UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Official name | Luther's Death House |
Location | Eisleben, Mansfeld-Südharz, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany |
Part of | Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg |
Criteria | Cultural: (iv)(vi) |
Reference | 783-001 |
Inscription | 1996 (20th Session) |
Area | 0.12 ha (0.30 acres) |
Buffer zone | 1.37 ha (3.4 acres) |
Coordinates | 51°31′41″N11°32′40″E / 51.52807°N 11.54433°E |
Martin Luther's Death House (German: Martin Luthers Sterbehaus) is a historic building in Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt Germany, long regarded as the place where the influential theologian Martin Luther died on 18 February 1546. Along with Martin Luther's Birth House in Eisleben and other sites associated with Martin Luther in Wittenberg, the building was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. [1] It is now a museum.
Luther travelled on 23 January 1546 from Halle to Eisleben on a mission to solve an inheritance dispute in the House of Mansfeld. This mediation was protracted and in the meantime Luther was tormented by cramps in his chest. Luther anticipated his death many days beforehand because he was increasingly suffering many heart attacks. By 17 February 1546 the inheritance dispute had finally been resolved and at dinner that day Luther commented he would finally lie down to sleep in his coffin and allow the worms to have a good meal. The pain in his chest continued to worsen and many medications were tried on him, but to no avail. [2] It was claimed that in his last hours more than twenty people were with him, including his son Paul Luther. The theologian Justus Jonas documented the version of his death accepted by Luther's followers. [3] According to this version, Luther recited prayers, begged the Lord to take his soul and then his senses faded. [2] On 18 February 1546, Luther died at the age of 62 years. The reason for his death is assumed to be a cardiac infarct. [3]
The question of how Martin Luther died became essential to the fate of the Protestant Reformation. The Roman Catholic church preached that the manner of death attests the life and that the devil uses the last moments of life as his last chance to tempt the individual. Immediately after Luther's death, Catholic pamphlets spread rapidly, alleging that Luther had drunk himself to death with alcohol. Sixty years after Luther's death, Catholic polemicist Henrici Seduli in his "Præscrptiones Adversus Hæreses", asserted that Luther had hanged himself; citing the alleged testimony of one of the theologian's supposed retainers, Ambrosio Kudtfeld. The site of Luther's last rest became a place of worship for the faithful of the Protestant religion and they went on pilgrimages to the house until this was banned in 1707. [2]
In February 2013 the building was reopened, after two years of major restoration and extension of the museum costing 5.8 million euros. A new exhibition, "Luthers letzter Weg" (in English: Luther's last path), now chronicles his decease and reveals Luther's attitude to death. Now for the first time in history, it is possible for visitors to explore all chambers of the building. [4] The new exhibition contains about 110 exhibits, including historic furniture, documents and signatures, as well as the original cloth that covered Luther's coffin. [3]
Unfortunately in 2013 it became clear that in 1726 the chronicler Eusibius Francke confused the site of the houses of Barthel Drachstedt and of his father Dr. Philipp Drachstedt. The consequence of this mistake was that in 1862 the town of Eisleben took over the "false" house. In 1892 the house was almost completely rebuilt in order to reflect what was believed to be its appearance at the time of Luther's death, even down to a reconstruction of the supposed room of his death. [5]
It is now known that in fact Luther died in a house at Am Markt 56, which is currently occupied by the 'Hotel Graf Mansfeld'.
This mistake is rather unfortunate as a considerable sum of money has been invested in building the Luther 'Sterbe Haus' Museum at what is now known to be the wrong site. The Hotel Graf Mansfeld in turn has no desire to become a museum or a pilgrimage site. On the other hand, Protestants are not urging it to become one, and there is not much of an ongoing dispute about the matter.
From November until March the museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday (it is closed on Monday), from 10am—5pm. From April until October the museum is open on all days of the week, from 10am—6pm . [3]
Johann or Johannes Agricola was a German Protestant Reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was a follower and friend of Martin Luther, who became his antagonist in the matter of the binding obligation of the law on Christians.
Georg Major was a Lutheran theologian of the Protestant Reformation.
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, 60 kilometers (37 mi) north of Leipzig and 90 kilometers (56 mi) south-west of Berlin, and has a population of 46,008 (2018).
Crypto-Calvinism is a pejorative term describing a segment of those members of the Lutheran Church in Germany who were accused of secretly subscribing to Calvinist doctrine of the Eucharist in the decades immediately after the death of Martin Luther in 1546. It denotes what was seen as a hidden Calvinist belief, i.e., the doctrines of John Calvin, by members of the Lutheran Church. The term crypto-Calvinist in Lutheranism was preceded by terms Zwinglian and Sacramentarian. Also, Jansenism has been accused of crypto-Calvinism by Roman Catholics.
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben.
Justus Jonas, the Elder, or simply Justus Jonas, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a Jurist, Professor and Hymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. He accompanied Martin Luther in his final moments.
Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history.
Cyriacus Spangenberg was a German theologian, Protestant reformer and historian, son of the reformer Johannes Spangenberg (1484–1550).
All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as Schlosskirche to distinguish it from the Stadtkirche of St. Mary's, sometimes known as the Reformation Memorial Church, is a Lutheran church in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the site where, according to Philip Melanchthon, the Ninety-five Theses were posted by Martin Luther in 1517, launching the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Johann Gebhard von Mansfeld-Vorderort, born circa 1525–30, was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. He died in Frankfurt on 2 November 1562.
The House of Mansfeld was a princely German house, which took its name from the town of Mansfeld in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt. Mansfelds were archbishops, generals, supporters as well as opponents of Martin Luther, and Habsburg administrators.
The Lutherhaus is a writer's house museum in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Originally built in 1504 as part of the University of Wittenberg, the building was the home of Martin Luther for most of his adult life and a significant location in the history of the Protestant Reformation. Luther was living here when he wrote his 95 Theses.
The Melanchthonhaus is a writer's house museum in the German town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. It is a Renaissance building with late Gothic arched windows and the broad-tiered gables. It includes the study of the influential Protestant Reformer Philipp Melanchthon, who lived there with his family. In 1954 the house became a museum on Melanchthon's life and work displaying paintings, prints and manuscripts by him and his contemporaries. In 1996, the building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with sites associated with Melanchthon's contemporary Martin Luther in Witternberg and Eisleben because of their religious significance and the lasting, global influence of Protestantism.
Johann Wigand was a German Lutheran cleric, Protestant reformer and theologian. He served as Bishop of Pomesania.
Mansfeld Land is a region in the southwestern corner of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The region derives its name from the counts of Mansfeld, who ruled this region for about 1,000 years.
Martin Luther's Birth House is a building and museum in Eisleben, Germany. The German religious reformer Martin Luther was born there in 1483. However, the actual house in which Luther was born no longer exists, it having been burnt completely to the ground in 1689. A new building was built on the original site and was opened to the public in 1693, although it did not adhere to the original floor plan and size of the former house. An excavation was carried out in 2006, revealing pottery shards and a clay floor from the original house.
Lutherhaus Eisenach is one of the oldest surviving half-timbered houses in Thuringia. Tradition holds that Martin Luther lived there with the Cotta family during his schooldays in Eisenach from 1498 to 1501. The Lutherhaus has been one of the most important historic Reformation sites since the 19th century and, as such, was designated a "European cultural heritage site" in 2011. The Lutherhaus has been run as a cultural history museum since 1956.
St. Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt, central Germany, is a former church and monastery complex dating from the 13th century. The site is almost one hectare in size. It was built by Augustinian friars, an order of the Catholic Church. It is most well known as the former home of Martin Luther (1483–1546), the father of the Reformation, who lived there as a friar from 1505 until 1511.
A Lutherstadt is a city German protestant reformer Martin Luther visited or played an important role in. Two cities, Lutherstadt Eisleben and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, have "Lutherstadt" in their official names, while Mansfeld-Lutherstadt is the unofficial name of a district in Mansfeld. These three places which were important in Luther's life were awarded the "European Heritage Label".