In the Footsteps of Cranach - A Journey of Discovery

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A place of refuge for Cranach’s friend Luther
Eisenach
Eisenach and Wartburg Castle would certainly
have figured in Luther’s discussions with Cranach the Elder.
The mother of the great reformer was born in the town,
and his father came from nearby Möhra. Luther’s associations
with Eisenach, which he referred to as his beloved town
go back to his childhood: it was here that he went to school
and gave sermons.
At that time, the castle had entered a quieter period
and the extravagant celebrations of the Middle Ages were
long past. Wartburg Castle guaranteed the necessary safety
and seclusion for the excommunicated – and during the
Diet of Worms ostracised – monk, who shook the Roman
Catholic Church. From 4 May 1521 until 1 March the following
year, Luther remained in hiding at his ‘Patmos’ and it was
one of the most productive periods of his life. His translation
of the New Testament is regarded as a defining moment
in the development of a standardised German language.
Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, UNESCO World Heritage site