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 Schlosskirche - Wittenberg, Germany
N 51° 51.994 E 012° 38.253
33U E 337345 N 5748836
The Church where it all began
Waymark Code: WM3RJ0
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Date Posted: 05/11/2008
Views: 104
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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 church where it all started.
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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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Back to our own pictures. Here it is: the famous Theses-Door.
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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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Active Church: Yes
School on property: No
Date Built: 05/06/1346
Website: [Web Link]
Service Times: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the Church. A waymarker and/or GPSr is not required to be in the photo. Please tell us about your experience.
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