ML500 - Luther Sites (WARTBURG Castle) +

(Little by little we're getting a few pics added . . to what began as a photo - less blog)   
. . we'll list a number of things that are filling a string of very sunny days!

MAINZ

  . .  Gutenberg Printing Press
( Played a  major  role  in the  . .  "Reformation" )

Gutenberg Bible





There are several levels telling the story of  "Print"
and of  Gutenberg's  part  in  Press history

Of course . . machines changed over the years ..
like computers  . .  they became smaller  and  more  efficient

( Cameras are only allowed on the  bottom  level )

In an almost totally black dark room . . somewhere  upstairs  . .  is
"THE"  . .
 Gutenberg Bible   itself  . .  carefully  preserved . .
(eventually our eyes adjusted - no photos allowed)

Many   new occupations   began  as a result of  PRINT capability:
Book making
Newspapers
Magazines
Advertising
Sign - making
Letter writing and Postal Services
Stationery
Record-keeping
Libraries
Education
written exams
etc

COLOGNE

  . .  Cathedral  . . "BONES . . of the 3 Magi"
Going back to the 13th Century  . .
you can climb over   500 steps   inside the highest church tower  . .  in the world
(located immediately beside the train station)





Trying to figure out where to stand to get  MORE  of this cathedral into  ONE  photo . .
I was surprised to find that my camera lens had drawn a box
around the  "FACE"  of the  GARGOYLE   ( below  . .  on the right ) !

HUGE  . .  what else can you say!
Hopefully  . .  inspiring  Worship  and  Gratitude  (more than just  visitor picture - taking)
(when we were here in 1985 we couldn't get inside . . and the exterior was surrounded with scaffolding
. . major renovation in process.    So  . . "finally"  we have returned  . . 3+ decades later !)





Centuries ago  . .  Bones of the 3 Magi   are   said to be   contained   in this "reliquary"
and  . .  donated to  . .  Cologne's Catholic "Dom" . .  establishing  this  place
as a major pilgrimage site ever since

ERFURT

 . .  Where Luther did  all  his  college  and  seminary  studies

. .  The Church where he became a . . Monk

The  DOM  Cathedral  where  Martin Luther  was Ordained  a  Catholic Priest







Who knows?    Maybe  Luther's feet  walked   . .  where we  . .  "sit"







The  Setting in the Chancel
of
Erfurt's Dom Cathedral  . .
➤    where  Luther  was  Ordained  a  Catholic  Priest

The Nave of Dom Cathedral . .  Erfurt, Germany

EISENACH

( 30  minutes  west  of  Erfurt )
Martin Luther may have been riding in a wagon similar to this . . when he was kidnapped leaving WORMS . . where he refused to "recant" and
was declared a "heretic"

Only  mules  would have been able to climb the incline up the long trek through the forest






Luther   was taken to  . .  Wartburg Castle  . .  (in Eisenach)
and hidden in  disguise  as  "Junker Jörg"  for  . .  10+ months

and during that time he began translating the New Testament

from Greek into the German language of his homeland
(the photo  . .   disguised -"look" as  Junker Jörg  . .  is for tourist - pilgrim benefit)
(the 'green' is a facsimile of 'heating' used in the late 1400 - early 1500s)

We enjoyed this Wartburg Castle in Eisenach . . day tripped by train  to / from . .  ERFURT
(no photos allowed inside)
Included a multi-room massive Reformation exhibit . . truly "outstanding"
(headsets included for a variety of languages)

LEIPZIG

Holocaust Memorial of   140   empty   chairs   emphasizing  . .
( . .  don't just . .  SIT . .  there . . )
"Stand Up  . .  and  . .  Do the right thing"

Bach and Mendelssohn Monuments
In front of Mendelssohn
we had a long in-depth visit with an Iraqi woman . .
daughter . . and Iranian husband / father
(traveling Berlin to Switzerland)

St. Thomas Church  . .  where  Bach  played  organ  and  directed  . .  4 church choirs
( including  Boys Choir )  for  . .  27 years

Martin Luther  . .  introduced  Leipzig  to  "Protestantism"  here at . . St. Thomas  . .
preaching  the Sermon that  . .  Pentecost  day  . .  ( 1539 )

Daytrip  to
Monument to the Battle of Nations
(outskirts of Leipzig)

when  Germany   succeeded   in pushing  Napoleon  . . back into France  (early 1800s)

( with the help of  . .  Prussia  .  Austria  .  Russia  .  Sweden )

➤   Largest battle in European history until World War I  (early 1900s)

( more  than   ☛   100,000   men  died )

From what we've learned  . .  Germany has lost more wars   ( by far )   than it won
We'll give them this  "hooray"
It looks   ( from pics )  like they use the reflection pond for fireworks extravaganzas at times





During our visit the pond area was torn up
. .  getting the space ready for  . .  winter  "iceskating"
in a few weeks

St. Nicholas   church in  . .  Leipzig . .  is where Leipzig citizens gathered every Monday for  "Prayer for  . .  Peace"

protesting   quietly   against   . .   Communist  rule

( this was  East  Germany . .  and  after  Naziism  ended ) 

(They also gathered in candlelight regularly in  Augustus Platz  with increasing numbers from '82 - '89)

Secret Police . . tried to  . .  "stoke"  protesters  to  violence

They failed . .
because they ( SS ) were prepared for any behavior . .  EXCEPT  . . 
candlelight  and  prayer  of  . .  320,000  ( ! )

➤   so . .  with  . .  no reason  for  'Arrests'  . .  they  allowed  the demonstration to  . .  continue

★   Two  and  one-half  weeks  later
November 9, 1989

THE  "WALL"  . .  IN  BERLIN  . .  WAS  COMING  . . DOWN  !

( While cameras were rolling in Berlin . . the heroics of Leipzig were hardly documented

But today Leipzig remains fiercely proud of the crucial role it played

in   ousting  the  Communists   through non - violent means.

Just last week they held a candlelight commemoration of that  October event. )  
We missed it by a couple days






The Marriott Hotel  exterior  end Wall  artistically remembers  the massive Leipzig gathering
yearning  for  . .  individual expression  . . and  . .  liberty
( end  of  communist  dictatorial  oppression )

EISLEBEN

Today we day tripped   ( from Leipzig )  to  Eisleben  where  Martin Luther   was  . .   Born






Visited the   Church  of  St. Peter  and  Paul   where  he  was  . .   Baptized

The   Chancel   and the  . .  Baptismal  Font     ( candles are behind  . .  not on top of font )

Martin Luther  name  (old spelling) . .  and  . .  Date  1483
Baptized  at  "1 Day Old"
( infant  mortality  rate  was  high )







Luther family home   . .  ( a  World  Heritage  Site )

( became  Germany's   1st    Museum   . .   1693
  . .  and  . .  is   one  of  oldest  museums  in  the  world )

A  facsimile  of baby "Lute's" cradle

3 days . . after  preaching  his . .  last  sermon  at  St. Andrew's Lutheran  ( in Eisleben ) . .

Luther  DIED
(in his sermon  . .  he closed saying . . "I'm just too tired to go on . . We'll just have to leave it at that" . .)





Interior of  St. Andrew's  . .  and the  Pulpit






Across the street from St. Andrew's were Luther died . .
the exhibition about his various maladies was surprisingly 'extensive' and detailed.
It also included details about his children who preceded him in death
as well as expressions by many who had worked with him for years.
It is all quite an emotional and exhaustive dramatic biography
for a little boy born in a rural village
to a mining father
who wanted his son "Luder" to be a  . .  LAWYER


His name is everywhere

including the
official  name  of  the  town  . . 
"LUTHER  STADT  EISLEBEN"

Each one of these topics and places could fill a whole blog . . or rather a whole library !

It's all fascinating . . and we're trying not to rush through things

There is so much to see and digest

Most places allow photos without charging extra.

Before leaving Leipzig tomorrow

we hope to see the  Wedding Ring
Luther gave "Katie" . . when  Priest  married  Nun  !

We'll hear much about their family life when we get to Wittenberg in a few days

Asking at Leipzig Town Hall Museum if this was the place to see  the   RING   Luther gave "Katie" . .
They said "If you only want to see one thing we'll take you to it and charge you no entry fee"
so we saved Euro 16 !
(Since then we've seen a very simple ruby ring Luther  "first"  gave his bride.
The  embellished  "outer" ring below came later.
(here is displayed under glass . . the "inner" first ring and the "outer" ring)
"Replicas"  . .  are shown in various other Reformation Exhibits in Germany

This (below) tells a tad bit about the Ring  . .  would like to learn more and see more detail.
It was under a high dome glass enclosure.

LOOK FOR :  in . . YOUTUBE  or  just  Safari or  Search the web

asking for

"A Man Named Martin"

There are now 3 full discs:

The first is . . "The Man"

The second is . .  "The Moment"

The third is . . "The Movement"

(each DVD is divided into approximately 15 minute segments 
and there are  5 sessions on 1st & 3rd  Disc.   Disc 2 has 3 sessions)

All three are excellent . . telling what was going on in the Medieval years in both  Church  and Politics
( even . .  before  . .  the  "Catholic"  church ! )

And  WHAT  LED  UP  TO   the  . .  "Reformation"

What  happened  DURING  the  "Reformation"

and  what  . .  FOLLOWED

It's   . .   quite  mind - boggling    ! !

 Wish we had time to wade through photos and include oodles of them. 

We are pacing ourselves to be in Wittenberg Saturday evening . . Then we'll have some "slack" time

(will have to see it to believe it . .  but we keep telling ourselves 
there's going to be a "break" here somewhere - 
check back to this blog again . . we'll aim to slip in a few pics)

Almost ALL of these  Reformation sites

are located in  what  WAS   ( for  . .  40 years )   the  divided  . .  "East"  Germany

Must move on

You all are missing out on so many fabulous things 

We could use  SEVERAL  more sets of  EYES    ( so we could see   M O R E )

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