Predigerseminar

Upon his marriage in 1525, Martin Luther received the old Black Cloister Monastery as a wedding present. Luther lived here with his wife Katie and their children while they took in students as boarders. The interior of the former Augustinian monastery has been masterfully remodeled to accommodate 3 floors of Luther materials from the 16th century. As residents of the Predigerseminar, we are given free admission into this major museum. Luther’s kitchen and dining room where the “Table Talk” discussions originated are preserved from Luther’s day.

Across the courtyard from the Luther Hall is Augusteum built in the middle 16th century. Today it is home to the Preachers Seminary (Evangelishes Predigerseminar.) This is our home for the three weeks we are in Wittenberg. We make use of the underground Chapel with a vaulted ceiling as well as the modern classroom, dining hall and dormitory facilities. The restrooms have all been recently remodeled. Most of the rooms are double with a few single rooms available for an additional $100.

The Lutherhalle is an important Luther museum in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. The museum is located in the Augustinian monastery in which Luther lived, first as a monk and later as owner with his wife and family.

The Augustinian monastery was dissolved at the outset of the Reformation, and part was made into a residence hall for students and the rest was given to Luther as a family home.

Luther's monastery and home in Wittenberg was the site of several important events in the Reformer's life, not the least of which is his conversion from fearful monk to confident preacher of "justification by faith alone."

Just down the street is the Luther Oak that marks the spot where he burned a papal bull of excommunication in 1520.

Later, the family table in the Lutherhaus was the setting of the famous conversations Katharina and Martin Luther held with students, recorded in Table Talk. It was also from here that Martin and Katie Luther's wedding procession left for the nearby Parish Church of St. Mary (Stadtkirche St Marien).

Today, Martin Luther's house is well-preserved as a museum dedicated to the reformer and the Reformation. You can explore the Lutherstube (Luther's Room), a grand hall with a coffered wooden ceiling and Renaissance tiled oven, and the smallish lecture hall where Luther taught up to 400 students at a time.

As you enter, you pass through the ornate Katharinenportal (Katharina's Door), which was a birthday gift from Luther to his wife, a former nun, in 1540.

Throughout, Lutherhalle (Luther Museum) boasts the world's most important collection of objects related to the history of the German Reformation, including Luther's own desk, the pulpit from which he preached at the Stadtkirche, his teaching robe, and first editions of his books.

For Luther pilgrims, there is no better collection of relics (although Eisleben comes close with Luther's death bed and death mask).

The museum also includes an interesting section on Reformation art, with portraits of Luther and other paintings and work by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Younger. Of special note is Cranach the Elder's famous didactic painting of The Commandments