Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12° 59' E, 51° 51' N, on the Elbe river. It has a population of about 50,000.

Related Topics:
Germany - Bundesland - Saxony-Anhalt - Elbe

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Wittenberg is interesting chiefly on account of its close connection with Martin Luther and the dawn of the Reformation: several of its buildings are associated with the events of that time. Part of the Augustinian monastery in which Luther dwelt, at first as a monk and in later life as owner with his wife and family, is preserved, and has been fitted out as a Luther museum. It contains numerous relics of Luther, and portraits and other paintings by the Cranachs.

Related Topics:
Martin Luther - Reformation - Augustinian - Monastery - Cranachs

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The Augusteum, built in 1564-1583 on the grounds of the monastery, is now a theological seminary.

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All Saints' Church, the Schlosskirche ('castle church'), to the doors of which Luther is said to have nailed his famous 95 theses in 1517, dates from 1439-1499; it was seriously damaged by fire in 1760 during a bombardment by the French during the Seven Years' War, was practically rebuilt, and was later (1885-1892) restored. The wooden doors, burnt in 1760, were replaced in 1858 by bronze doors, bearing the Latin text of the theses. Inside the church are the tombs of Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, and of the electors Frederick the Wise (by Peter Vischer the Elder, 1527) and John the Constant (by Hans Vischer), and portraits of the reformers by Lucas Cranach the younger.

Related Topics:
95 theses - 1517 - Seven Years' War - Philipp Melanchthon - Frederick the Wise - Peter Vischer the Elder - John the Constant - Hans Vischer - Lucas Cranach the younger

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St. Mary's Church, the parish church in which Luther often preached, was built in the 14th century, but has been much altered since Luther's time. It contains a magnificent painting by Lucas Cranach the elder, representing the Lord's Supper (with the faces of Luther and other reformers), Baptism and Confession, also a font by Hermann Vischer (1457).

Related Topics:
14th century - Lucas Cranach the elder - Hermann Vischer - 1457

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The ancient electoral palace is another of the buildings that suffered severely in 1760; it now contains archives.

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There are also Melanchthon's house and the house of Lucas Cranach the elder (1472-1553), who was mayor of Wittenberg.

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Statues of Luther (by Schadow), Melanchthon and Bugenhagen embellish the town.

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The spot outside the Elster Gate where Luther publicly burned the papal bull in 1520 is marked by an oak tree.

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