500 years since Reformation - Lutherstadt Wittenberg

Wittenberg is a small town in Saxony situated on the Elbe River in Germany. 

The town centre remains pretty much intact as during the war the Allies agreed not to bomb the city though it is probably most famous for its associations with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. 

In the Marketsquare, there is the townhall and Luther memorial.

The two towers you see in the middle photo above is St. Mary's Church, the parish church in which Luther often preached. It was built in the 14th century, but has undergone many changes since Luther's time. Lutheran churches are not very fancy inside and this one was no exception though it did have some impressive art pieces.

This photo just made me laugh, we were obviously really into the church!

Melanchthon House 

Philipp Melanchthon moved to the Melanchthon House in 1539. The humanist and reformer lived and worked in this house until his death.

All Saints' Church

All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as Schlosskirch is the site where the Ninety-five Theses were likely posted by Martin Luther in 1517- the act that has been called the start of the Protestant Reformation. There is a script on one of the doors though they were not done by Luther himself.

Given it’s the 500^th anniversary of Reformation it’s a popular place to visit this year and includes some special attractions including a 360 panorama picture. It depicts the town at the time of Philipp Melanchthon, Cranach the Elder and the Younger, Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther and his fellow Reformer Justus Jonas. 

We also of course had to sample the local fare at the Brauhaus Wittenberg and eat some Eis ☺

A night of laughs

The Quatsch Comedy Club is kind of famous here in Berlin – even Trevor Noah played here!

Once a month they have a show in English and some friends of mine and I made it a regular outing. The last show we attended was a particularly good one – not only did it feature two Canadians, my friends ended up being the stars of the show! 

A day of UNESCO sites: Boyana Church and Rila Monastery

Boyana Church

Boyana Church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan. It contains frescos that date back to 1259 and is one of the best preserved sets of east European medieval art. While the church is in a suburb of Sofia, it feels like it is in the middle of a forest and is even surrounded by some Canadian maples!

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery was founded in the 10th century by St. John of Rila, a hermit canonized by the Orthodox Church. It was destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century and rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. Today it is still a functioning monastery and sometimes you can see one of the 8 monks that live there wandering around. It is a stunning set of buildings set in the Rila Mountains which makes the site even more impressive. 

And once inside, the site is spectacular!