Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
ABOVE: A foggy morning in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, with the
Stadkirche's towers visible behind the market square.
by Durant Imboden
 Of
all the Luther cities in Germany, Wittenberg
may be the most important: The town is home to the Schlosskirche or
Castle Church where Luther nailed his
95 theses on the Power and
Efficacy of Indulgences to the entrance doors on October 31, 1517. Luther
was a professor of Bible studies in Wittenberg for most of his adult life, and
he is buried in the church where he launched the Protestant Reformation.
 In 1922, the town fathers added the "Lutherstadt" prefix to
Wittenberg's name, and the change was officially recognized in 1938. Today,
Lutherstadt Wittenberg is an attractive town of 48,000 inhabitants that bills itself as "the
Renaissance city on the Elbe." Reminders of Martin Luther are everywhere, from
Luther Beer and
Lutherbecher herb
liqueur to the "Luther's
Wedding" festival that attracts nearly 100,000 guests every June.
 In addition to being a pilgrimage site for
Lutherans and other Protestants, Lutherstadt Wittenberg is the capital of a
tourist region in Eastern Germany that includes the
Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm,
the original Bauhaus in
Dessau, the Dübener Heath nature park, industrial monuments from the "brown coal" era, and the junction of two important cycling routes:
the
European Bicycle Route R1 from France to Russia and the
Elbe Bicycle Path from Berlin to Leipzig.
When to come:
 Lutherstadt
Wittenberg is pleasant at any time of year, but if you like organized events,
you may want to come during Advent (when the town has a Christmas market), on
Reformation Day in October, or when a fair or festival is scheduled.
Even during quieter weeks, you may be able to
enjoy free organ concerts and other cultural events. The city's Web site (see
the "Official tourism sites" links below) has an events calendar with
month-by-month listings.
How long to stay:
You can visit most of Wittenberg's churches and museums in a
day, but I'd recommend arriving in the afternoon and staying two nights unless
you're on a tight schedule. That way, you'll have a full day to explore the town
and its monuments, plus a little extra time for casual sightseeing and shopping.
Next page:
Sightseeing
1st inset photo: 1879 woodcut after
Lucas Cranach.
2nd inset photo: Klizsch/TourismusRegion Wittenberg.
3rd
inset photo: TourismusRegion Wittenberg.
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