Wittenberg is most famous for being the home of Martin Luther, and thus the location of the first Lutheran church. We toured the excellent museum located in what was once Luther's house. Tsar Peter the Great even scratched his name on the door of Luther's kitchen! Most interesting, however, was the large collection of books written by Luther they had on premises, including translations of both the Bible and Koran into German, as well as numerous sermons and pamphlets.
From there we walked down a cute street to the church where (supposedly) Luther nailed his theses to the door. The church is part of the local palace, and is quite ornate - stark contrast to the church in the center of town where Luther preached.
Luther's church is striking for it's simplicity, as well as the interesting paintings, done by a friend of Luther, which portray famous scenes from the Gospels with Luther and his followers as observers. The message is clear: Jesus' baptism? Luther was there!
Finally, we went and visited a school from the GDR era which had been remodeled by architect Hundertwasser. He is quite imaginative - this school has turrets, trees growing out of windows, and brightly colored tiles all over.
I need to mention one more interesting item related to this trip. We took advantage of the Schoneswochende ticket offered by Deutsche Bahn - unlimited travel for up to five people on any regional train for the whole day, only 35 euro! (Special thanks to Josh for pointing this great deal out to me!)
---- Pictures ----
A view of the Schlosskirche (Palace Church) from the center of town.
The main Platz in Wittenburg.
A smaller Platz with Luther's church in the background.
A school "renovated" by Hundertwasser.
GDR-era housing, located across the street from the school.
Some interesting (both educational and artistic) graffiti.
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