Martin Luther is considered a widely traveled man. A variety of travel occasions (disputations, lectures, defense of his theses, etc.) led to him leaving his mark in numerous places in Germany. Although Lutherstadt Wittenberg has the unique selling point of being the "cradle of the Reformation", the places he traveled to during his life also claim to participate in Luther tourism. Since the visitors who follow in the “footsteps of Martin Luther/the Reformation” usually not only visit Wittenberg, but also other places, an investigation of spiritual tourism in Wittenberg is not possible without including the other “Luther cities”.
The federal state of Saxony-Anhalt is of outstanding importance in “Luther tourism”. Luther was born in Eisleben in 1483 and died there in 1546. He grew up in the former mining town of Mansfeld and ultimately spent more than half of his life in Wittenberg. The special position of the federal state is made clear by the fact that although many cities call themselves “Lutherstadt”, only the cities in Anhalt are officially allowed to bear this nickname: Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Lutherstadt Eisleben, Mansfeld-Lutherstadt.
The topic of “Martin Luther” is very important in Germany and worldwide tourism. Cities with a connection to Luther use these to design their tourism offerings and cooperate sometimes more, sometimes less, including with other cities. The interest of visitors depends on the relevance that is attributed to a place in the context of the history of the Reformation.
Traveling in the reformer's footsteps equally contains elements of urban, cultural, educational and spiritual/religious tourism. In any case, they basically represent trips to religious and historical sites. In addition, there are trips to special religious festivals, such as the Reformation anniversary in 2017. The previous Luther Decade, which opened in September 2008, creates additional travel reasons. In addition to increasing the number of visitors, the tourism policy focus of this major national and international event is also on improving the image of Germany as a (cultural) travel destination. The (Protestant) church hopes that guests will once again become more concerned with the content of the Reformation and its adaptation to the present and future.
The demand for Luther trips is both national and international. The greatest potential here is represented by members of Protestant churches, especially those of Lutheran churches and communities.
The Luther sites in Saxony-Anhalt are of central importance in the history of the Reformation, which is not only considered the “heartland of German history”, but also “Luther's land”. Lutherstadt Wittenberg in particular - as the starting point of the Reformation - will increasingly be the focus of spiritually/religiously motivated travelers in the future. [1]
SOURCE 2008
- [1] Cora Prünsten, August 13, 2008, diploma thesis HS Harz, selected aspects of spiritual tourism using the example of Luther City Wittenberg, Luther Tourism pp. 43 to 57