Wittenberg Overview

In an effort to keep the memory of Martin Luther alive, the city even renamed itself Lutherstadt Wittenberg in 1938. It was here that Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Schloßkirche in 1517, igniting the Protestant Reformation that irrevocably changed Europe. His scandalous wedding—conducted despite his vows of celibacy as a final snub to Rome—was so perfectly dramatic that the town reenacts it every June in a three-day festival. Even in the officially atheistic DDR, many East Germans clung to the image of the maverick Luther as an emblem of courageous resistance. Since the fall of the wall, religious pilgrims have returned in full force to Luther’s city.

• Transportation

Bike Rental: Fahrradladen, Coswiger Str. 21. (☎ 03491 40 28 49. €7 per day. Open M-F ­9am-­6pm; Sa ­10am-noon.),

• Orientation And Practical Information

To get to the pedestrian zone from the station, go toward the bus stop, turn left through the parking lot and down the street, and follow the curve right, where it becomes Lutherstr. Continue on Lutherstr ...more

• Accommodations

Jugendherberge im Schloß (HI), Schlossstr. 14-15 in the castle across from tourist office. Enter through the wheat-colored archway, and then the glass cube. Medieval on the outside, modern on the inside ...more

• Food

Budget eateries line Collegienstraße and Schloßstraße. Zum Schwarzen Bär, Schloßstr. 2 serves spud-centric dishes with a sense of humor. Sleds and wheelbarrows leap from shelves, deer ...more

• Sights

LUTHERHAUS.  Once the site of an old monastery, this museum now chronicles the history of the Reformation through letters, texts, art, and artifacts (signs in English). Hundreds of early printed ...more