The birth of modern German
Luther's translation shaped a unified written language that underlies German today.
Jaeger, Johannes, Stockholm — CC BY 4.0 · Jaeger, Johannes, Stockholm — CC BY 4.0 · Public domain · Künstler: F[riedrich] Fennel (1872-1926), Kassel.Verlag von Carl Vietor, Hofbuchhandlung, Kassel. — CC BY 4.0
After refusing to recant his writings before Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, he was declared an outlaw — meaning anyone could kill him without penalty. Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, arranged a staged abduction on the road and concealed him at the Wartburg. Luther used those months for translation rather than idle hiding.
A direct train to Eisenach in about two and a half to three hours, then a bus, an uphill walk or a shuttle from the town to the castle. By car it is about two and a quarter hours. Make it a full day — the town itself holds the house where Bach was born, worth an hour.
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A castle on a hilltop above the town of Eisenach, founded in 1067, and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1999. Its importance is historical rather than architectural. Here Martin Luther hid in 1521 after being excommunicated and declared an outlaw at the Diet of Worms. The Elector of Saxony concealed him in the castle under the alias Junker Jörg, and in ten months he translated the New Testament from Greek into German. The effect of that translation reaches beyond religion: Luther did not translate into any one dialect but shaped a written language all Germans could understand, and his text became the foundation of modern standard German. His room in the castle is shown as it was. Centuries earlier the Wartburg was a centre for court poets and the setting of the legendary singers' contest on which Wagner built his opera Tannhäuser. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary lived here. The interior is seen on guided tours. Reaching it from the car park is an uphill walk of about twenty minutes.
Luther's translation shaped a unified written language that underlies German today.
The alias under which Luther lived hidden in the castle.
The legendary singers' contest here is what Wagner built his opera on.
Above the town of Eisenach, Thuringia