WARTBURG CASTLE –UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE

Traditionally, Wartburg castle is so closely linked with the name of Luther that it is occasionally referred to as “Lutherburg”. Less than a generation after the death of the reformer, the first pilgrims set off on a pilgrimage to Eisenach and up to the castle to see Luther’s Room and to remember him in respectful prayer. They could not miss it, as an archive notice from the year 1574 is there to vouch for the authenticity of the “Dr. Martinus Rooms”. The signatures, initials and dates—the oldest being from 1603—scratched into the wooden panelled walls are proof of continual visits over the centuries. The Luther Room at Wartburg castle represents an authentic and, at the same time, well-preserved scene from the life of the reformer and demonstrates the influence of one of the most important personalities since the beginning of modern times. Next to the Roman palace of the Thuringian landgraves it is the most precious “exhibit” at Wartburg castle. On the evening of 4 May 1521 the exiled and outcast monk arrived at his predetermined place of shelter, the castle protectorate of Wartburg. Here he assumed the name of Junker Jörg, grew his hair and beard, wore secular clothes again for the first time and after weeks of composure took advantage of the seclusion to create the most important work of his life—the translation of the New Testament of the Bible. The protectorate was the backdrop for this and because of Luther’s ten-month stay there Wartburg castle was to achieve worldwide renown. For more than half a millennium the personage of Martin Luther, his work and his influence have been woven like a thread into the history of Wartburg castle. No other person—neither the holy Elisabeth, nor Landgrave Hermann, organiser of the legendary bard war and patron of Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach—have had such a strong influence on the long history of the castle, helping it to maintain the renown that it still holds to this day.

The Luther Room at Wartburg Castle Luther sings as a schoolboy for Mrs Cotta (F. Pauwels, 1872) View of Wartburg from the North East Hans and Margarethe Luther (Lucas Cranach Senior, 1527)