Erfurt, Eisleben, Eisenach

How do you keep track of which important Luther “E” city is which?!? I genuinely messed them up in my planning several times. And we almost drove to the wrong “E” city when plugging things into my phone’s GPS. Now though, I have memories for the places. There is something about stepping foot somewhere, and taking in the sites, that helps place the locations in history.

We stayed in Erfurt, where the primary thing significant to the life of Luther is the Augustinian monastery (us in the arches below). We also found the church where Luther was ordained/said his first mass. In addition to the Luther sites, our time in Erfurt was wonderful. Concierge, waiter, and stranger alike would boast about Erfurt being the most kid-friendly town. It was! There were characters around town to take pictures with. Great parks. Beautiful shops. The town was an absolute delight to take in. The famous Market’s bridge was also classic German and beautiful.

We took a morning drive over to Eisleben, which was where Luther’s family was from and where he was born. The church where Luther was baptized was one of my favorites. The architecture has modern updates that embrace what the church is remembered for (and why tourists and pilgrims come), and yet focuses on being a baptizing church for today. The lines in the concrete floor are meant to appear like ripples around the columns and altar. The stained glass is meant to flow as if underwater. It was cool. The font descends under the “surface” of the floor. And the rim is the German translation of “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Luther also happened to die in his hometown. He’d come back to settle a local dispute, preached a short sermon series to note the issue had been resolved (normal for the time) and had a heart attack (perhaps the second or third he suffered) and died not far from where he was born. We toured the church where he gave those last sermons and also took in the museums commemorating both his birth and death house.

Today, we went to Eisenach (west of Erfurt) before heading south for our next stay in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We made the jaunt west to check out the Wartburg Castle. The castle became a refuge for Luther after the Diet of Worms in 1521. It was at the Diet of Worms where Luther refused to recant his teachings and declared an outlaw. Elector Frederick the Wise “captured” Luther for Luther’s protection and brought him to this castle. While there Luther grew out his beard and went by the name, “Junker Jörg” (Knight George) while hiding out. Further, at Wartburg Castle, Luther translated the New Testament into German (see Peyton and I in front of his room below). The magnitude of translating the Bible into the language of the people… well it might be a blog post of it’s own when we get back.

Well, here’s to hoping the freshness of these memories isn’t what is keeping the cities straight in my brain. I’m a terrible navigator and should not be trusted with a map. But the sights, sounds, stories, and memories (along with the photos) should hopefully help me place these locations for future studies.