This timeline places selected events that shaped Wittenberg's urban form in context. It is an editorially checked revision of a 2006 historical outline by Anne Krätschmann and Marco Gernt. The dates are supported by the sources below; this is not a complete city chronology.
Medieval town
- 1293: A charter grants Wittenberg further town rights.
- 1332: A town wall is first recorded in writing.
- 1356: Wittenberg becomes an electoral residence.
Residence, university and Reformation
- 1502: The University of Wittenberg is founded.
- 1517: Luther's 95 Theses are associated with the Castle Church. The Reformation sites still shape Wittenberg's urban landscape.
Fortress and Prussian era
- 1760: Wittenberg is besieged during the Seven Years' War.
- 1817: The University of Wittenberg is united with the University of Halle.
- 1873: An imperial order begins the removal of the fortifications. Public parks are laid out on former ramparts from 1878.
Heritage and the present city
In 1996, the Luther memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. For this urban study, the transformation from fortified town to public green belt is especially relevant. The study's spatial proposals are collected in Vision Wittenberg.
Sources and context
- Lutherstadt Wittenberg: city timeline
- Lutherstadt Wittenberg: historic ramparts
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg: the 1817 merger
- UNESCO: Luther memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg
Original outline: Anne Krätschmann and Marco Gernt, 2006. The material has been reorganised and corrected against the cited primary sources for this edition.