Melanchthon House Wittenberg

Since 1996, the Melanchthon House has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. On the neighboring property, a modern new building was opened in early 2013 after two years of construction. On 600 m² of exhibition space, a new permanent exhibition entitled "Philipp Melanchthon: Life - Work - Impact" provides information about the living conditions and everyday life of Melanchthon and his family.

The exhibition section in the new building shows manuscripts, prints, paintings and busts that tell of Melanchthon's importance for the Reformation and for the development of Protestantism. Among the exhibits are previously unpublished salary receipts and town histories, as well as a larger-than-life portrait of Melanchthon that has been painstakingly restored. The Melanchthon House itself was almost never rebuilt over the centuries. Now it is staged as a building monument with illustrations and recreated everyday objects.

The exhibition includes elements specially designed for children and young people. For example, children are given a cast-iron key that gives them access to chests, cupboards and hidden games. Melanchthon's ten-year-old daughter Magdalena guides the children visually and auditorily through the history of the Reformation and the everyday life of the Melanchthon family.

Interior view of the Melanchthon House in Wittenberg ©Tomasz Lewandowski

Bust of Philipp Melanchthon ©Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen Anhalt

Header: ©Tomasz Lewandowski