Wartburg, Eisenach

On 17 April 1521, Luther was interrogated in front of the assembled princes and estates at the Diet of Worms, where he was asked one final time to recant his teaching. After one day of reflection, Luther refused. The reason: his conscience was “captive to the Word of God”. Three weeks later, the Diet placed the renegade priest under the imperial ban. The man was an outlaw – and his life was in danger. Frederick the Wise stepped in; he wanted to rescue his subject and pretended to kidnap him. Disguised as Junker Jörg, Martin Luther spent ten months above the rooftops of Eisenach – during which time he translated the New Testament. 

Luther’s room at Wartburg Castle ©Andreas Matthes/KOCMOC, Wartburg-Stiftung/KOCMOC

So it is no surprise that Wartburg Castle has become a national place of remembrance for the Reformation. The focal point for those who venerate Luther is a modest room with a desk and wooden wall: the famous “Martin Luther’s room”. An ancient, wooden door offers a view into the small writing room. Visitors look reverently at the image of Luther on the wall and can see an old desk with deep grooves and a wooden chair. The crumbling wall behind the green fireplace is a reminder of how uncomfortably draughty and cool it must have been up here in the castle at that time and that Martin Luther is supposed to have chased the devil away with an ink bottle here.

With its spacious courtyard and high walls, Wartburg Castle still towers over the town of Eisenach today and serves as one of the many exciting stations along the popular Luther Trail.

Header: Sunset at Wartburg Castle in Eisenach ©Moritz Kertzscher, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH