Wittenberg’s historic centre is an important place for residents and visitors alike. Monuments to Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon and the market fountain stand on its central square. The municipal register recorded 2,073 people with a main residence in the Altstadt statistical district in 2009, and 2,110 in 2019. The district area listed in the 2019 yearbook is 86.80 ha.
Townhouse
The town house, located on Arsenalplatz, dates from the 13th century and within its walls still represents a significant remnant of the medieval building structure of the former Franciscan monastery church. This in turn was used as a burial place for the Ascanians. Its appearance changed greatly over the centuries, for example due to the Seven Years' War or renovations in the 19th century. After the old town house was supposed to shine in new splendor again, the renovation was stopped because the resting place of Rudolph II, his daughter and his second wife was found during archaeological excavations.
City church
The mother church of the Reformation is the city and parish church of St. Marien. In 1521 the first Protestant mass was held for her by Justus Jonas the Elder and Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt. It was also Luther's preaching church and, since the Reformation, the official church of the general superintendents of the Saxon spa district, but after the Congress of Vienna it became the official residence of the Wittenberg superintendents. The artistic design and furnishings were also well preserved. You can still see a number of works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger today. Many epitaphs also point to the influence and work of many important personalities.
Castle and castle church
The castle with the church is probably the most important symbol of Lutherstadt, especially in connection with the courageous attack on the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century by posting Martin Luther's 95 theses. Before the remodeling in 1884, the church and castle were destroyed in 1760 and 1814 and used as barracks for the defenses. The developers of the remodeling intended to visualize the expression of world historical significance. However, in the spirit of historicism, the statement was related to the forerunners of the Reformation and thus a Reformation memorial was created.
Cranach farms
Summoned to the Wittenberg court by Elector Frederick the Wise in 1505, the painter Lucas von Kronach from Franconia lived in Wittenberg for 40 years.
He went down in the history of Lutherstadt as one of the most versatile personalities of the Reformation period. There are two of his houses on the market, the so-called Cranach-Höfe, which were his workshops and places of work. The buildings of the Renaissance are images of the history that took place in them.
Official references: Lutherstadt Wittenberg Statistical Yearbook 2019, p. 19 (population in 2009 and 2019), p. 12 (district area; German). The previously published figures of 2,159 for 2009 and 0.84 km² were not supported by this source and have been replaced. The other architectural history statements derive from the 2010 article credited below and still require its original references.
SOURCE 2010
- Anne-Kathrin Tarnow | Marco Gernt, Germany