Wittenberg and Checkpoint Charlie

Statue of Martin Luther in front of the City Hall

Today was my favorite day thus far. We had a free day and so we decided to train to Wittenberg to visit the church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses onto the church door and began the Reformation. Being a confirmed Lutheran and coming from a Lutheran university it was an amazing opportunity. The city itself is relatively small, especially the historic quarter. However, many of the buildings appear much older than in Berlin and restored to the 16^th century style. Needless to say Martin Luther is very popular in Wittenberg and his image is everywhere. Unfortunately the Castle Church where Luther posted his theses is under renovation and we were unable to enter however, we were able to visit the Town Church of St Mary which Luther attended regularly. St Mary’s is very well preserved and looked very much like it would have in Luther’s time. It is an absolutely beautiful church with original artwork from the 1500’s. Although it is not ‘the church’ it was my favorite. I stood where the first Protestant mass given in the German language by Luther took place. Looking at Wittenberg today it’s hard to believe that such significant change came from this small, sleepy city. Amazing.

 

Interior of St Mary's

Yesterday was also exciting for the history-loving side of me (which is significant if one has not already guessed) as we visited the Berlin Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie. Like the old Nazi headquarters museum, the exhibits were full of information creating a historical timeline from the end of the Second World War through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. I thought it was particularly interesting learning about the early attempts to keep Germany united and the protests against the country’s division. A large part of the museum featured artifacts which were used in attempts to cross secretly to West Germany including hollowed-out welding machines, suitcases, cars, and flying machines made from reused car parts. Seeing these small spaces where people had to hide quietly for hours and reading the tragic stories of people dying trying to cross made me realize the desperation of these people and made me reflect on similar current issues. Today people are still killed attempting to cross boarders. Finally, there was an area of the museum with tables filled with books wherein people could look for the names of family members that had disappeared in Eastern Germany during that time and there were forms for people to fill out to receive more information. I cannot even imagine having a member of my family not come home one day and never knowing what had happened to them. A very heavy but important experience. All in all it has been a wonderful and historical start to our second week in Europe.

Preserved Portion of the Berlin Wall