Loving Life in Lutherville

    Wittenburg: I don't think I've ever been so cold in my life. It was 7 in the morning, and as I ran my way up the sleepy main strasse, my lungs were heaving from being in contact with the cold and my breath billowed about me. It was about 30 seconds into the run that I started thinking, Man! I really wished I hadn't dropped that glove in the toilet the other day! My Nike thumb holes were just not sufficient to keep my hands from freezing without gloves, but hey! That's what I get for being clumsy in museum WCs.

     Regardless, it was still a great run because I was in the town of Wittenburg, Germany--otherwise known as Lutherville, Luthertown, Luthercity, Luther Luther Luther! They even have Lutheran food in this city, which I did not try, but I am sure it was quite zesty. This is the town where the big man Martin lived, taught, drank his beer, and started that big huge ruckus we call the Reformation. 

    The town itself is very small--there's really just that one main street I ran on, which is about half a mile long. At one end is the castle church and at the other are some houses and the monastery where Luther lived. But very big things happened in this town back in the 1500s, thanks to an unholy trinity made of Luther, his buddy Melancthon, and their crazy prince Frederick.

     The thing I like about Luther is his sense of humor. He would crack jokes to his university students and poke fun at himself, and a lot of his writings have a touch of spunk and humor that many of the other reformers lack. He was not just interested in theology and reforming people's spiritual lives but all aspects of life: thus his interest in education, family, and gardening. He loved to garden; here's one of my favorite quotes by him: "No matter how much Satan is raging, meanwhile I will laugh at him and watch the gardens...If I am going to stay alive I would want to become a gardener." What a little charmer. 

   How he treated his wife is what really cracks me up though. Apparently Katherina von Bora, among her other great attributes, made fantastic beer (that was probably Luther's favorite thing about her). Katherina was a practical woman; Luther once said, "I keep thinking what good wine and beer I have at home as well as a beautiful wife, or should I say boss?" He called her "my boss Kathe!" How cool is that? His other nickname for her was "Katy my rib," which could be flattering, depending on how you take it. 

    I feel a special bond toward this Katherina lady, mostly because we have the same name. But how could you not like her, when she escaped her nunnery in a barrel hauled on a wagon, gave birth to six kids, and made a man out of Luther? Proverbs 31 sets some pretty high standards for women, and Katherina exceeded them all. She cared for orphans and the sick (part of their huge house was a hospital), counseled her husband, raised her kids, provided money for her family, and was a great intellectual: otherwise her husband would never have let her join him at his table discussions with students (she was the only woman). Yep-Luther had it right: she was a boss.

The main street of Wittenburg, deserted in the frigid morning. The houses and stores are very colorful though.

Sorry for the blur but behind that oak is the place where Luther burned the papal bull  that condemned him and his writings against indulgences. 

This is Luther's monastery-turned-home. Wow- I must have been really cold if I was running this blurringly fast!

The church where Luther preached, married, and baptized his children. The altar-piece has a famous painting by Luther's friend and famous artist Lucas Cranach. The corner of the church had an anti-semitic pig engraving (common on many old churches, but in another area near the church was an honorable Jewish monument.

There's the man himself, and near him (out of view) is a statue of Philip Melanchthon, who holds almost as much notoriety in Wittenburg as Luther, because he was such an important collaborator with Luther as he was educated, courageous, and calm.

The Castle Church, where Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door.  The original door burned down, but in its place is a metal door with the theses engraved upon it. Luther, Prince Frederick, and Melanchthon are all buried here as well. This church was for the nobility of Wittenburg, and supposedly this church's fortress-like architecture may have inspired Luther to write the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is our God."