Today we went to Wittenberg where we were given a couple hour tour of the small city. Our tour started with the Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church. The original door had burned down years ago but it was still cool to see a replica that was dedicated to Luther’s story. We then went inside of the Castle Church where we got to see where Martin Luther is buried as well as another important professor of Wittenberg. This was a really cool experience seeing the grave of someone who I’ve learned so much about growing up and have studied heavily.
Next, we walked towards the city square while our guide told us more about Luther’s life. Mostly about his relationship with his wife and how much money they made tougher. Luther owned multiple houses in the city of Wittenberg. In the city square, there is a large statue commemorating Luther and the legacy he left behind.
Close to the town square is the Saint Marien Church where Luther gave over 2,000 sermons over his life span. It was amazing to see the exact place where such an important theologian worked and preached to the citizens of Wittenberg. In the church, there were many murals and paintings of Luther showing the type of man he was and the life he lived. The most interesting painting to me was a painting for the students of the university. And the students signed on either the left side or the right side depending on if they passed or failed. Those who passed went to heaven while those who failed descend to hell.
Finally, we went to the university square where Luther’s house was located. Outside of the house was a gift from his wife that was very common in that time period. The university square continued to grow as Luther’s fame grew. What started as one building then became an entire square where students came to learn from Luther.
Wittenberg was a very cool experience and probably one of my favorite cities. It was very small and had a home like feeling to it. Learning more about Martin Luther’s personal life was very interesting.