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 Martin Luther's Theses Door - Thesentür - Wittenberg, Germany
N 51° 51.994 E 012° 38.253
33U E 337345 N 5748835
The door that started the protestant reformation
Waymark Code: WM5TQW
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Date Posted: 02/12/2009
Views: 44
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On October 31, 1517, German Augustinian Monk Martin Luther walked to the Castle Church (Schlosskirche) in his home town Wittenberg and pinned his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power of Indulgences at the main gate.
All Luther wanted to do was to trigger a dispute on the Church's sale of indulgences - a practice he deeply despised. What he started instead was a total reformation of the church, one of Europe's longest and most devastating wars and a new religion that today has 800 million followers worldwide.
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This is the door that started it all.
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Originally, this was a wooden door and all Luther did was pinning a large parchment onto it. It is now turned into a shrine with the 95 Theses engraved in hard metal.
Although later in his life, Martin Luther authored the first German translation of the Holy Bible, his 95 Theses were originally written and posted in Latin - just another indicator that he wasn't planning on starting a revolution but was merely addressing the professional, religious community.
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The outcome, however, was one that changed the course of western civilization!
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Unfortunately, the church suffered severe damage during a rain storm in February of 2007 and when we visited Wittenberg in August 2007, there was still massive reconstruction going on.
So all we can provide is a couple of pictures from the outside but we hope we captured the spirit of the place.
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We also found some good pictures online and would like to share them.
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these are the only three pictures we didn't take ourselves
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Type of material of the door: Other
Functional door?: Decorative only
Location of this door/way: On public property
Is it accessable only by paid admission": No
Style: Gothic
Address or physical location:
Schlosskirche Wittenberg
Wilhelm-Weber-Straße 1a
Wittenberg, Germany
06886
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Visit Instructions:
At least one photo is required.
A VISITED only remark, will be deleted.
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