Tomorrow, October 31, is Reformation Day. It was on this day 495 years ago that Martin Luther attached his list of issues to the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

I have not been to Wittenberg, but I have been to a few other Luther sites in Germany. I will share a couple pictures here and a little commentary.

I visited the Lutherhaus in Eisenach, Germany back in March, 2002. You can tell by the quality of the picture that this was some time ago. I took this picture with my digital camera that saved pictures on floppy diskettes.

Martin Luther boarded in this nice half-timbered house with the Cotta Family from 1498 – 1501 while going to school in Eisenach. There is now a nice museum in the house. There were a lot of nice multimedia exhibits that cover his entire life and teachings.

Luther was in Eisenach again in 1521 and 1522. This time he was in hiding at the Wartburg after he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X after the ‘Edict of Worms’ was published against him. The picture above shows the room in the Wartburg where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Latin into German.

Here is a closer look at the portrait on the wall.

While hiding at the Wartburg, Luther disguised himself as a country squire and was known as Junker Joerg. The portrait was painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder who was well know for his portraits and for paintings of religious subjects.

Enjoy Reformation Day and reflect on the consequences of Martin Luther’s actions 495 years ago. But remember, it is better to restore than reform.

Steven