Martin Luther's birthplace

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Memorial building from 1693 known today as the “Luther Birthplace”
5 Mark commemorative coin of the GDR for the 500th birthday of Martin Luther - birthplace in Eisleben - from 1983

The so-called Luther Birthplace is a memorial building in Lutherstadt Eisleben for the Christian reformer Martin Luther , who is said to have been born here on November 10, 1483. Built in 1693, it is one of the oldest museums in Germany and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996 . It is located at Lutherstrasse 16. The historical name of Lutherstrasse was Lange Gasse until 1872.

history

Luther in Eisleben

As a baby, Martin Luther only lived in Eisleben for the first few weeks. His parents were on the way from Möhra to Mansfeld , where his father wanted to work as a smelter. Despite his short stay, Martin Luther felt closely connected to his native town Eisleben and the place of his baptism . Even if he never lived here permanently, he visited the city again and again, for the last time in 1546 when he wanted to settle a dispute between the Counts of Mansfeld , but died on February 18th.

Building history

The original Luther birthplace

Remains of the original Luther birth house in Eisleben, which burned down in 1689: charred floorboards (with mortises in the middle) and a clay floor. On the left is a slightly raised foundation of a tiled stove that was partially destroyed by the new building from 1693

The previous building, located in the same place as the memorial building, burned to the ground in a town fire in 1689. During excavations in 2006, his remains were uncovered inside the memorial building. Under today's floor, buried under rubble, lay charred beams as bearings for a floorboard as well as a clay floor that was burnt red by the action of heat. While the ceramics found the floors in the 14th – 15th centuries. In the 19th century, i.e. also in the Luther period, the radiocarbon dating of a beam indicated an age of around 1500 or 1600, so that a subsequent floor installation around 1600 or a new building around 1500 cannot be completely ruled out. But it is probably really remnants of the original Luther birth house. The outer walls of the burned down building were removed when the memorial building was built in 1693. Mortise holes for stud beams in a charred floor beam, however, show an interior subdivision of the building by a truss wall. An oven plate was also found. The original Luther Birthplace probably had a size of approx. 10 × 6 m with a courtyard-side annex in the east of approx. 4 × 4 m. Since there are vaulted cellars below the remains of the fire, they must also be counted as part of the original building stock. Excavations in the vicinity of the building show that the house where Luther was born was built in a suburban setting with an artisanal character. It did not belong to the Luther family, but was only visited for a few weeks for the birth before the family moved on to Mansfeld.

The original birth house was in private hands until 1689. But at an early stage it became a place of worship for Luther. As early as the 16th century a wooden plaque with the portrait and the inscription: "In 1483 Doctor Martinus Luther was born in the house and dated to S. Peter" was hung. Towards the end of the 17th century, however, the house where he was born fell into disrepair and a pub was established. The Eisleben magistrate disliked the appearance of the house and decided to take the wooden panel down again. A short time later, the building burned down in a city fire. The wooden panel, however, became an important relic in the veneration of the reformer as the " portrait of the unburnt Luther " and was used in the 19th century to falsely prove that the original ground floor of the successor building was still preserved. After the city fire in 1689, the magistrate forced the owner Marie Friedrich to sell the house to the city by refusing her the usual reconstruction loans after city fires.

The memorial building from 1693

The school for the poor from 1817
The courtyard of the birth house. Extension with arcades built in 1876 by the architect Friedrich August Stüler

Instead of the small suburban house, a representative memorial building was built in 1693. It did not adhere to the size and layout of the original Luther birth house. Thus, all room assignments such as “birth room” that have been in use since the 19th century are incorrect, but are taken up again in the 2007 new exhibition as “installation” (of Luther's world).

What is remarkable about the memorial building is that in the Baroque period, Renaissance building elements were used on the facade and in the courtyard to make the building appear older. The rooms on the ground floor next to the entrance hall were used as a school for the poor. The teacher's apartment was on the upper floor. Luther's was thought on the first floor, in particular the “beautiful hall” with its painted ceiling and portraits formed a representative framework. Under the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. From 1817 onwards, the building was renovated and the collection was expanded. The school for the poor was relocated to a new building in the backyard and the teacher's apartment to a wing building in the west of the courtyard, so that the house was given a more museum-like character. In 1864, under the architect Friedrich August Stüler, the neighboring building to the east was bought up and demolished in 1867 to clear the memorial building and create a garden. Windows were broken into in the east gable and the side wing was torn down again. On the courtyard side, he had a flat-arched double arcade with a half-timbered top placed in front of the building on the first floor. From 1891 the upper floor housed the archaeological collection of the Eisleben antiquity society.

After the turn

Both buildings have belonged to the Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt since 1997 .

Extensive redesigns took place between 2005 and 2007. The birthplace was renovated and restored. All foreign objects and secondary functions that had been added over time for museum use were removed. The directly adjacent house in Lutherstrasse was acquired and connected to the house where he was born. Between this and the school for the poor in the rear courtyard area, a modern two-storey connecting building was built on another neighboring property. The result was a horseshoe-shaped complex; the exhibition area was enlarged by 500 to 700 square meters (architect Jörg Springer, Berlin). On May 8, 2010, the redesign by the Springer Architects received the BDA architecture award “ Nike ” in the category “best room creation”.

The exhibition

The permanent exhibition, which opened in 2007, is titled From therefore I am - Martin Luther and Eisleben and is dedicated to the reformer's family. In addition, the father's mining activities and the piety of the time are shown.

literature

  • Ch. Matthes, The archaeological discovery of the original Luther birthplace. In: R. Knape (ed.), Martin Luther and Eisleben. Writings of the Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt 8, Leipzig 2007, 73–85. ISBN 978-3-374-02484-1
  • Ch. Matthes (2008a), excavations as urban topographical investigations within and in the vicinity of the "Luther Birth House" in Eisleben. In: H. Meller / S. Rhine / HG Stephan, Luther's worlds. Conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory 1, Halle 2008, 79–90. ISBN 978-3-939414-22-3
  • Ch. Matthes (2008b), The archaeological discovery of the Luther Birthplace in Eisleben. In: H. Meller (Ed.), Fundsache Luther, accompanying volume for the state exhibition from October 31, 2008 to April 26, 2009 in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle / S., Halle 2008, 114–119. ISBN 978-3-8062-2201-2
  • A. Neser, Luther's birthplace in Eisleben - origins, changes, results. In: R. Knape (ed.), Martin Luther and Eisleben. Writings of the Foundation Luther Memorials Saxony-Anhalt 8, Leipzig 2007, 87–120. ISBN 978-3-374-02484-1
  • C. Philipsen, " Incidentally, I was born in Eisleben and baptized in St. Peter". Martin Luther's birth and baptism in Eisleben. In: R. Knape (ed.), Martin Luther and Eisleben. Writings of the Foundation Luther Memorials Saxony-Anhalt 8, Leipzig 2007, 163–172. ISBN 978-3-374-02484-1
  • A. Stahl, New Findings on Martin Luther's Biography. In: H. Meller (Hrsg.), Fundsache Luther, accompanying volume for the state exhibition from October 31, 2008 to April 26, 2009 in the State Museum for Prehistory Halle / S. Hall 2008, 86–93. ISBN 978-3-8062-2201-2
  • M. Steffens, The design and musealization of the Eisleben Luther houses in the 19th century. In: R. Knape / M. Treu, Preußische Lutherverhrung im Mansfelder Land, Leipzig 2002, 55–93. ISBN 3-374-01922-6

Web links

Commons : Martin Luther's birthplace  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Neser 2007. 87
  2. ↑ Neser 2007, 87; Philipsen 2007, 165.
  3. ↑ Chronicon Islebiense 1882, 76th
  4. ^ Excavation by the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, excavation manager Ch. Matthes.
  5. ↑ Matthes 2007, 2008a and 2008b.
  6. ↑ Matthes 2008a, 85.
  7. ↑ Steffens 2002, 57-59.
  8. ↑ Steffens 2002, 59-65.
  9. ↑ Steffens 2002, 64, Stahl 2008, 89.
  10. ↑ MDR FIGARO: "Architecture Prize for Luther Museum in Eisleben", January 15, 2008
  11. ↑ Luther Memorials Foundation in Saxony-Anhalt: "Sendbrief 08", exhibition review by Martin Steffens: LUTHER'S BIRTH HOUSE IN EISLEBEN HAS BEEN EXTENDED WITH MODERN BUILDINGS Baby cries from the tape

Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 37 ″  N , 11 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  E