Germany - Martin Luther and the Reformation

 
Thuringia - Saxony

 
Itinerary

1. Day
Arrival in Frankfurt/Main – Eisenach (approx. 195 km/121 miles)
Arrival in Frankfurt/Main and welcome by the local tour guide, who will accompany you throughout your stay. Bus transfer to Eisenach: visit to St. George's Church where Saint Elisabeth was married and J.S. Bach baptized; Luther House where Luther lived as a student with the Cotta family from 1498-1501, see the Luther exhibition documenting his life and theologies. Accommodation for three nights.
BD

2. Day
Erfurt (approx. 120 km/75 miles)
Full-day excursion to Erfurt: visit to the famous Dom (cathedral) and to the Augustinian Monastery. Luther, student of law, entered as a novice in 1505 and took his vows as a monk in 1507; city tour with Fish Market, Town hall and Merchant's Bridge, Merchant's Church and the Luther Memorial. Short walk to Anger square with its numerous shops. Return to Eisenach.
BD

3. Day
Moehra (approx. 100 km/68 miles)
Drive to Moehra, home of Luther's family: tour of the village church. Continuing on to Schmalkalden, the headquarters of the "League of Schmalkalden" (1530-1547): visit to the church of St. George. Return to Eisenach: visit to Wartburg Castle (World Heritage Site) with tour of the Palas (Great Hall), Art exhibition, the Elizabeth Hallway and the Luther Room where "Junker Joerg" (the Knight George) translated the New Testament into German. Afterwards, local rustic "Luther feast" in the Castle Inn.
BD

4. Day
Weimar – Naumburg – Leipzig (approx. 200 km/124 miles)
Drive to Weimar (World Heritage Site): city tour with visit to the "Herderkirche", the Goethe Museum, and the Goethe Garden House located in the River Ilm Park. Continue on to Naumburg: walking tour through this medieval market town to St. Wenceslas Church and Renaissance Town Hall, followed by a guided tour of the late Romanesque Cathedral with its world-famous double choir. Afterwards, bus transfer to Leipzig: Accommodation for three nights.
BD

5. Day
Halle – Eisleben (approx. 180 km/112 miles)
Drive to Halle: visit to the Market Square with its Gothic Red Tower, the Marienkirche, the Handel House, The Dom (Cathedral) with its rounded gables, Moritzburg and the Francke'sche Stiftungen (Europe's largest half-timbered building). Continue on to Eisleben (World Heritage Site), where Luther was born in 1483 and died in 1546: visit to the St. Andrew's Church (Luther held his last sermons here) and Luther's "Death House" with guided tour; walk across the Market Square through the old town to his "Birth House" and to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, where Luther was baptized. Drive back to Leipzig. In the evening special dinner (Luther menu) in the "Luther Hall" at the famous "Thüringer Hof" restaurant.
BD

6. Day
Leipzig (no bus)
Leipzig: city tour on foot including the Opera House, Gewandhaus Concert Hall, Moritzbastei, St. Nicolaus Church, Naschmarkt and Goethe Memorial, St. Thomas Church where J.S. Bach worked and now rests, and the Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument of the battle of the Nations). Time at leisure.
BD

7. Day
Torgau – Wittenberg (approx. 100 km/62 miles)
Drive to Torgau, since 1456 residence of the Electors of Saxony: visit the Renaissance Hartenfels Castle with guided tour of the Palace Chapel (the first protestant church in Germany, built to the specifications of Luther and the Reformers in 1540); guided tour of St. Mary's church with its famous Cranach Altar, burial site of Luther's wife, Katharina von Bora and workplace of Johann Walter – choirmaster, composer and close friend and advisor of Luther in organization of Lutheran church music in Saxony; walking tour of the city including Katharina Luther's "Death House" and the Market Square with its wonderful Renaissance houses. Continuation to Wittenberg (World Heritage Site), the main workplace of Martin Luther from 1508: visit Luther Hall (formerly an Augustinian monastery and from 1525 domicile of Luther's family): nowadays, it is the largest Reformation history museum in the world. Accommodation for two nights.
BD

8. Day
Wittenberg
Sightseeing tour by bus and on foot, taking in the Market Square and Town Hall; guided tour of the "Schlosskirche" (all Saints Church) where Luther posted his 95 theses on the Castle Church doors sparking the beginning of the Reformation and sepulcher of Luther and his fellow reformer Philipp Melanchthon; guided tour of St. Mary's Church where Luther did the majority of his preaching; visit the Melanchthon House, renovated for the 500th anniversary of his birth and offering a rare look into the life and works of this important humanist and reformer.
BD

9. Day
Departure (approx. 456 km/283 miles)
Bus transfer to Frankfurt/Main airport and return to the USA