A Day in Wittenberg

A relaxed day planned in the city known as the "Birthplace of the Reformation". Here, Martin Luther played the most important roles of his life from monk, student, professor of theology at Wittenberg University and priest to husband, father, author and reformer. 

Lovely slow start today. Put another load of washing on and set out to visit the famous Schlosskirche (Castle Church). Legend has it that Luther nailed his 95 Theses to this church (aka All Saints Church). It is in beautiful condition, no doubt (alongside other Luther-related sights in Wittenberg) there has been money spent in readiness for the 500-year commemoration held last year. Luther is buried in the church near the pulpit.

The Cranach Höfe was next and very worthwhile. This is the former residence and workplace of Lucas Cranach, considered to be among the most prolific German painters and printmakers of the Reformation. There’s a permanent exhibit on the man, his life and his contemporaries.

Next was a half-hour organ recital at midday back at the Schlosskirche.

Back across the main square again to our apartment for a short break to put out the load of washing put on earlier, a bratwurst on the way for lunch.

Warmer today (23 deg C mid-afternoon) - and of course we are not riding into the wind; not riding at all. Well, not quite - see later!

A more bike-friendly place I have yet to come across - in fact the streets appear to be closed to cars apart from the odd vehicle that seems to have access by some means. People of all ages make their way around by bicycle doing their shopping or whatever. It is very peaceful; and seems to be a prosperous place.

We set off once more: first to look inside the church opposite our apartment. This is the Stadtkirche St Marien, the church where Luther’s ecumenical revolution began with the world’s first Protestant worship services in 1521. The centrepiece is the large altar designed jointly by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son.

Then we walked to the other end of town (only about 15 or so minutes walk from our apartment) to the Lutherhaus which has state-of-the-art exhibits in the former monastery-turned Luther family home. Originally built in 1504 as part of the University of Wittenberg, the building was the home of Martin Luther for most of his life. Today the Luther House is the largest Reformation museum in the world and is UNESCO World Heritage listed. The original exhibits not only tell the life and work of the reformer Luther, but also his family life and his influence on history. The exhibits include manuscripts, charts, printed books, furniture, coins, and medals from nine centuries, and the pulpit from which Luther preached at the Schlosskirche. Fascinating!

The MFs then ‘hot-footed’ it to the other end of the street to the Schlosskirche once more - for a service in English scheduled for 3 pm; I followed a little later. 

So we have ‘done’ the Luther thing. 

We returned to the apartment to collect our bikes and had a quick ride back out of the city the way we had arrived yesterday to where I had seen the sign to the Hundertwasserschüle. Hundertwasser is a great favourite of mine and any chance I can get, I try to see his work. This school is the penultimate work of the eccentric Viennese artist, architect and eco-visionary who was famous for quite literally thinking ‘outside the box’. In Wittenberg, he transformed a boxy GDR-era concrete monstrosity into this colourful and curvy dreamscape. Great stuff!!!

Cruisy ride back in the late afternoon sun - the warmest it’s been all day. We take the bikes out into the garden at the back of our apartment - the only place we’ve stayed in with such a facility - and clean the bikes and check the bolts.

Tim, our host, offers us a cup of coffee and very nice it is too. We sit in the garden and chat about this and that. He has a flat in Berlin where his daughter goes to school and is a West German theatre director; he has an East German girlfriend. He admits to being a Socialist at heart and says many East Germans say things were better before the Wall came down; interestingly, he believes that those who wanted change possibly got more than they bargained for: they wanted less restriction, more freedom but not full-on Capitalism. It was an interesting chat.

He recommended a little restaurant around the corner run by a Russian woman. We could sit on an outside balcony overlooking a small lake; it was pretty in the early evening light although acorns kept falling around us!! We had Russian food: I had a delicious casserole (auflauf) with a creamy pasta; the MFs had trouble with their language translators on their I-phones and she spoke NO English! They ended up with something called a Moskauer Putensteak which had us all wondering what that would be and we made a joke about the name and she gave a puzzled smile - hmm, something lost in translation? I worked out later it was turkey!! Nothing to do with Putin - she must have thought we were nuts (sic).

The MFs were still hungry so we bought a tub of icecream on the way back and I chopped up some nectarines I had bought at Aldi yesterday - yummy dessert. And put last load of washing on.

Walking distance: 13000 steps apparently.

Cycling distance: 8 kms