Tour „In the footsteps of Martin Luther“

Tour „In the footsteps of Martin Luther“

Within the Luther´s Decade – preparation for 500th anniversary of Reformation – General Bishop´s Office in cooperation with partner church in the Middle Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland, EKM) organized tour through the cities connected with our Reformer Martin Luther, in days the 1st to 6th September 2015.
First stop was university city of Jena. District Bishop Diethard Kamm from EKM welcomed us, he passed Bishop EKM Ilse Junkermann greetings on to us and then he introduced the church, church congregation Jena and her activities. He also shown us the church building and congregation center. We slept in training centre EKM in Neudietendorf, where chairman of the Pastor Association EKM Martin Michaelis visited us and after evening devotion he spoke about activities of Pastor Association.

The next day we traveled to Eisenach. We couldn´t visit Luther´s House because was under reconstructions, therefore we visited an exhibition in birth house of J.S. Bach, famous evangelical cantor, organist and composer. Unforgettable impression made on us guided tour of Wartburg castle, especially Luter´s room. Luther was hidden in the castle and he translated here the New Testament of the Bible into German.

On Thursday was our goal to visit Erfurt – Luther´s spiritual home. We visited Augustinian cloister and cloister library with the numbers of precious books. Afternoon we were in Weimar. Superintendent Henrich Herbst welcomed us before the Peter an Paul Church. We could not see the whole church because also was under reconstruction. For visitors was possible to see just beautiful, precious altar with painting from Lucas Cranach older – painter of Martin Luther. Brother Superintendent spoke about a lot of interesting things on the altar painting, about Cranach, Luther and then he did a sightseeing tour of Weimar – places connected with J. W. Goethe, F. Schiller and also J. G. Herder.

On Friday we visited a Mansfeld and Luther´s parents house. He spent the most part of his childhood here. We visited museum, house and small church where little Luther acted as a acolyte. In Eisleben we had a short devotion in Petri-Kirche. Devotion was led and by short sermon served District Bishop Johann Schneider. Followed sightseeing tour of Luther´s birth house and other house where Luther´s died. These houses are just probably places of his birth and dead, we can not know the exact place of his life, but in these houses are collected artefacts from the time of Luther´s time and life.

The biggest impression left on us a visit to Luther city - Wittenberg. We visited: Luther´s house, Melanchthon ´s house, printing house of Cranach family, Town church of St. Mary, All Saint´s Church (Schlosskirche) – it is the site where the Ninety-Five Theses were posted by Martin Luther on 31 October 1517, the act that has been called the start of the Protestant Reformation. The tomb of Martin Luther is in the Schlosskirche. The Schlosskirche was also under reconstruction, only a small part of church was available for visitors and participants of Worship Services.

On Saturday afternoon we been in Torgau and in Museum of Katarina von Bora. After Sunday Worship service, fulfilled of impressions, we went on the way home. We thank to all, who prepared and implemented this tour and we thank to God, that he protected us and led us.