What Germany Is Doing For Luther’s 500th Anniversary

Germany has lots going on for the 500th Anniversary year of Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses. The country has spiffed itself up (though Germany is always pretty spiffy), is sponsoring lots of Luther exhibits, and has launched special non-Luther things to see and do.

Travel writer Rick Steves tells “What’s new in Germany” after the jump. This includes an exhibit on Luther’s life and times in Wittenberg, an exhibit on Luther’s influence on Germany in Wartburg, and an exhibit on Luther’s global influence in Berlin.

Steves goes on to tell about other good reasons to visit Germany and Eastern Europe in 2017.

At one point, we were discussing sponsoring a Cranach tour this year in conjunction with Lori Lewis and the fans of her Katie Luther opera. But that possibility has fallen through. But if you want to be in Wittenberg for the anniversary year, go here.

From Rick Steves, What’s new in Germany, Vienna and Prague | News OK:

The big event in Germany this year is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther, a priest and professor of theology, wrote and published his 95 theses, questioning the corrupt ways of the Catholic Church. Throughout Germany, visitors will find events and exhibits honoring this anniversary, highlighted by three special exhibitions that will be on display from April until November in three visit-worthy cities.

In Berlin, the “Luther Effect” exhibit, presented by the German History Museum and on display at the Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition space, will examine the global effect of the Reformation, including in the United States. At the Lutherhaus museum in Wittenberg, where he lived and preached, the exhibit will focus on the early days of Luther and the Reformation, highlighted by some of his writing and his personal Bible with handwritten notes. The third exhibit, covering Luther’s effect on five centuries of German culture and history, will be at Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, where Luther hid for 10 months after refusing to disavow his statements. He spent that time translating the New Testament from the original Greek into German, thereby bringing the Bible to the masses. And, throughout 2017, my one-hour “Rick Steves’ Luther and the Reformation” special will air on public television throughout the US.

[Keep reading. . .]

Photo of City Church & Wittenberg Marketplace by Anneli Salo (own photo scanned) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons