Lutherstadt Wittenberg, the former residence and university town of Saxony, was due to the work of Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and others, the cradle of the Reformation, which began there with Luther's 95 theses in 1517. The largely undestroyed city in Saxony-Anhalt can still come up with the city church, the castle church with theses door, the Lutherhaus, the Melanchthonhaus, Cranachhöfe and other buildings with original scenes of the life and work of the reformers. The sites of the Reformation are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Wittenberg, strategically located on a crossing of the Elbe, has
been the residential city of the dukes and electors of
Saxony-Wittenberg since the 13th century. This title passed to the
House of Wettin in 1422 when the Saxon Ascanians died out. As the
residence of one of seven electors in the Holy Roman Empire,
Wittenberg, supported by a university, was in a prominent position,
comparable in status to Heidelberg and Prague. Even after the
partition of Saxony, Wittenberg remained the residence of the
Ernestine princes who held the electoral dignity.
Against
this background, the theses of the Wittenberg theology professor
Martin Luther against the sale of indulgences and the splendor of
the Roman Church had weight. Under the protective hand of Elector
Friedrich the Wise, the Reformation, which began as an academic
dispute, was able to spread across Germany. The golden years of
Wittenberg followed: the university where Luther and Melanchthon
taught, registered enormous popularity - almost every second student
in Germany at the time also studied in Wittenberg. The city was
buzzing because the students brought a lot of money into the city.
Book printing and publishing flourished, the patrician and painter
family Cranach supplied the young Protestant church with paintings.
The loss of the electoral dignity to the cousins of the
Albertine line of the Wettins in Dresden in 1547 ushered in the
gradual decline of the city and university, at the beginning of the
17th century the Thirty Years' War did the rest. Wittenberg also
lost its leading position scientifically. In the Seven Years' War
(1756–1763), Wittenberg was initially conquered by Prussian troops.
After several days of siege in October 1760, Wittenberg was captured
by the Imperial Army, the army of the Reichstag of the Holy Roman
Empire. The damage caused by this siege, which was associated with
massive fire, was to remain the worst war damage in Wittenberg to
this day. For example, the castle with the castle church and the
original thesis door were lost.
On Napoleon's I order, the
city was restored as a fortress in 1813 under Marshal Victor.
Blocked by Lieutenant General von Kleist's corps from March 26th to
April 20th, it was surrounded by Bülow's corps after the battle of
Dennewitz (September 6th) and stormed in the night of January 12th
to 13th, 1814. It later developed into an industrial location.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg is today the district town of the district of
the same name. The Luther memorials have been a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 1996.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg is one of the most visited cities in the federal state and is also internationally known. The largely preserved historic old town within the former belt of fortifications has retained its historical charm with its numerous Renaissance buildings and the original workplaces of the reformers and scenes of the Reformation. Luther House, Melanchthon House, City Church and Castle Church are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg.
1 Castle Church, Castle Square (access via the castle courtyard and a
visitor center). Tel.: +49(0)3491-402585, e-mail:
schlosskirche@kirche-wittenberg.de Built by the Saxon Elector Frederick
the Wise in 1489-1509 on the foundations of an older church as a palace
and university church; To the north is the door on which Luther is said
to have nailed his famous 95 theses on October 31, 1517. Inside the
graves u.a. of Luther, Melanchthon and the Electors Frederick the Wise
and John the Steadfast. The church and the theses door were destroyed in
1760 and restored in the 19th century or rebuilt as the Hall of Fame of
the Reformation. Interior from the 19th century. With statues and
portrait medallions of reformers, coats of arms of Protestant
territories and cities. Open: Easter-Oct: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun
11:30am-6pm, Nov-Easter until 4pm. Price: 2€ (3.50€ combined with Castle
Church), guided tours 4€, limited possibility to climb the tower.
2 City Church of St. Marien, church square The oldest surviving
building in Wittenberg, today's appearance from around 1450. In this
church, at Christmas 1521, the Protestant communion was served for the
first time in both forms. After an iconoclasm in 1522, the interior
decoration dates from the years after the Reformation. Reformation altar
by both Lukas Cranach 1547, with triptych depicting the sacraments of
communion, baptism and confession. There are other Cranach paintings in
the church, e.g. the boar epitaph (vineyard). Abusive inscription and
relief ("Judensau") on the outside of the south-east corner. The two
striking towers house a tower dwelling that was inhabited until 1945.
Open: visitors Easter-October daily 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:30-18:00,
Nov-Easter Tue-Sun 10:00-16:00, Sun 11:30-18:00. Price: €2 for single
travelers (€3.50 combined with Castle Church), daily 3:00 p.m. tours €4.
3 Corpus Christi Chapel Small Gothic chapel right next to the town
church.
4 Christ Church The third church, which characterizes the
larger cityscape of Wittenberg, is in Kleinwittenberg, outside the old
town. Neo-Renaissance and historicism, 19th century
5 Immaculate
Conception Catholic Church, Mayor Street. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 628 58 10
Yes, they exist. Also in Wittenberg. It's hardly bigger than a town
house and almost run over by the mall's nearby parking garage, but it's
there. The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception. Simple
neo-Gothic brick building from the first half of the 19th century.
1 Residenzschloss, Schlossplatz 1 With the associated castle church of All Saints. Built from 1490 to 1525 as a residence for Elector Frederick the Wise on the foundations of the old Ascanian castle in Renaissance style. No longer needed as a residence since 1547, it had various uses, widows' residence, seat of state administrations or the military. After being destroyed in the Seven Years' War in 1760, it was only partially or simplified rebuilt. Another renovation was completed in 2017. The castle houses the preachers' seminary. On the mezzanine floor next to the visitor center are some rooms with exhibition boards on the history of the Reformation.
2 Lutherhaus (see museums for location), Collegienstraße 54
Established in 1504 as an Augustinian monastery for monks who helped set
up the newly founded university, including Martin Luther from 1508 at
times and since 1511 permanently. After the monastery was dissolved in
1521, it was the residence and from 1524 it was the private residence of
the Luther family, who sold it to the university after Luther's death.
The university changed the interior of the building with the exception
of the living room. After the university was closed in the 19th century,
it was converted into a Reformation museum. Open: see museums.
3
Augusteum, Collegienstraße 54 Extension building of the university built
in 1582 towards the street. Today used for changing exhibitions. Open:
dep. from the respective exhibition.
4 Melanchthon House (see museums
for location), Collegienstraße 60 Considered one of the most beautiful
town houses in Wittenberg and was the residence of Philipp Melanchthon
and his family. Open: see museums.
5 Leucorea, Collegienstraße 62
University founded in 1502. After the university was closed in 1815, the
aging building was converted into infantry barracks. Today used by the
Leucorea - foundation under public law at the Martin Luther University
Halle-Wittenberg for conferences, seminars and research. Open: Courtyard
freely accessible; Building not public.
6 Town Hall, Markt 26 Town
hall built between 1523 and 1543 in the Renaissance style, which
emulates the castle in size and shape and manifests the civic pride of
the citizens who have become wealthy through residence, university and
the Reformation. Today i.a. Exhibition rooms of the Christian Art
Foundation (see exhibitions).
7 Cranach farms
8 former Franciscan
monastery.
9 Armory InfoEdit (see Museums).
10
Luther-Melanchthon-Gymnasium (Hundertwasser School) The only school in
Germany that was rebuilt according to the plans of the late architect
Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
11 Martin Luther memorial, market place Bronze statue by Gottfried
Schadow erected in 1821 with canopy by Schinkel; Luther larger than life
with an open Bible in his hand. At that time the first statue of a
non-nobleman in Germany.
12 Melanchthon Monument, Market. With scroll
of the Augsburg Confession in hand.
13 Bugenhagen monument (on the
church square).
14 Katharina von Bora monument (in front of the
Luther House).
15 Lutherhaus, Collegienstrasse 54, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Tel.: (0)3491 4203118, e-mail: lutherhaus@martinluther.de Built as an
Augustinian monastery in 1504, Luther lived here as a monk from 1508
with interruptions, since 1511 permanently. After the monastery was
dissolved and Luther founded a family in 1525, Elector Johann donated
the house to Luther for private ownership. Luther lived here until his
death, followed by his heirs for about 20 years. Then use and conversion
by the university, since 1815 gradual conversion to a memorial. The
living room is largely original, otherwise a museum on the history of
the Reformation and the life and work of Luther. Outstanding objects are
the wooden pulpit from the town church, painting of the 10 commandments
panel by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä., Luther's imperial letter to
Charles V. (Unesco World Document Heritage) Open: Apr-Oct: daily
10:00-18:00; Nov-Mar: Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00. Price: Admission €8, reduced
€6, students €5, family ticket €14, combined ticket for Melanchthonhaus
and Lutherhaus €10.
16 Melanchthonhaus, Collegienstrasse 60, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 4203110, fax: +49 (0)3491
4203270, e-mail: melanchthonhaus@martinluther.de With an exhibition
about the reformer Philipp Melanchthon, who lived and died in this
house. The university constructed the building for Melanchthon in 1536
to tie him to Wittenberg. Open: Apr-Oct: daily 10:00-18:00; Nov-Mar:
Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00. Price: Admission €6, reduced €4, family ticket €14,
combination ticket for Melanchthonhaus and Lutherhaus for €10.
The Cranach farms are the domains of Lucas Cranach the Elder. and his
descendants.
17 Cranach's World, Markt 4, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491-420 1911, email:
cranach-hoefe@t-online.de. Multimedia and descriptive exhibition on
Cranach's diverse work as a painter, printer, pharmacist, businessman,
entrepreneur, on his paintings and their creation, painting techniques,
color mixtures. Open: daily 10am-5pm, Sun 1pm-5pm, Nov-Apr: closed
Mondays. Price: Admission €5, reduced €4.
In the Cranach-Hof
Schloßstraße 1 you can visit a historic printing room Monday to Friday
from 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm.
18 House of
History, Schloßstraße 6, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg The museum gives
an insight into life in the GDR. Open: Tue-Fri 11:00-17:00, Sat, Sun,
public holidays 10:00-17:00. Price: adults €8.00, reduced €6.00,
families (2+2) €20.00.
19 Museum of City History, Arsenalplatz, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 43 24 455 New museum, which is
located in the armory. You can see archival and town history collections
as well as natural history and ethnological collections by Julius
Riemer. Price: €7 (entire Museum of the Municipal Collections and the
monastery church).
20 Asisi Panometer (Luther 1517), Lutherstraße 42,
06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491 6434-700, email:
info@wittenberg360.de. In the absence of a gasometer, the 360-degree
Wittenberg panorama by the panorama painter Yadegar Asisi, which shows
Wittenberg during Luther's time, is housed in a functional building
until 2024. Open: daily 10:00-18:00, last admission 17:30. Price: adults
€13.00, reduced €11.00, children (6-16 years) €6.00, families (2+3)
€29.00.
21 Futurea, Markt 25, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49
(0)3491 432700. Interactive science center with vivid chemical
experiments to present the Czech Agrofert group, which also owns the
nitrogen works in Piesteritz. Housed in an exemplary renovated
Renaissance house. Open: Apr-Oct: daily 10:00-18:00, Nov-Mar: Tue-Sat
10:00-17:00. Price: adults €6.00, pupils, trainees, students €3.00,
families (2+2) €15.00.
Wittenberg's surroundings are extremely green. The Fläming mountain
range borders the city to the north, and the Elbe-Elster region to the
east. The Dübener Heide is now a nature park and is located south of
Lutherstadt.
The former belt of fortifications around the old
town has been preserved as a green corridor that completely encloses the
old town and offers a quiet oasis with its ponds and tall trees.
Luther Garden In the former belt of fortifications, between the castle
and the Elbtor, laid out since 2009, in which 500 trees from churches
from all over the world were planted by 2017 to mark the 500th
anniversary of the Reformation and were to form the Luther rose from the
air. The 500 trees came together, but are also in front of the New Town
Hall and the Luther House. Open: freely accessible.
Alaris Butterfly
Park Wittenberg (west of Wittenberg). 700 to 750 butterflies live in the
butterfly house. Open: Apr-Sep: daily 10:00-17:00, Oct-01-05. Nov:
10:00-16:00. Price: adults €9.90, pupils, students €6.50, children (3
years - 1.45 m) €5.50.
The city forest is about 5km away from the
city center.
Luther Oak In the east of the old town, east of the former Elster
Gate, i.e. outside the medieval city, you will find the Luther Oak at
the site where Martin Luther burned the Pope's bull of excommunication
in 1520. The original tree was felled by the French in 1813. The current
one was planted in 1830. Open: freely accessible.
tube water. The
mediaeval city was supplied with water via open channels, which were
uncovered again as a design element in the course of the streets of
Coswiger Strasse and Schlossstrasse and on the market square when the
pedestrian zone was laid out. In these flowed collected streams, which
at the same time received waste water. Even at that time, this was not
reasonable for everyone, so that some patrician families put together
money for their own water supply from a spring north of the city. The
water was (and is) brought into the city in wooden tubes (hence the
name) and had outlets in a dozen or so private properties (you can still
see them at Beyerhof Markt 5, Cranachhof Schlosstr. 1, or Weberhof
(Schlossstr. 10). ). There are also Röhrwasser fountains in the
courtyard of the Luther and Melanchthon Houses; both received their
connection as a gift. Public fountains are located at the Holzmarkt,
among other places. The water is of the same good quality and can be
enjoyed without hesitation good quality of the water for almost 500
years, but in the lack of monitoring of this oldest water supply still
in operation in Central Europe.
Central cinema Wittenberg, Sternstrasse 12/13, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg.
summer cinema events. On the Cranach farms in the open
air.
Clack Theater, Markt 1, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Small
travesty variety show in the heart of the city
The Elbe meadows outside the city also invite you to sunbathe in summer.
The city regularly celebrates the Luther wedding on the second
weekend in June to commemorate the marriage between Martin Luther and
Katharina von Bora in 1525. The festival, one of the largest street
festivals in Central Germany with a medieval market, concerts and a
parade, runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. Parts of the city
center are cordoned off and, as an event area, can only be entered with
an admission ticket (an embossed porcelain medallion). Admission €10
(2018).
Guides
There is a wide range of guided tours in
Wittenberg, some elaborately staged and with colorful historical
costumes. Guided tours are aimed at both groups and individual tourists.
The tourist information provides an overview.
By plane
Lutherstadt Wittenberg is located roughly in the middle
between Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA: BER) and Leipzig/Halle Airport
(IATA: LEJ). Wittenberg can be reached by rail from both airports every
hour.
By train
Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hauptbahnhof is a
long-distance stop on the route Berlin - Leipzig or Halle. ICE and IC
trains to Berlin, Hamburg, Stralsund/Binz, Leipzig, Munich and
Frankfurt/Main stop there. The names drifted for a long time.
Officially, it has been the "main" station since December 2016. On land
and colloquially it has long been referred to as such. The access road
is called Am Hauptbahnhof, which is also what many signs call it.
There is a RE connection from Berlin Hauptbahnhof every two hours.
Trains run every two hours from Leipzig (S 2) and Halle (S 8) via
Bitterfeld. In addition, a regional train runs every hour in the
direction of Annaburg or Falkenberg (Elster) and to Dessau. Rail traffic
towards Bad Schmiedeberg is limited to a few weekends in summer.
Wittenberg Hauptbahnhof is about one to one and a half kilometers east
of the city centre. The new reception building was opened on December 9,
2016, the second climate-neutral one in Germany. Travelers will find a
bakery, a newsagent, a Deutsche Bahn information desk, toilets and
charging facilities for mobile phones (USB). The surroundings of the
train station were redesigned for the Reformation anniversary, creating
Park+Ride areas and charging stations for e-bikes and electric cars.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg main station, Am Hauptbahnhof 1, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Other stops are:
Lutherstadt
Wittenberg-Altstadt stop. Located on the route to Dessau, with hourly
regional trains. The train station is just a few hundred meters south of
the old town and offers parking for cars and bicycle boxes.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg-Piesteritz stop. Also located on the route to
Dessau. It is located on the north-east edge of the Piesteritz factory
settlement and can therefore be of interest to visitors. Attention: The
Piesteritz station, which was newly set up in August 2015, is on
Pestalozzistraße and replaces the Wittenberg-West and Piesteritz
stations still shown on the city maps, where trains no longer stop.
Other stops for local trains are Wittenberg-Labetz on the route to
Falkenberg and Pratau on the route to Bitterfeld.
By bus
Long-distance buses do not go to Wittenberg (as of August 2018).
Regional buses to the surrounding area have their hub on the west side
of the main station.
On the street
The A 9 (Berlin-Munich)
passes the city about 15 km away. Relevant descents are symbol: AS 6
Klein Marlehns, symbol: AS 7 Köselitz and symbol: AS 8 Coswig. The
latter exit takes you to the B 187, which leads through Wittenberg and
crosses the B 2 Berlin-Leipzig there.
Wittenberg is located on
the Fürstenstraße of the Wettins.
By boat
Due to its direct
location on the Elbe, Lutherstadt Wittenberg has two landing stages for
passenger shipping. Trips with the MS Lutherstadt Wittenberg are offered
from the UNESCO biosphere reserve Middle Elbe. The Elbhafen pier is
located behind the Elbe industrial park (near the OBI hardware store).
River cruises also land here. The Kleinwittenberg pier on An der Elbe
Street serves river cruises.
By bicycle
Wittenberg is a hub
for several national and international long-distance cycle routes:
Coming from the source, the Elbe cycle path (also D10) leads to
Wittenberg on the north-eastern side of the river bank. Further west,
however, there are two variants of the cycle path, one on each side of
the river.
the Europaradweg R1 (also known as D3 in Germany), coming
from North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony across Germany, leads from
the Harz Mountains to Wittenberg and then on to Berlin.
the EuroVelo
route 7 runs on the same route as the R1 coming from Berlin, parallel to
the Elbe cycle path further south, via Prague to Austria and right
through Italy
the Berlin-Leipzig cycle path
On foot
The
Saxony-Anhalt Luther Trail begins and ends in Wittenberg at the
Lutherhaus on Collegienstraße and leads westwards out of the city center
via the Collegien-/Schlossstraße street, then uses the underpass under
the railway and leads together with the Elberadweg via Piesteritz in the
direction of Coswig. From the other direction, the Luther Trail reaches
the city via the Elbe Bridge.
The old town, which is important for tourism, is compact and easy to
explore on foot. Medieval cat cobblestones lie in parts of Old Town, a
high-heel killer.
There are three bus routes in the city of
Wittenberg. Other bus lines with stops in the city area run to the
surrounding area. The central transfer point for bus and train
passengers is the bus station at the station forecourt with direct
barrier-free access to the main station. For visitors, urban transport
is of limited importance as walking is not a problem due to the
relatively small size of the Old Town, where most of the sights and
hotels are concentrated, and the flat terrain. In addition, the buses
only run during off-peak hours and on weekends if requested in advance
(so-called Rufbus) by phone: (0)800 0366910 or fax +49 (0)3494 3842160,
or email: wb@anrufbus.net. There is no transport association with the
train.
The main shopping streets in the old town are the streets
Schlossstrasse and Coswiger Strasse between the palace and the market,
with restrictions also their eastern continuation Collegienstrasse and
Jüdenstrasse up to Neustrasse. There are mostly small shops with a mixed
range of clothing (at least in the sixth generation at the Schneider
department store), shoes, handicrafts, souvenirs, bookselling, antiques
and everyday goods, some retail chains, some owner-managed shops.
The focus of products and souvenirs typical of the region is
everything that starts with Luther..., regardless of its physical state:
Lutherbrodt, Luthernudeln, Luther socks (here I stand..., even in
Arabic), Luther liqueur, Luther roses, the selection expanded even
further up to the Luther Year 2017.
The usual mix of chain stores
is concentrated in the Arsenal, a two-storey shopping mall in the north
of the old town. The mall hides behind facades that try not to overwhelm
the historical surroundings. However, the mall itself, which stretches
over three blocks between Jüdenstrasse, Burgerstrasse and Mauerstrasse,
overwhelms the surrounding shopping streets, which is why the
construction was highly controversial in the city until it opened in
2012, and in some cases still is.
Large-scale retailers with
food, hardware and furniture stores can be found on the arterial roads
to the north (B 2 towards Potsdam) and west (B 187 towards Piesteritz).
Wittenberg specialties are the Wittenberg Kuckucksbier (a dark beer),
the Wittenberg Quarkkrempel, bacon cake and the Luther bread.
Cheap
1 Culinela, Mittelstrasse 16, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Tel.: +49(03491) 4591142, E-Mail: delicious@culinela.de. Soups, simple
snacks, cakes. Good value for money. Open: Mon-Fri 11-18, Sat, Sun
12-18.
2 Café Klatschmohn, Kirchplatz 9, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491) 506650, fax: +49(0)3491 506650, e-mail:
info@klatschmohn.de. small freshly prepared snacks and cakes. Open: 11
a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Tuesdays.
3 Witten Burger, Markt 15, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel: +49(0)3491) 8763113. All kinds of burgers,
freshly made.
Medium
4 Athos, Am Alten Bahnhof 1, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel: +49(0)3491 414080. Greek restaurant.
5
Brauhaus, Markt 6, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg (customer car park at
Wallstraße 7 at the back of the building). Tel.: +49(0)3491 433134.
Restaurant in the historic patrician courtyard ("Beyerhof") with
accommodation in a rustic ambience. Own brewery in the guest room, with
guided tours on request. Hearty German cuisine, beer garden in the
courtyard in summer, popular with locals and tourists alike. Open: daily
from 9 a.m. until evening.
6 Castello, Schlossstrasse 3, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel: +49(0)3491 414547. Standard Italian.
7
Hofwirtschaft, Schloßstraße 1, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg (in the
Cranach-Hof). Phone: +49(0)3491 459682, email: info@hofwirtschaft.de. In
addition to the food offer very delicious cakes and tarts. Open: during
the week only from 2 p.m., Sat./Sun. from 12, closed on Mondays.
8
cabin 7, Dessauer Strasse 93, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone:
+49(0)3491 6953500.
9 Mediterraneo, Schloßstrasse 33, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel: +49(0)3491 480960. Greek and Italian
cuisine.
10 Taj Mahal, Coswiger Strasse 24, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Tel: +49(0)3491 505110. Indian cuisine; praised. Open:
11-23.
11 Wittenberg Potato House, Schlossstrasse 2, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49(0)3491) 411290. solid good and
inexpensive home cooking in a rustic atmosphere. Usually very full, so
book in advance. Open: daily 11 a.m. to midnight.
12 Markt 9, Markt
9, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 671 9336. Upscale
cuisine in a bistro ambience. Open: from 10 a.m. (Sun. from 1130).
Restaurant von Bora, Collegienstrasse 54a, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Tel.: +49 3491 628 6565. Modern German cuisine with Mediterranean
influences. Open: Mon: Closed, Tue+Sun: 11:00-18:00, Wed-Sat:
11:00-23:00.
Upscale
13 Alte Canzley, Schlossplatz 3-5, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone: (0)3491 429190, Fax: (0)3491 429310,
Email: info@alte-canzley.de. The flagship of Wittenberg's gastronomy
(and hotel industry) with ambitious cuisine is located directly opposite
the Castle Church in historic walls, which presidents and queens
occasionally visit. Open: daily 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Club Velvet (in the Piesteritz industrial area). One of the city's
trendy clubs at the weekend.
Flower Power, Mayor Street 21. Price:
free entry.
Bittersweet (near the castle). Stylish cafe and bar.
Camping
1 Marina-Camp-Elbe, Brückenkopf 1, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg (on the left side of the Elbe opposite the old town). Phone:
+49 (0)3491 4540, fax: +49 (0)3491 454199, email:
info@marina-camp-elbe.de.
2 Youth Hostel, Schlossstrasse 14-15, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 505205, Tel. toll-free: +49
(0)3491 505206, email: wittenberg@jugendherberge.de . Cheap
accommodation right in the courtyard of the castle.
3 Hostel
Wittenberg, Hallesche Strasse 32, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Mobile:
+49 (0)151 58160290, email: info@hostel-wittenberg.de.
Medium
4 Hotel Acron, Am Hauptbahnhof 3, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone:
+49 (0)3491 43320, fax: +49 (0)3491 433219, email:
info@wittenberg-acron.de. 62 rooms with a desk, flat screen TV, bathroom
with shower. Free WiFi and bar in the foyer. Check-in: 3:00 p.m.
Check-out: 11:00 a.m. Price: single room from €55, double room from €75.
5 Luther Hotel, Neustrasse 7-10, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49
(0)3491 4580, fax: +49 (0)3491 458100, e-mail:
info@luther-hotel-wittenberg.de . 159 rooms, free WiFi, sauna for a fee,
parking for a fee, restaurant. Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check-out: 10:00 a.m.
6 Ringhotel Schwarzer Baer, Schlossstrasse 2, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 4204344, fax: +49 (0)3491 4204345, e-mail:
info@schwarzer-baer-wittenberg.de . Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check-out: 11:00
a.m.
7 Wittenberg Brewery, Markt 6, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Tel.: +49 (0)3491 433130, fax: +49 (0)3491 433131, e-mail:
info@brauhaus-wittenberg.de . When arriving by car with navigation
devices, use “Wallstraße 7” as the destination. Price: single room from
€75, double room from €95.
8 Cranach Hostel, Schlossstrasse 1, 06886
Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491 698195, email:
info@cranach-herberge.de. The Cranach hostel is located in the former
home of the Cranach family of painters, see for example Lucas Cranach
the Younger, and has 26 individually furnished rooms on 3 floors.
Attention: no elevator! Feature: pension. Price: single room from €65,
double room from €90.
9 Hotel-Pension Am Schwanenteich, Töpferstrasse
1, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 402807, fax: +49
(0)3491 459440, e-mail: kontakt@wittenberg-schwanenteich.de . Feature:
pension. Price: single room from €45, double room from €88.
Upscale
10 Alte Canzley, Schlossplatz 3-5, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491 429190, fax: +49 (0)3491 429310, e-mail:
info@alte-canzley.de. Traditional house directly at the castle church
with 9 rooms. Bathroom partly with bathtub. Price: Single room from €80,
double room from €95.
11 Best Western Stadtpalais, Collegienstrasse
56/57, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 4250, fax: +49
(0)3491 425100, e-mail: info@stadtpalais.bestwestern.de. Hotel with 80
rooms. Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check out: 12:00 p.m.
Seminary. Opened in 1817 to replace the recently closed university.
Here prospective pastors are prepared for their work in the form of a
postgraduate college. After its completion in 2017, it will use the
Wittenberg Castle
The building of the Luther-Melanchthon-Gymnasium as
a Hundertwasser school is interesting (see Sights). The school itself is
up to standard.
The nitrogen works Piesteritz GmbH is a chemical company in the Piesteritz district of Wittenberg. It is one of the 50 largest companies in Central Germany. At the location in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, the only agro-chemical park in Germany, around 1,500 employees work on 220ha in over 30 companies. As in large parts of Saxony-Anhalt, there is still persistently high unemployment in Wittenberg; accordingly, employment opportunities are poor. Temporary jobs are most likely to be found in gastronomy. Due to a certain imbalance between an international audience and insufficient knowledge of foreign languages, which is particularly noticeable in the service area, multilingualism is a decisive advantage.
1 Wittenberg Police Station, Juristenstrasse 13a, 06886 Wittenberg.
Phone: +49 (0)3491 4690.
2 Water Protection Police Station, Dessauer
Str. 6A, 06886 Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491 611765.
Hospitals
1 Evangelical Hospital Paul Gerhardt Stift,
Paul-Gerhardt-Strasse 42-45, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49
(0)3491 50-3000, +49 (0)3491 50-2770, +49 (0)3491 50-2772 (emergency
phone), fax: +49 (0)3491 50-3100.
2 Alexian Clinic Bosse Wittenberg,
Hans-Lufft-Strasse 5, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491
4760, Fax: +49 (0)3491 476372.
Pharmacies
3 Lucas Cranach
Pharmacy, Schloßstrasse 1, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.: +49
(0)3491 402002. Open: Mon – Fri 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
4 Carat Pharmacy, Teucheler Weg 2, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Tel.:
+49 (0)3491-409282, fax: +49 (0)3491-409283, e-mail:
carat-apotheke@web.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. - 6
p.m.
5 Pharmacy at Collegienhof, Collegienstr. 74, 06886 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg. Tel.: +49 (0)3491 49690, Fax: +49 (0)3491 496925. Open: Mon
– Fri 7.30 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sat 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
6 Stern Pharmacy,
Sternstrasse 89, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Phone: +49 (0)3491
401556, fax: +49 (0)3491 432576, email:
info@stern-apotheke-wittenberg.de. Open: Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sat
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Tourist Information, Schlossplatz 2, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Phone: +49 (0)3491 498610, fax: +49 (0)3491 498611, email:
info@lutherstadt-wittenberg.de. Open: January to March from Monday to
Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m.; April to October daily from 09:00 to 18:00; November and December
from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
A post office is located at
Wilhelm-Weber-Str. 1, on the eastern edge of the old town.
Geographical location
Wittenberg is located in the north German
lowlands in eastern Saxony-Anhalt. The city center and most of the urban
area are located on the north bank of the Elbe. Today's surface
appearance is the result of the older glacial period and the glaciation
of the Saale, and therefore the Wittenberg urban area bears the
characteristics of an old moraine landscape. Wittenberg belongs to the
area of the Breslau-Magdeburg glacial valley, which is bordered here in
the north by the Fläming and in the south by the sandy areas of the
Dübener Heide. The average altitude is 75 m above sea level. NHN.
In terms of landscape, the city is counted as part of the southern
Fläming and with the incorporations south of the Elbe (Pratau,
Seegrehna) as part of the Elbe floodplain. North of the city there are
extensive pine forests, while south of the city the Elbe meadows are
flat and unwooded. To the west of the city, the Middle Elbe biosphere
reserve stretches down the Elbe to Schönebeck. The Black Elster flows 16
river kilometers east of the Wittenberg level and the Mulde flows 46
river kilometers west into the Elbe.
The city is located in the temperate climate zone. The average air
temperature in Wittenberg is 9.1 °C, the annual precipitation is 533
millimeters (weather data 1982-2012).
The rain shadow of the Harz
as an area of influence and the sandy surroundings of the city in the
Fläming and the Dübener Heide have a significant influence on the
climate of the city. The Elbe also forms a weather corridor as a
climatic factor.
The storage of heat in the sandy sediment layers
can lead to climatic phenomena. These were shown, among other things, by
the effects of hurricane Kyrill, when in 2007 a tornado damaged a
residential area in Wittenberg-West so severely within a few minutes
that many apartments became uninhabitable. The origin of the hurricane
was a sudden, heavy rainfall accompanied by a thunderstorm, which
encountered warm air in the sandy sediment of the city in the area of
the Piesteritz district. Tortoiseshells can also often be seen in the
Wittenberg area. In 2002, a tornado (almost identical) damaged a
shopping center and devastated an industrial area in the Teuchel
district. So far, the personal injuries have always been within narrow
limits.
The development of the city is closely linked to the politics of the
Ascanians. After Bernhard von Sachsen received the dukedom of Saxony in
1180, his son Albrecht I inherited the area around Wittenberg and the
dukedom of Saxony. According to a document dated September 11, 1227, his
wife Helena of Saxony built a Franciscan monastery, which indicates a
privileged position of the district with the Ascanians; the monastery
belonged to the Saxon Franciscan Province (Saxonia). Her son Albrecht
II, who ruled together with his brother Johann I von Sachsen-Lauenburg,
had received the electoral dignity from his father-in-law Rudolf von
Habsburg through his abdication. After about 20 years of unhappy reign,
Johann I gave the government office to his sons in 1282 and appointed
Albrecht II as guardian during the time they were minors; he himself
entered the Franciscan monastery in Wittenberg and became its head
(Guardian). He died there on July 30, 1285.
Since Albrecht II was
constantly in Wittenberg, the place became his residence from
Saxe-Wittenberg, and a dispute with the Saxe-Lauenburg line flared up.
Wittenberg itself had developed from a district with farmers, craftsmen
and merchants, favored by its convenient location, to a place with an
existing community. To ensure the loyalty of his subjects, Albrecht II
bestowed town rights on June 27, 1293 on Wittenberg. This created the
conditions for a bourgeoisie to develop in Wittenberg.
The
influence of the citizens of Wittenberg increased as a result of the
further acquisition of rights, resulting in self-government, which was
first documented in 1317 as a council. In 1332 the city gained lower
jurisdiction and was thus able to give the developing trades of bakers,
butchers, shoemakers and cloth makers a regulated and developed
framework. This also includes the market right granted in 1354, the
ferry regulations preserved in 1380, but also the permission to build
city walls granted with the city law. The Hussites were able to besiege
the city in 1429, but not take it.
Although the influence of the
Ascanians in the city declined with the acquisition of convicts, they
played an increasingly important role in imperial politics. Above all,
Rudolf I led Saxe-Wittenberg from a duchy to a confirmed electorate in
1356 with a clever territorial policy. Thus Wittenberg attained the
status of a capital of Electoral Saxony. However, this phase was not to
last for long. With the death of Albrecht III. in 1422 the Ascanians
lost the Saxon Electorate to the Wettins. With this, the status of an
electoral residence also disappeared. Friedrich the Quarrelsome
confirmed all of the rights acquired up to that point in Wittenberg and
added higher jurisdiction in 1444, but Wittenberg initially continued to
develop as a town of no particular importance. From 1451, his successor
Frederick the Meek authorized the town to produce its own Heller in its
Wittenberg mint.
Due to the division of Leipzig in 1485, the
Wettins split into an Ernestine and an Albertine line. Although Ernst
von Sachsen inherited the electoral dignity as an older brother, the
university city of Leipzig and the main seat of government Meissen fell
to Albrecht the Bold. Thus Elector Ernst was forced to choose new
residence cities. Above all, Torgau, Weimar and Wittenberg, at that time
the most populous of the three cities mentioned, developed into centers
of his rule. When the Elector died, Wittenberg's expansion of the
residence had hardly progressed: the old castle of the Ascanians had
fallen into disrepair, butcher's shops were housed in the building that
preceded today's town hall, and the existing sacred buildings were not
very representative.
Residence expansion under Elector Frederick
the Wise (1486–1525)
Wittenberg's heyday began in 1486 when the
Ernestine Elector Frederick III, known as the Wise, took office. Thanks
to the rich income from silver mining in the Ore Mountains, Friedrich
III. about the financial resources for the architectural transformation
of Wittenberg. Thanks to the founding of his residence and university,
Wittenberg was ultimately able to rise to become an intellectual center
of humanism and, as Martin Luther's place of activity, the focal point
of the Reformation. Wittenberg's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
dates mainly from this period. According to the elector's requirements,
the city should be able to compete with Meissen's Albrechtsburg, the
seat of the Albertine line.
Frederick moved the electoral
residence to Wittenberg for three reasons: First, a historical reference
to the old capital of the Ascanian Electorate of Saxony-Wittenberg
(1365–1423) was intended to legitimize his rule. Secondly, the
geographic location of Wittenberg between Halle an der Saale and
Magdeburg, the two main residences of the Magdeburg archbishops, made it
possible to exert political and strategic control over the archbishopric
of Magdeburg. So it was possible in 1489 to appoint Frederick's brother
Ernst II of Saxony as archbishop in Magdeburg. The family closeness to
Friedrich guaranteed the security of the individual sovereign
territories in Central Germany, some of which were not connected to one
another. Thirdly, Wittenberg was located on an important waterway with
the Elbe.
From 1490, the elector had the wooden Elbe bridge built
in 1487 strategically secured with the construction of a new,
three-winged Renaissance palace. This brought Frederick III. the
southern entrance of the city under his control. The bridge replaced a
previous building that had been destroyed by heavy ice in 1428. Until
the new construction, ferries had maintained the traffic, because grain,
wine, wood and herring were shipped from northern Germany to Bohemia via
the Elbe. Although Wittenberg was not a major trading town, traders had
to unload their goods at the bridge, put them up for sale in the town
and pay duty to the elector before they were allowed to continue their
journey.
Since the conversion of the old Askanierburg would have
been too expensive, Friedrich III. remove them in 1489, which is why
nothing is known about their appearance today. The construction of the
new Renaissance palace proved to be a logistical challenge: sandstone
had to be laboriously brought in from Pirna, limestone from Magdeburg
and other stone material from the old castle in Torgau, which was also
in the process of being demolished. The timber came from the Dübener
Heide and from Tetschen in what is now the Czech Republic, where the
construction workers had to tow against the current of the Elbe in order
to even get to the mining area. Low water or ice on the Elbe often
threatened the progress of their work. The south-western wing of the
palace with the residential tower of Frederick the Wise was the first to
be built. The first interior work began there as early as 1492/1493, but
little is known about it. The wood paneling and canvases of the castle
there were probably designed by the court painter Lucas Cranach the
Elder. Unfortunately, the southwest wing with its strong walls also
formed part of the city fortifications, so that later in the Seven
Years' War it had to withstand heavy artillery fire. The central west
wing with the north-west tower, where Frederick's brother and successor
John the Steady lived, was built next. The east wing and the castle
church were built as the last part of the castle complex. By 1509 the
construction of the palace and palace church was essentially complete.
The palace church served both as a repository for Frederick's
collection of relics, the so-called Wittenberg sanctuary, and as a
burial place for the Ernestine electors. On every second Sunday after
Easter, the elector had his relics displayed to the pilgrims in public.
According to the understanding of the late Middle Ages, believers
received a remission of punishment for sins if they looked at the relics
and made a donation. In the so-called Wittenberg Heiltumsbücher of 1509,
which were distributed throughout the Holy Roman Empire by printing,
Lucas Cranach recorded a total of 5005 relics from the Castle Church in
119 wood engravings. The pilgrims should be able to buy 501,300 days of
forgiveness of sins. Even after Martin Luther's theses were posted,
Frederick continued to increase his collection to prevent his Saxon
subjects from spending their money on pilgrimage sites outside the
country. At the same time, the castle church was an expression of the
deep piety of Frederick III. Through his donations, 8,994 masses were
celebrated in the castle church and 81 clerics were employed. He had the
church equipped with Venetian panes and 20 altars. In the tower of the
Castle Church there was a chamber belonging to Frederick, which led up
to the church gallery via a staircase. In 1525 he was to be buried in
the castle church, as was Elector Johann in 1532.
Since 1509, the
fortifications of Wittenberg have also been renewed and expanded.
However, the essentials in this area only happened after Frederick's
reign, when a military conflict with Emperor Charles V became
increasingly apparent.
Since the Ernestine Electorate of Saxony
had no longer had its own state university since the division of Leipzig
in 1485, Friedrich III. a university in Wittenberg in 1502. The
corresponding deed of foundation dated July 6, 1502, with which the
Roman-German king and later Emperor Maximilian I confirmed the
foundation, is a novelty, because previously either only the Pope or
Emperor and Pope together had given permission to found a university.
The imperial seal of the University of Wittenberg referred to the
sovereign. It shows the portrait of Frederick III. with the Latin
signature: "ME AVSPICE CEPIT WITENBERG DOCERE" (Under my protection
Wittenberg began to teach). Papal recognition did not come until June
20, 1507. Nevertheless, the sovereign protection of the elector
prevented the church from having direct access to the university. These
unusual freedoms made it possible for the institution to break away from
medieval educational traditions in the spirit of humanistic intellectual
currents. This new approach is due to the interest of Frederick III.
understandable to train theologians, lawyers and doctors who were able
to shape early modern statehood in administration and society. From then
on, the electoral court became a center of attraction for creative
forces. Other buildings such as the Fridericianum (old college) in 1503
as the university's first building and in 1504 the "Black Monastery" of
the Augustinian hermits supported this trend; they shared three
professorships with the Franciscans, who were also resident in
Wittenberg. University operations required additional living space for
teachers and students. Many residential buildings are being increased to
accommodate the latter.
However, Wittenberg still lacked one
attribute of the university town: Since the city, unlike the large
commercial metropolises of Strasbourg, Augsburg and Nuremberg, did not
have a financially strong bourgeoisie, book printing was initially of no
importance. Only the in-house printing works founded by two university
professors heralded the beginning of Wittenberg book printing. In 1508,
the printer Johann Rhau-Gronenberg, who probably came from Grünberg in
present-day Hesse, moved to Wittenberg. His workshop, housed in the
Augustinian monastery, reproduced lecture texts for students. In the
years 1513, 1515, 1516 and 1517 the theology professor and later
reformer Martin Luther had texts printed here. However, the single-sheet
printing of the 95 theses, Luther's polemic against the sale of
indulgences, was not produced in Wittenberg, but by the printer Melchior
Lotter the Elder in Leipzig. In the 1520s, Luther's literary activity
prompted other printers to move to Wittenberg.
Martin Luther was
called to the Saxon royal seat in 1508 by a founding professor at the
University of Wittenberg, Johann von Staupitz. Luther was to continue
his theological studies here. In contrast to Erfurt, where Luther had
begun his studies and where 24,000 people already lived, Wittenberg
still lacked a urban appearance. For this reason, Luther spoke very
disparagingly about the city:
“The Wittenbergers live on the
fringes of civilization; if they had settled a little further, they
would have come into the midst of barbarism."
- Martin Luther
At the time of Luther only about 2000 people lived in Wittenberg. Apart
from a few stone buildings such as churches and town houses, the roofs
of most mud huts were often covered with straw. Between 1500 and 1550
only 54 new houses were built within the fortress ring. The gaps in the
streets were only just beginning to close, for example between the
market and the town church. Between Collegienstrasse and Mittelstrasse,
smaller handicraft houses without backyards were built. Luther lived in
the Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg for almost 40 years – from 1508,
with a short break, until 1546. In the tower room there, for the first
time in his life, he was able to work alone and unsupervised in his own
room, which could even be heated. After the monastery was dissolved and
Luther married in 1525, Elector Friedrich III. the building to the
reformer and his family.
But also renowned artists such as Lucas
Cranach the Elder were supported by the elector, one of the most
important patrons of his time. In 1505 the painter entered the service
of the Elector. Cranach had previously lived in Vienna, which was much
larger. In order to keep the artist in provincial Wittenberg, Friedrich
gave his court painter numerous perks: he paid him an annual salary of
100 guilders, which was ten times the income of a student. He was taken
care of by the castle kitchen and received courtly clothing. The
elector's support made Cranach so wealthy that in 1512 he was able to
purchase a house at Markt 3 and 4, the nucleus of the later Cranach
farms. However, the property quickly became too small for the growing
family and the workshop, so Cranach moved to Schlossstraße 1. In 1522,
however, the artist bought back his property at Markt 4 in order to use
it for print production.
From 1517 onwards, the dissemination of
Martin Luther's 95 theses in particular contributed to the fact that
Wittenberg was able to exert a great deal of attraction on scholars and
students. In 1518 the chair of the Greek language was established for
the first time. Frederick III personally wanted to fill the
professorship and wrote to the philosopher and diplomat Johannes
Reuchlin for a recommendation. In the reply, Reuchlin praised the
theologian, philosopher and poet Philipp Melanchthon. It is not known
where Melanchthon first found accommodation. However, he probably moved
to Collegienstraße 62 in 1520 or shortly after his marriage. The
relatively small residential building there was described in the city
register as "Bude" and had become so dilapidated by 1536 that
Melanchthon had to tear it down. Under Frederick the Wise's second
successor, Elector Johann Friedrich I, a representative new building
with a garden was to be built at Collegienstraße 60. Since Melanchthon,
as a mentor, had to take in and look after students in his house, he was
not able to raise the necessary financing for the new building on his
own. The elector contributed 500 guilders and the university 200
guilders. The building now known as the Melanchthon House was completed
in October 1536. The financial support of the new elector was mainly to
prevent the scholar from leaving Wittenberg. This would have meant an
enormous loss of prestige for the electoral university.
The beginning of the Reformation movement is generally
considered to be the posting of Martin Luther's 95 theses on the
entrance portal of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517. However, it
is disputed whether the so-called posting of the theses actually took
place. As early as 1961, the Catholic church historian Erwin Iserloh
argued that Philipp Melanchthon was the first to mention a posting of
theses. Melanchthon cannot have been an eyewitness to the event. At the
time of Melanchthon's publication in 1546, Martin Luther was already
dead. The supporters of the theses, on the other hand, point to the fact
that the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg stipulated
that calls for academic disputations be placed on church doors. The
historian Daniel Jütte also came to the conclusion during his research
that church doors played an important role as information boards in
public spaces in Luther's time. Possibly putting up posters was so
commonplace that Luther didn't mention them in his writings. However,
posters, according to the historian, were more likely to be glued on
with glue or sealing wax than hammered on, as Melanchthon claimed.
As the birthplace of the Reformation, Wittenberg gained further
importance after Luther’s departure from the Roman Catholic Church with
the burning of the papal canonical rights and the bull threatening
excommunication Exsurge Domine by Pope Leo X in front of the Elstertor
through the events of the Wittenberg movement. Wittenberg, which was
jokingly referred to as the "Rome of the Protestants", provided decisive
impetus for the entire world at the time.
Even though Wittenberg
had to give up its function as the capital of Saxony to Torgau after the
death of Frederick the Wise, its position as the center of the
Reformation movement, with the Wittenberg Concord and the creation of
the first Luther Bible, was retained. In order to meet the increasing
demands of the growing population in the then territorially limited
city, extensive construction work took place during this time. In 1526
work began again on expanding the fortifications. A new town hall and,
in the late 16th century, a drinking water supply system, the
Röhrwasser, were built. The Franciscans, who opposed the Reformation
primarily at the instigation of the convent in Jüterbog, lost their
convent in Wittenberg in 1535 after only one brother had lived there
since 1530.
As a result of the Reformation movement, disputes
arose that culminated in the Schmalkaldic War. This led to the
Wittenberg capitulation, whereby Wittenberg, as the center of the
Kurkreis, passed to the Albertine line of the Wettins. Since a
consistory and before that a court court had developed during the
Reformation, Wittenberg retained its importance for the Albertines. In
the Electorate of Saxony and in the other Protestant countries,
denominational disputes increasingly developed, with the
Gnesio-Lutherans in particular asserting themselves and establishing
Jena as the center of Lutheran orthodoxy, while the theologians around
Philipp Melanchthon who remained in Wittenberg were referred to as
"Philippists".
The reformer Martin
Luther was convinced of the existence of the devil. Luther himself even
believed that he was being persecuted personally by the devil. Thus the
step to believe in witches was quickly taken for Luther. Although he did
not organize witch hunts in Wittenberg, he actively called for the
killing of alleged witches from the pulpit. In 1526 Luther proclaimed in
the town church of Wittenberg:
"It is a most just law that
sorceresses should be killed, for they do much harm, which is sometimes
ignored... When you see such women, they have devilish forms, I have
seen quite a few. That is why they are to be killed.”
- Martin Luther
With his sermons, Luther contributed to the fact that the
persecution of witches began in Wittenberg as early as 1540: Prista
Frühbottin was arrested by the electoral bailiff because she was accused
of having poisoned the cattle on the pasture with the help of her son
and two farmhands . In truth, a drought had killed the cattle. However,
after the trial and torture, the accused were tied to oak stakes in the
market square on June 29, 1540 and burned alive by the fire lit
underneath. The artist and eyewitness, Lucas Cranach the Younger, made a
woodcut of the pyre. The Wittenberg executioner Magnus Fischer was also
suspected of having been in close contact with Prista Frühbottin. He was
seized and sentenced to death by fire, executed in Eisleben on July 7,
1540. In Wittenberg, at least 21 people were affected by the persecution
of witches between 1540 and 1674: Eight executions are attested, and 13
other procedures are documented, e.g. T. the outcome is not known. In
connection with the trial of Prista Frühbottin, the surviving documents
state that many others were arrested and convicted.
On October
30, 2013, the council of Lutherstadt Wittenberg declared a socio-ethical
rehabilitation of the victims of the witch hunt.
At the beginning of the 17th century, names such as Daniel
Sennert, Friedrich Taubmann and August Buchner attracted important
students to the city, but this changed with the beginning of the Thirty
Years' War. In order to be prepared for the demands of a military
conflict, in 1626 the fortress walls and the fortress personnel were
reinforced by able-bodied citizens. Although Wittenberg got off lightly
during this time, the smaller towns in the area in particular suffered
from arson. Its population sought refuge in the protective walls of the
city. The lack of food, which was associated with the plague that was
often rampant in the city, decimated the population, so that additional
death books had to be created. Nevertheless, in 1637 the city was able
to defend itself against the attacks of the Swedish general Johan Banér.
When he did not reach his goal, he burned down Frederick the Wise's
wooden bridge over the Elbe on January 17th.
The military actions
and their consequences had an impact on the environment of the
university. The brutalization of the people often led to clashes between
the students and the mercenaries based in Wittenberg, which usually
ended in blood. Therefore, at that time the Wittenberg executioners had
their hands full. Added to this were the witch trials that began,
resulting in a number of people dying in agony at the stake or scaffold
on the Wittenberg market square. When academic life recovered a little,
thanks in part to such important professors as Abraham Calov and Konrad
Samuel Schurzfleisch, a certain economic recovery in the city was
recognizable in the years that followed.
The city, which was
again afflicted by the Northern War, quickly overcame the consequences
of the Swedish occupation. Well-known students such as Anton Wilhelm Amo
and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing testify to the attraction of Wittenberg.
With the beginning of the Seven Years' War, Wittenberg was exposed to
changing occupations, with the result that the Prussians regained
possession of the fortified town on August 27, 1759. After the Prussian
army had burned down the suburbs in order to have a clear field of fire,
the city commander refused the city's capitulation to the imperial army
in 1760. As a result, Wittenberg was shelled by the Imperial Army on
October 13, 1760 in such a way that the castle and its church burned
down completely. The Prussians capitulated. A large part of the houses
were destroyed. The original thesis door had also fallen victim to the
flames.
In 1764, the Saxon government revoked the fortress right
for the severely damaged city. The construction work progressed slowly.
It was not until August 6, 1770 that the Wittenberg Palace was reopened
in late Baroque style. The Elbe bridge, which was destroyed in the
Thirty Years' War, was opened to traffic in 1787 after three years of
construction. Students were no longer so drawn to the destroyed city. In
1795 the university had only 366 students.
After
the combined Prussian-Saxon army was defeated by Napoleon at the Battle
of Jena and Auerstedt on October 14, 1806, the Saxon Elector Friedrich
August rendered homage and submission to the Emperor of the French. He
made peace with him on December 11, 1806 and joined the Confederation of
the Rhine. Thereupon Napoleon made Friedrich August King of Saxony.
Since then, the Saxon king was an ally of Napoleon and supported the
French emperor militarily. After Napoleon had visited Wittenberg on
October 23, 1806, the city was rebuilt into a fortress on his orders.
Wittenberg University was relocated to Bad Schmiedeberg, and the
citizens of Wittenberg had to provide quarters for the French troops. As
a result, Wittenberg became a French transit district, with the citizens
having to pay for the supplies as usual. A total of 160,000 French moved
through the city. 60,000 soldiers were constantly manning the site.
During the wars of liberation, Wittenberg again came into the public
eye. General Lapoype, who was in command of Wittenberg on March 20,
1813, had the houses in the suburbs, the trees and fences surrounding
the fortified town pulled down to 900 paces on April 6 to create a clear
field of fire. After the Battle of Wartenburg, the attacks of the
opposing allies on the fortress intensified, so that on September 25th
the Prussians shelled the city most heavily. While the French commander
in Torgau had capitulated, Lapoype refused for Wittenberg. In the city
itself there was increasing poverty, the water supply was destroyed and
food was rationed. Destruction, misery, misery, disease and hunger were
the order of the day in the city due to the siege.
After the
commander was once again offered to surrender on January 12, 1814, which
he again declined, there was another intensive shelling from 12 noon to
1 am. During this period, 2477 cannon shots were fired at the city.
Under the eyes of General von Tauentzien and Prince August of Prussia,
as well as under the Prussian General von Dobschütz, the city was
stormed after the cannonade at 1 a.m. After losing 100 men and 8
officers, the Prussians captured the city and imprisoned Lapoype in the
castle basement. He also had great losses: while his troops were still
3,000 strong in October 1813, after the conquest only 2,000 men were
still able to fight. 800 men were in the hospitals. On the same day the
governor was taken to Tauentzien's headquarters in Coswig and
interrogated there. As a result of these clashes, all 259 houses in the
suburbs of Wittenberg and 37 houses in the city center were destroyed.
100,000 trees fell victim to Lapoype's firing range measures, including
the Luther oak. Mortality was four times higher than usual since October
1813, reducing the city's population by a third.
By decision of
the Congress of Vienna, three-fifths of the state of Saxony, including
Wittenberg, fell to Prussia. In 1817 the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm
III. the momentous decision to dissolve the Wittenberg University and to
merge it with the Halle University. As a replacement, Wittenberg got a
Protestant preacher seminary. In 1820, when the 26th Infantry Regiment
moved in, Wittenberg became a garrison town. Wittenberg Castle was
converted into barracks, and the old university building also had to
make way for barracks.
Wittenberg experienced the process of
change typical of that time as a fortress town. Schools and high schools
continued to develop. With the opening of the first line of the
Berlin-Anhalt Railway on August 28, 1841, Wittenberg received a
connection to the German rail network. In 1847 a new Elbe bridge was
handed over. The events of the March Revolution of 1848 also left their
mark. Numerous political associations were founded, with conservative
influence prevailing. After the first Evangelical Church Congress had
taken place in the Castle Church, the Inner Mission was founded by
Wichern at the second Church Congress in 1848, which is a forerunner of
today's diaconal work.
On the cabinet order of Kaiser Wilhelm I
of May 30, 1873, under the direction of Fritz Eunike, work began on June
11, 1873 to demolish the fortress walls around the city. Green areas
were laid out on the site of the fortifications. In 1876 Wittenberg was
connected to the telegraph line between Berlin and Halle, and in 1893
the city received a new post office building. The city's favorable
traffic situation led to the quick settlement of companies, so that in
1894 the Westfälisch-Anhaltische Sprengstoff-Aktiengesellschaft had
already settled with an explosives factory in what is now the district
of Reinsdorf. Mechanical engineering, an iron foundry and a rubber plant
also found a home in Wittenberg during this time.
A culture of
remembrance of the Reformation period increasingly developed in
Wittenberg. In 1821 the Luther monument in Wittenberg was inaugurated on
the market square, in 1830 the Luther oak tree, which still stands
today, was replanted, in 1858 a bronze theses door was donated to the
castle church, in 1865 the Melanchthon monument was unveiled on the
market square, from 1877 to 1883 a Reformation history museum was set up
in the Luther house, on 31 August October 1892, in the presence of
Kaiser Wilhelm II, the restored castle church was inaugurated and in
1894 the Bugenhagen monument was unveiled on the church square.
The industrial settlement trend that emerged in the 19th century
continued in the 20th century. In 1906, today's Wikana factory began
operations as the Kant chocolate factory. With the construction of the
municipal power station, the continuous electrification of the city
began. In 1915, a nitrogen plant was built in what is now Piesteritz,
according to plans by Karl Janisch. The urban planners Paul
Schmitthenner and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg were won over as part of this
construction work, and they designed the Piesteritz factory settlement,
which is now a listed building.
The more Wittenberg developed
into an industrial city, the more the domestic political events in
Germany, such as the shortage of World War I, the consequences of the
November Revolution, the Kapp Putsch or the beginning of hyperinflation,
affected the city. Every event was reflected in Wittenberg and shaped
life in the city. In 1919 Wittenberg temporarily lost its status as a
garrison town. In the course of industrialization, the population grew
steadily, so that on April 1, 1922, Wittenberg received the status of an
independent city. Subsequently, in May 1922, the magistrate and the city
council of the city decided to use the name "Lutherstadt Wittenberg".
Due to difficulties with the approval, official recognition did not take
place until 1938.
During the Nazi era, on June 13, 1935, the
worst explosion accident in the history of WASAG's explosives plant in
Reinsdorf occurred. More than 100 people died and large parts of the
plant were destroyed. In the same year, a branch of the Arado aircraft
factory was set up in Wittenberg, where women from the Ravensbrück
concentration camp were forced to work under inhumane conditions.
Wittenberg became a Wehrmacht garrison town again in 1936. During the
pogrom night of 1938, there were riots in front of Jewish shops and
apartments. As a result, Jewish residents were arrested and deported.
The memorial book of the Federal Archives for the victims of the Nazi
persecution of the Jews in Germany (1933-1945) lists the names of 26
Jewish residents of Wittenberg who were deported and mostly murdered.
After the start of the Second World War, the units trained in
Wittenberg were transferred to the front and supplementary units took
their place. The obituaries of the fallen piled up. Numerous air raids
meant that the workers in the armaments factories hardly got any rest
and yet kept the machinery running at full speed alive. Although the
bomber formations mainly flew to Berlin, in 1944 Anglo-American bombings
in the eastern part of the city damaged several houses, the train
station and destroyed the Filmburg cinema on Mittelstrasse. In the
summer of 1944, a satellite camp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp
was set up in Wittenberg to keep the armaments industry going. Before
the Red Army marched in on April 26, 1945, the Elbe bridge and the flood
bridge in what is now the district of Pratau were blown up.
After
the Soviet soldiers had moved in, there were attacks on the civilian
population in Wittenberg, as in other German cities. Only gradually was
the command of the Soviet troops able to end the chaotic situation. Life
in the city gradually returned to normal after the severe war damage had
been repaired. The Soviet army occupied several city districts
(including the area around today's New Town Hall, Arsenalplatz and the
residential area around the eastern Thomas-Müntzer-Strasse) until they
left in 1991.
A theater developed from a cabaret in 1946 (later
the Elbe-Elster-Theater), and the Luther Hall was reopened in the same
year. The armaments factories were destroyed and civilian production
resumed. In 1948, construction of the Julius Riemer Museum began in the
palace. In 1949, a HO shop was opened at Collegienstrasse 91, where you
could shop without food ration cards, but at very high prices. With the
founding of the GDR, the city council regained the duties of exercising
its office. On July 1, 1950, Wittenberg lost its status as an
independent city. Even if there were protests in smaller companies
during the uprising of June 17, 1953, these were suppressed in the large
companies by the drive-up of tanks.
The influx of many displaced
persons from the areas east of the Oder and Neisse and from the
Sudetenland at the end of the Second World War led to a housing shortage
in Wittenberg. In the district of Kleinwittenberg, apartments were built
in large block construction for the first time between 1957 and 1963.
Life in Wittenberg developed along the lines typical of a town in the
GDR. On December 5, 1979, as part of the "unilateral Soviet troop
withdrawal" (20,000 soldiers and 1000 tanks), the 6th Guards Tank
Division, which had been stationed in the city since 1945, was publicly
bid farewell.
After the 450th anniversary of the founding of
Wittenberg University had been celebrated in 1952, the commemoration of
the 400th anniversary of the death of Lucas Cranach the Elder followed
in 1953. Ä. and in 1967 a large historical procession to celebrate the
450th anniversary of the Reformation. An international symposium and an
academic ceremony at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg
were the highlights of these celebrations in 1967. In honor of Philipp
Melanchthon, a memorial museum was opened in his former home.
A
large number of events marked the Luther Jubilee in 1983. The Deutsche
Post of the GDR (9 November 1982 and 18 October 1983) and the Deutsche
Bundespost (13 October 1983) issued special postage stamps on this
occasion. At Pentecost a new organ was consecrated in the town church.
After structural remodeling and a new museum design, the Luther Hall
opened its exhibition on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Martin
Luther's birth. The restoration work on the tower of the castle church
and on the theses door has been completed. Guests from 15 countries took
part in the Evangelical Church Congress. Pastor Friedrich Schorlemmer
had a sword forged into a ploughshare: It was on September 24, 1983,
when the blacksmith Stefan Nau forged a sword into a ploughshare at the
Wittenberg Lutherhof in front of more than 2,000 enthusiastic
spectators. The picture, which showed the then 38-year-old during the
forging action, later went around the world.
The Piesteritz
nitrogen plant was expanded between 1970 and 1976 with the construction
of two ammonia and three urea plants. In connection with this, a large
prefabricated residential area was built between 1971 and 1980 on the
northern outskirts of the city.
In the 1980s, dissatisfaction
with the economic and political situation among the population became
ever more pressing. In 1989 there were demonstrations in Wittenberg with
10,000 protesting citizens. After the reunification of Germany, a
reduction in jobs – especially in the manufacturing sector – led to an
increase in the unemployment rate and to a wave of emigration, which
primarily affected the younger generation – especially in the
Friedrichstadt prefabricated building area.
The dismantling of the prefabricated building areas from the GDR era
is largely complete. Since then, Wittenberg has been characterized by
renovation and new construction work, economic recovery and tourist
development as a "place of pilgrimage of the Reformation".
Since
2008, the city has been preparing for the 500th anniversary of the
Reformation in 2017 with the Luther Decade. Numerous buildings have been
restored, some of the infrastructure has been renewed and numerous new
attractions have emerged in the city. In 2009, for example, the Luther
Garden was planted for the first time. A total of 500 trees were
planted. These form a new park south of the old town. The construction
of the first shopping center on Arsenalplatz near the historic city
center began in May 2011. The "Arsenal" opened in 2012. This investment
totaled around 42 million euros and 250 new jobs were created. In 2014,
Lutherstadt Wittenberg was the fourth city to be awarded the honorary
title of "European City of Reformation" by the Community of Protestant
Churches in Europe. At the end of 2016, the second climate-friendly
train station in Germany went into operation in Lutherstadt Wittenberg
after Horrem. In October 2016, the artist Yadegar Asisi opened his 360°
panorama entitled Luther 1517, which will be on display until 2024.
The city's landmark, the Castle Church, was renovated and partially
rebuilt by 2017 for a total of 33 million euros. In the same year, the
500th anniversary of the Reformation was celebrated and in 2018 the
Reformation History Research Library in Wittenberg was founded.
Between 2006 and 2019, the unemployment rate in Lutherstadt and in the
district of Wittenberg fell continuously - year after year - and reached
a low of 5.7% in the district in September and October 2019, when there
was almost full employment. Since 2012, more people have been moving to
Wittenberg every year than away from there, although the positive
migration balance has not yet been able to fully compensate for the
birth deficit. Especially after 2019, the comparatively low rents and
land prices in Wittenberg and the fast ICE connection to Berlin and
Leipzig (30 minutes) have led to an increase in demand from those
willing to commute and to the designation of new residential areas -
including near the train station - by the city. For the next few years
and decades, the Wittenberg City Council and Town Hall are assuming that
they will be able to more than compensate for the still too low number
of births and bring the city back up to the 50,000-inhabitant mark -
depending on the infrastructural development of the (airport) Locations
Berlin and Leipzig or the greater area between these Central European
metropolises.
Wittenberg was a garrison of the Prussian army from 1820 to 1919. The soldiers were accommodated in the castle and in the Fridericianum, which had been converted into barracks. In 1883 the Kavalierkaserne (later Tauentzienkaserne) was opened on Lutherstrasse (since 2000 the New Town Hall). The original Tauentzienkaserne in today's Am alten Bahnhof street existed from 1913 to 1918. The bridgehead barracks in the suburb of Pratau on the other bank of the Elbe were built in 1893 In the 1930s, new barracks were built, such as the Beseler barracks on Teucheler Weg, the Nordend barracks on Nordendstraße and a barracks in the suburb of Apollensdorf. Wittenberg became a garrison town again in 1936. The barracks were used by the Soviet troops after 1945. After 1979/80, when the 6th Guards Tank Division was transferred from the Wittenberg area to Belarus, the Soviet/Russian Wittenberg garrison existed on a significantly reduced scale until it was withdrawn in 1992/93. In the years that followed, a campsite with a boat harbor (marina) was set up on the site of the bridgehead barracks.