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Introducing Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Wittenberg is the very crucible of the Reformation that led to the division of the Christian Church into Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century. A hotbed of progressive ideas then, it saw long-term resident Martin Luther write his famous 95 theses, priests get married, and educators like Philipp Melanchthon argue for schools to accept female pupils.
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Not a lot has happened since, but then with such a legacy it hasn’t been needed. The town retains its significance for the world’s 340 million Protestants, including 66 million Lutherans, as well as for those who simply admire Luther for his principled stand against authority.
As a result, Wittenberg’s popularity has steadily grown since reunification in 1990 and – like it or not – even a nascent Luther industry has developed.
‘Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders’ (Here I stand. I can do no other), Luther once declared during a determined anticorruption campaign that changed the face of Europe and the course of history. Today, you can buy souvenir socks bearing the same credo.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
