in Wittenberg.
Across the street is the house where Luther died. We did not get to go in there either, as it was rather crowded. It cost money, too. But I did get a great shot of the house and another of the big plaque that is posted out front. From there we went to the church where he was baptized. As I said, it was closed, so we moved on to the house where we was born. Somehow I fell behind the rest of the group, and when I finally got in there, they were already gone upstairs. I managed to explain to the woman at the desk (in German) that I was with them, and she let me in without a fee. We saw the kitchen/dining area, a bedroom, and then upstairs there was a display of several of the Electoral Princes of Germany. They were called this because it was their job to cast votes for the next Pope. That’s why Frederick the Wise was so important – and why he was so powerful.
There was also a huge bronze swan on display. Jan Hus, while they were burning him at the stake, was to have said, “You may be cooking a goose, but there is a swan coming after me whom you will never roast!” Because of this, Luther took on the image of a swan as his personal “icon” sometime in the 15th century.
From there we went on to Wittenberg. Wow was that amazing! We saw where the 95 Theses had been posted – the original doors were lost in a fire several years ago, but were replaced with bronze ones that have the Theses embossed on them. We saw his pulpit – which was blocked off L - and his grave as well as Melanthon’s. Beautiful, lovely church…and immense pipe organ. It would have been thrilling to have heard “A Mighty Fortress” in there today!
From there we walked down the street to St. Mary’s Church. This church has a painting done by Lucas Cranach that depicts the apostles and Jesus at the Last Supper. But instead of the table being long and narrow (think Leo DaVinci), it is round. This was a statement against the authority of the Papacy and how faith in Jesus establishes equality. Really quite interesting.
A visit to the University of Wittenberg where Luther earned his Doctorate of Theology and became a professor was next. The Luther House is right behind it, and we got to walk through it. The house is a museum now, but there are a couple of room that are still in tact, like the living room. The light was really low in the more “authentic” spaces, so my pics are a bit blurry. But I think you can still see what I’m trying to show. I spent a good hour in there, taking all kinds of pictures.
There also a really cool statue of Katie Luther in the garden. She tended the garden and chicken coop and grew a lot of their food. Somehow I missed the stoop where they sat and drank Katie’s homemade beer together.
On the way back to the bus, I noticed the sun was shining behind the large tower of the castle church. I got a really cool picture of that!
From there we drove to Berlin. We passed the Wald See (I think) where the Nazis met to determine “The Final Solution” for the Jews (i.e. Concentration Camps and extermination). We also passed the old check point station from the Cold War days as you passed from the West into the East. Chilling. We’ll do more Nazi history stuff tomorrow. A group is going out to Sachen Hausen, which was a Concentration Camp outside of Berlin. I think I’ll head toward the Gedaechtnis Kirche (Memorial Church) instead. Plus there is hundred’s of other things to do as well.
We are staying in a very posh hotel tonight. My room is about half the size of our house in Nevada! King-sized bed with down pillows and comforters. And dinner was really good, too. All in all, I must say, it was a terrific day.
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