Martin Luther in Wittenburg
During the period that the Martin Remus family was in
Grossenhain, the Reformation was unfolding based on the teachings of Martin Luther.
This movement centered on nearby Wittenburg where Martin Luther lived and taught. I made a visit to the Luther Museum there; it was located in the house the Luther lived in. I found it very interesting and the information provided consistent with the scholarship on Luther; particularly the award winning book by Obermann. Here a picture of me in front of the Museum and a picture of Luther's lectern inside the museum:
The village was also the location of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses on the (Castle) church door traditionally dated October 31, 1507 - a challenge written in Latin for other academics to debate him on these topics. Here is a picture of the Castle Church, a picture of the Castle Church interior, and then a picture of its current door (that replaced the old wooden door):
The 95 theses caused turmoil in the Catholic Church and things soon spun out of control. I have pieces of this story on the website.
You can click here to go to Leipzig to see the University of Leipzig where Luther debated Catholic theologian Jan Eck. Click here for details on Luther being called to Augsburg to meet with Cardinal Cajetan and asked to recant three key points. And click here to find out more about the indulgences controversy and the building of St Peters in Rome.
Meanwhile, back in Wittenburg…. Also of interest was St Mary's Parish Church where Luther gave sermons for the students and villagers:
The village also had a very nice market platz shown here:
And lastly a map of the modern village with a legend locating the sights above:
Click here to find more about Martin Luther and his debates with Jacob Eck at University of Leipzig.
Please send any queries to Bill Remus at
September 24, 2007