Wittenberg!

This Monday and Tuesday we made a trip to Wittenberg, an official Luther city. This is the city where Luther posted his 95 Theses against indulgences. Essentially, a protestant’s dream tourist attraction!

Highlights of the trip included seeing famous churches; the Schloßkirche and Stadtkirche. When we first arrived we participated in the midday prayer service at the Stadtkirche. It was a small group, and we gathered at the front of the church. By the time it was over, we turned around and the pews were half filled with people from a tour group. It was startling since I didn’t hear them come in, but it’s really cool to see how many tourists are interested in visiting churches when they travel.

On Tuesday we visited some museums. In the morning we went to the Luther house, where we saw many items featuring—who else?—Martin Luther. I stopped to pose for a picture with Katy von Bora, Luther’s wife. We also stopped by a history museum that showed what daily life was like in 20^th century Germany.

Another important figure in Wittenberg is Cranach. He was an artist, famous for paintings of Luther. We stopped by a print shop where they make ink prints of many things, including portraits by Cranach.

We also saw something I didn’t know about in Wittenberg- the Luther gardens. This is a fairly recent addition. The park is shaped like the Luther rose, with a cross that is made out of rocks in the center, surrounded by trees forming the shape of the rose. The trees are planted by various church congregations throughout the world.