Sabbatical with Pastor Curtis: Another Church, Another Castle

If you guessed that the church in yesterday's picture was St. Marien's, in Torgau, Germany, you would be absolutely correct! Those of you who know your Reformation history would know what is most significant about this church. It is the church wherein Katherina (von Bora) Luther is buried.

1546 - Martin Luther Dies The story goes like this in a nutshell. Luther left the Black Cloister house (which became the Luthers house and is now called the Lutherhaus) and all the properties which they owned outside of Wittenberg in his last will and testament to his dear Katherina. His will could not be executed according to Saxon law.

1547 Well, there was now the oubreak of the Schmalkaldic War and she fled to Magdeburg, Germany, not far from Wittenberg. It appeared safe enough to return to Wittenberg in that same year. But shortly after moving back the war was once again moving toward Wittenberg and she fled this time to Braunschweig. When the war ended in July of still that same year she returned to Wittenberg again.

Katherine was able to support herself thanks to the generosity of John Frederick III, who was the elector of Saxony and was also received financial assistance from the princes of Anhalt who all supported Luther and the reformation. She remained in Wittenberg until 1552.

1552 --Outbreak of the Black Plague (Again!) Due to the reoccuring plague and there was widepread harvest failure that summer, she was forced to leave again, due to her extreme poverty. She packed up what little she had and this time fled to Torgau which is near where she grew up as a none. There, she was thrown into a watery ditch and went in and out of consciousness. Three month's later she died on December 1552 at the age of 53. Being married to Martin Luther, she was buried in St. Mary's Church where Dr. Luther had preached on several occasions, far from where he was buried at Castle Church in Wittenberg. The other picture I attached yesterday was the actual house where Katherina lived temporarily there in Torgau. There is so much more to this story, but I'll save it for another day.

Another Luther connection to Torgau, is not only the meetings he had with the Smalkaldic Princes and the close relationship he had with them but it is also the place where Frederick the Wise lived. Frederich was born in 1463 in the gargantuan castle that was a fortress to the people of Torgau. He served as the Elector of Saxony who worked for a reform of the Holy Roman Empire and protected Martin Luther after Luther was placed under the imperial ban in 1521.

The castle that Elector Frederick lived is is known as the Hartenfels Castle where he was born and lived all his life. Together with Cranach the Elder, Martin Luther designed the architectural elements of a chapel that was built within the walls of the castle. Even though Frederick the Wise died as a Roman Catholic, he supported Luther and embraced much of what he was teaching.

There is so much history in Torgau, and many visits by famous people down through the ages, I have only scratched the service in this blog. A number of pictures I've attached are of the church where Katherina was buried and the castle where Frederick the III lived. Enjoy!