Sunday 11 January 2014 in Wittenberg
Almost halfway from Leipzig to Berlin lies Wittenberg, the home of Martin Luther.
We took an early train from Leipzig so that we could spend the day in Wittenberg. It was a very cold morning and we had to walk quite a distance from the railway station in freezing temperature. (2.5 km to the Castle church).
 |
Indicators at the main station |
We need to get to grips with what is presently happening in the Luther city Wittenberg:-
500 years of reformation - 500 trees for Wittenberg.
"Even if I
knew that the world were to collapse tomorrow, I would still
plant my apple
tree today" (ascribed to Martin Luther).
In 2017 (October, 31),
Lutheran churches will commemorate the 500th anniversary of
the Reformation
(Jubilee) that had its beginnings in Lutherstadt Wittenberg almost 500 years ago.
As a means of
giving expression to commemoration, the Luthergarten (Luthergarden)
has been established in Wittenberg on the grounds of the former town
fortifications. In connection with this project, 500 trees will be planted
at different places in the city region, giving a concrete sign of the
optimism so clearly expressed in Luther's apple tree quote.
Churches from
all over the world and from all confessions are being invited to sponsor
one of the 500 trees to be planted in Wittenberg, and at the same
time to plant a corresponding tree in a place that is significant for
their own church.
In order to insure a successful planting and, thereby, a
successful tree sponsorship, the trees must be of a substantial size. Therefore
a local landscaping company is planting the trees that later will be adopted.
Each tree sponsor will get a certificate provided by the LWF (Lutheran World Federation) Centre in
Wittenberg.
The
cost for buying a tree, for caring for it for two years until it takes roots
and for providing a tree plaque is 500 euros (presently about R7000.00 (South African Rand))
Through this
cooperative project, the Luthergarten will stimulate interaction and
set a communication process in motion. Positive impulses will
emerge and spread out into town, the region, the country and, finally,
into the world. In this way, the far-reaching significance of the Reformation
will become tangible.
The project has
been initiated by the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, with
support from the German National Committee of the LWF (Lutheran World
Federation) and the United Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) (German:
Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands) and by cooperation with Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Refer to the map:-
From the station (9) to the Castle Church (1) is about 2.5 Km. After delivering our luggage into the 'keep safe' at the station we walked past the Luther Oak (8) where Luther burned the papal bull and then to the Luther Haus museum (7) only to discover that we were too early for it's opening. That gave us time for breakfast (10) in an interesting restaurant called the 'Gaststatte Im Haus Des Handwerks'. It was nice and warm inside and the place looked like an old craft workshop. After an enjoyable breakfast we could now obtain access to the museum.
The entrance to the Luther House and museum.
The Luther Haus where Luther lived and is now the museum.
Everywhere there were signs of restoration work being done in anticipation of the Jubilee in October 2017. The Luther Haus was later closed for restoration work in August 2016.
There are lots to see in the museum. From the library of books behind glass, some of the paintings by Cranach and perhaps the most remarkable is Luther's study preserved as it was in his time. The floor is so old and rotten that they had to build a little walkway through the room almost like a bridge. There are also many interesting documents on display and so on and on.
Strolling down Collegianstrasse one passes a few interesting spots. Not far from the Luther Haus is the house (6) where Phillip Melanchthon, Luther's good friend and co-reformationist lived. Then further on one reaches the Old Town Hall and market square where there is a statue of Luther and one of his friend Phillip. This is also where the Town Church, St. Mary's church (4) is situated. In this church Luther preached regularly. Legend has it that he delivered more than 2000 sermons there. The market square is indeed a very attractive market square! It was remarkably left intact during WW2.
 |
| The market square with the Town Church in the background. Note the mentioned statues. |
To the south of the square is the The Cranach Courtyards (2), which housed the homes and art studios of Lucas Cranach, a 16th-century artist who documented the Reformation with his portraits and woodcuts.
Eventually we reached the Castle Church and was disappointed to be barred entrance due to restoration. By this time the cold really got into our bones!
Below is an aerial view of the Castle church and the Luther garden
 |
| Photo from Bildergalerie Lutherstadt |
We found the Garden.
The trees have identification in the form of an oval plaque like this one:-
Presently (March 2017) there are 396 trees planted of which 292 are in the Luther garden and numbers 293 to 396 are in the garden of the new Town Hall.
When we arrived back at the station, the train to Berlin was parked there and it was nice and warm inside! We could thaw out before the train left. We arrived back in Berlin tired, but exhilarated and we will cherish our fond memories of our 'Day of Reformation' in Wittenberg.
Edelbert and Elbeth le Roux accompanied by our son Wessel.
Comments
Post a Comment