The Wartburg, where Martin Luther sought refuge in 1521

After an exciting week in Leipzig, we stopped in Eisenach and Erfurt and discovered those towns and their history. The Wartburg castle itself has an impressive history

In 1130 the Wartburg castle became the seat of the Thuringia count, who ruled the region.

In 1521 a sympathetic Prince gave Luther refuge in the Wartburg castle. He was disguised with a beard and named “Junker Jörg” to spent one year in Exile.

Pilgrims and Luther lovers come here to see the room where Martin Luther did his translation of the Greek Bible into German. The translation and writings were completed in only ten months, marathon style. The furnishings of this room are not original, they have been replaced a long time ago. There is a black ink spot on the wall, where it is to be said that Martin Luther out of anger threw a pen.

His writings were widely circulated to people, even peasants and became the standard of written German. With his beliefs, he has gotten many followers and later the Protestant Lutheran church was formed.

Another highlight of the castle is the Elisabeth Galley, a neo-byzantine room filled with mosaics and beautiful frescoes depicting Saint Elisabeth and her life.

The Castle courtyard is free and open to the public from April till October (8.30 am to 8 pm. There is a Museum on the grounds for (6 Euro)

We took the one-hour English tour inside of the castle. It departed at 1.30 pm, and it is year-round. If you prefer German, then the Tours run every 10 to 20 minutes. Tours cost 10 Euro and include the museum. You will also get a brochure or hand-out in English

On its 600 m² it displays around 250 original exhibits, among them a Bach music autograph. Bach’s family were musicians in this area. You can visit the home and the adjacent museum at the Junckersand. Here you will get to see and a demonstration of the instruments the family played and a tour through the home