To Learn
Eisleben Market Square with Luther Monument…through visits to historical sites, museums, and the vibrant city of Berlin, and through Interest Centers that give context and bring into focus the message, the meaning and the media of the Reformation.
Day excursion to Lutherstadt Eisleben
Eisleben is the town where Martin Luther was born and were he died. More than just a tourist visit we will spend the day in Eisleben with an Interest Center in St Peter and Paul church where Martin Luther was baptized and which currently was turned into a “Center for Baptism”. Also the museum of Luther’s birth house and the church with the last remaining original pulpit of Luther’s time are on our list. Plus we will serve the Eisleben community with a servant project.
Day excursion to Luther sites in Eisenach and The Wartburg
After an early morning start we’ll visit the town of Eisenach where Martin Luther spent his childhood. This is also the birthplace of Johan Sebastian Bach. Here, we will visit the Wartburg Castle. This is where Martin Luther was held for safety and during his time there translated the New Testament into German in just 10 weeks. It’s only since then that ordinary folks are able to read the Bible in their mother’s language. On our way back to Wittenberg we visit the town of Erfurt and the Augustinian Monastery, where Martin Luther lived as a monk before he was sent to Wittenberg. We’ll celebrate with Evening Prayers at the monastery in the very room where Luther took his monastic vows.
Day excursion to Leipzig and Dresden
A little south of Wittenberg is Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach composed most of his cantatas in the time when he was the cantor at St Thomas Church. Leipzig also was important in the fall of 1989 when demonstrators peacefully protested and ultimately forced changes in East Germany which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dresden, called the “Florence of the North”, fascinates visitors with its baroque architecture. Hardly destroyed in the bombings at the end of World War II, the city just recently restored to its old glory.
Day excursion to Berlin
It’s just a ninety-minute drive into Berlin, Germany’s vibrant Capital! See the Reichstag, Parliament and Brandenburg Gate, where Berlin was divided by a concrete wall until 1989. Some remnants still show the structures of the Wall, and the Holocaust memorial reminds us of the darkest part of German history. A complete visit to Berlin will include, of course, some time for shopping and a good ice cream at Kurfuerstendamm Boulevard! On this day trip you will have the choice of staying with the group for a sightseeing and learning program, or—for advanced Berlin travellers—just spend the day on your own in one of the many museums, art galleries, churches, or shopping centers.
Bible Study (various topics and leaders)
Where if not in Wittenberg would be a good place to study God’s word? Read bible translations and confessional text from the reformation and share your thoughts in your group.
“On the Freedom of a Christian”
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Book Tower in BerlinAn introduction into what Luther wanted to tell the people
Lutheran Theology is all about Freedom. Sit in the backyard of Luther’s parsonage. Read some passages from his writings. Share with one another in the group, what “freedom” means to you and how every day we can fight for freedom.
What old books have to teach us
This interest center takes you into one of the treasures of Reformation history: The library of the Lutherhouse. Luther’s living place is now the world’s largest museum on Reformation history. A librarian will introduce and show you some original writings of Luther’s times and other original 500 year old books.
Arts and Crafts with Lucas Cranach
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Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas CranachLucas Cranach—pharmacist, mayor, versatile businessman, and painter—is the most important artist of Luther’s time. It was he who put Luther’s gospel into church paintings. Today Cranach’s Hof is a lively workshop for artists and craftspeople.Attend a painting workshop at the Cranach House and experience, how your faith is expressed through arts and crafts.
Printing Workshop
The reformation would not have succeeded without use of the cutting-edge technology of Luther’s day: Printing! Visit the historic Wittenberg printing workshop and print your own paper on a machine like one would have done 500 years ago.
Wittenberg Explorer
See Wittenberg from behind and above: Explore the center of the Reformation on a guided tour which leads you around town, into backyards, and onto church steeples.
Paintings Reader
With this interest center you’ll have a closer look at the paintings in the Stadtkirche. In a time when people were not able to read and write, church paintings were more than just decoration: they had to tell a story. And with the new views of the Reformation, the story had to be told differently. Learn to read the stories paintings tell.
The Mother Tongue
Martin Luther famously translated the scriptures into everyday German. Spend a couple of hours learning the basics of the German language. If you arrive not knowing a single word of German, you’ll leave this Interest Center with surprising skills for understanding and responding auf Deutsch. If you are already something of a Deutsch sprecher, you’ll increase your knowledge and have a chance to ask specific questions about using the language.
The Legacy of the Reformation
Hear from experts on the history and implications of the Protestant Reformation. What did it mean and in what specific ways did it change history? How and when did it spread to and affect other countries? How does it affect you today?
450 years Heidelberg Catechism and Council of Trient
While the Lutherans honor their “Small Catechism”, the Reformed Churches follow the “Heidelberg Catechism”. Both major Reformation movements of the 16th century used the media of small booklets to teach their understanding of the gospel in the schools and among the normal people. In 2013 it will be 450 years that the Heidelberg Catechism was published in 1563. Translated into more than 40 language it stamped many generations around the world. Of course it is still in use in reformed churches, and the united protestant churches of the EKD in Germany have the Heidelberg Catechism printed in the hymnal right next to Luther’s Small Catechism. We will take the chance and open our “Lutheran eyes” to understand what the similarities and also the differences are between “Lutherans” and reformed “Calvinists”.