"Pretty town of Lutheran History" Lutherstadt Wittenberg by TempNomad

The Wittenberg Town Square is beautiful. There are two memorials, one to Martin Luther and the other to Philippe Melanchton. It seems a little barren, but there is a lot of renovation that recently took place, so maybe some life will be infused soon.

In fact, my impression of the main thoroughfare and the square were of vacant space. It looked really pretty, but it was devoid of people. Well, not devoid, but it was pretty empty.

Of course, the real reason to visit Wittenberg is to check out the Martin Luther history. There is Lutherhaus, and some interesting plaques of "who slept where" around the town. Check out the town web site and guidebooks before stopping in. Each of the churches has detailed and readable guides available for a small donation. Definitely worth it.

www.unterkunft.wittenberg.de/en/

The Stadtkirche zu Wittenberg (St. Mary's) is worth a look-see. It dates back to the 13th century, and its stages of construction are visible thanks to the different materials used. It has a beautiful altar painting by Cranach - make sure to check out the back side for medieval student graffitti. It's good to know "I was here '56" could mean any of seven centuries. :)

The church has a sad piece of history on its exterior east corner of the southern choir wall. After the Jews were driven out of Wittenburg in early 1300's, a relief of Jews with pigs was placed under the cornice. For more information about this, check out the web site below:
http://www.luther.de/en/kontext/juden.html

Directly under this relief, set into the ground, is now a memorial to the Jewish victims of persecution. It's an interesting piece of art, and there is both Hebrew and German inscribed.

This is really the biggest draw to Wittenberg. It's all the way to the end of the old part of the town. There is information available in English, and you'll be sure to see a group of people who have only ten minutes until their tour leaves.

The woodwork in all the churches is really interesting, but it's stunning in the Schlosskirche. The sermon platform (sorry, I don't know the name of it) is especially gorgeous. This photo is a detail from that. There are lots of interesting nooks and crannies to check out. Leave more then ten minutes, that's for sure!

This is also the church where Luther (according to most) nailed his 95 Theses to the door. There is a memorial slab to Luther, and they sell stamps and information in the church as well.