7/11 - Torgau & Wittenberg

Before we boarded the bus, my father-in-law and I took a look around The Luther Garden. It's difficult to see the full impression of this space from the ground, so I recommend that you get a satellite image from Google Maps to see it as the bird flies, for it is quite impressive.

We the boarded the bus for Torgau. It is said in one of the many publications about Reformation history that if Wittenberg is the mother of the Reformation, than Torgau is the wet-nurse. There are a great many things that happened in Torgau before and during the Reformation that setup the events for Martin Luther and his 95 theses. It is the birthplace of Frederick the Wise, the prince responsible for Martin Luther in Wittenberg.

This is also am important historical site for WW2. It was at this location on a bridge over the Elbe River that the Russian Army and the US Army met in their advance through Germany upon Hitler. The monument you see here shows both Soviet and US flags, but was only written in Russian when it was erected in East Germany during Soviet control. Only later was the placards added to include German and English translations of this monument and location.

Steps from this location is the Royal palace, and as you can see, it gushes of all kinds of majesty. The winding staircase is unique in that it does not have a center support. This is also the location of the first original Protestant worship space. During the Reformation, all of the other church building had only been Roman Catholic. But it was here in Torgau that this worship space was built specifically for worship for Protestants, and commissioned by Luther himself.

Torgau is also the birth and death place of Katie Luther. Sometime after Luther died, the seminary was relocated to Torgau, and Katie decided to go with. In the midst of the journey, she broke her hip (likely from a fall from the carriage). After about 3 weeks, she passed. She was buried in St. Mary's Church in Torgau.

Upon our return from Torgau, we met with the sisters of a Protestant monastic order. That's right, monasticism isn't gone! They set up their ministry in the early 2000's, particularly, to pray the community of Wittenberg. Wittenberg's population is only 15% Christian - and that includes all denominations. Needless to say, their ministry is important not for the tourists who come to visit these historical site, but important for the marginalized members of Wittenberg's community that aren't being cared for.

Later that evening, we were brought to a local winery for a wine tasting meal. I forgot my camera, but that's OK because each of my hands were occupied with wine glasses. Dorothy has pictures.

Tschuse!