Wittenberg

For other uses, see Wittenberg (disambiguation).

Lutherstadt Wittenberg
From top: Skyline of Wittenberg, Wittenberg old town with view to the Castle church (under construction, Market square with town hall and Stadtkirche Wittenberg, inside Wittenberg castle church and Leucorea university
Coat of arms
Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Location of Lutherstadt Wittenberg within Wittenberg district
Coordinates: 51°52′N 12°39′E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Wittenberg
Government
• Mayor	Eckhard Naumann (SPD)
Area
• Total	240.32 km2 (92.79 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	46,475
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	06886
Dialling codes	03491
Vehicle registration	WB
Website	wittenberg.de

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Situated on the river Elbe, it has a population of about 50,000.

The importance of Wittenberg historically was due to its seat of the Elector of Saxony, a dignity held by the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg and also to its close connection with Martin Luther and the dawn of the Protestant Reformation; several of its buildings are associated with the events of this time. Part of the Augustinian monastery in which Luther dwelt, first as a monk and later as owner with his wife and family, is preserved and considered to be the world's premier museum dedicated to Luther. Various Luther and Melanchthon memorial sites were added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1996.

History

Historical affiliations

Duchy of Saxony 1180–1296
Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg 1296–1356
Electorate of Saxony 1356–1806
Kingdom of Saxony 1806–1815
Kingdom of Prussia 1815–1871
German Empire 1871–1918
Weimar Republic 1918–1933
Nazi Germany 1933–1945
Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949
East Germany 1949–1990
Germany 1990–present

Wittenberg, 1536

University of Wittenberg in 1644

Historical documents first mention the settlement in 1180 as a small village founded by Flemish colonists under the rule of the House of Ascania. In 1260 this village became the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, and in 1293 the settlement was granted its town charter as a free-standing town.

Wittenberg developed into an important trade centre during the following several centuries, because of its central location. When the local branch of the Ascanians died out in 1422, control of Saxe-Wittenberg passed to the House of Wettin. This town became an important regional political and cultural centre at the end of the 15th Century, when Frederick III "the Wise", the Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, made his residence in Wittenberg. Several parts of boundaries of the town were extended soon afterward. The second bridge over the Elbe River was built from 1486 through 1490 and the castle church (the Schlosskirche in German) was erected from 1496 through 1506. The Elector's palace was rebuilt at the same time.

In 1502 Elector Frederick founded the University of Wittenberg, which attracted some important thinkers, such as Martin Luther—a professor of theology beginning in 1508—and Philipp Melanchthon—a professor of Greek starting in 1518.

On 31 October 1517, Luther nailed his 95 theses against the selling of indulgences at the door of the All Saints', the Castle Church - an event taken as marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The Anabaptist movement had one of its earliest homes in Wittenberg, when the Zwickau prophets moved there in late 1521, only to be suppressed by Luther when he returned from the Wartburg in spring 1522. The Capitulation of Wittenberg (1547) is the name given to the treaty by which John Frederick the Magnanimous was compelled to resign the electoral dignity and most of his territory to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.

In 1760, during the Seven Years' War, the Austrians bombarded the Prussian-occupied town. The French took control in 1806, and Napoleon commanded the refortification of the town in 1813. In 1814 the Prussian Army under Tauentzien stormed Wittenberg; he received the title of "von Wittenberg" as a reward. In 1815 Wittenberg became part of Prussia, administered within the Province of Saxony. Wittenberg continued to be a fortress of the third class until the reorganisation of German defences after the foundation of the new German Empire led to its dismantling in 1873.

Unlike many other historic German cities during World War II, Wittenberg's town centre was spared destruction during the conflict. The Allies agreed not to bomb Wittenberg, though fighting took place in the town, with bullet pock-marks visible on the statues of Luther and Melanchthon at the market square - or so the popular version of the town's history goes. In actuality, the Luther statue was not even present in the town square during much of the war, but in storage at Luther Brunnen, a roadhouse a few kilometres north of the town.

Wittenberg's reputation as a town protected from Allied bombing is also not entirely historically accurate. On the outskirts of Wittenberg stood the Arado Flugzeugwerke (the Arado Aircraft Factory), which produced components of airplanes for the Luftwaffe. This factory was staffed by Jews, Russians, Poles, political prisoners and even a few Americans—all prisoners engaging in forced labour. Despite the prisoner status of its workers, American and British planes bombed the factory near the end of the war, killing one thousand prisoner workers. The 1995 publication of "...und morgen war Krieg!" by Renate Gruber-Lieblich attempts to document this tragic bombing of Wittenberg.

At the end of the war, Soviet forces occupied Wittenberg; it became part of East Germany in 1949. During the East German period, it formed part of Halle District. By means of the peaceful revolution in 1989, the communist régime dissolved and the town has been governed democratically since 1990.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Market square with Stadtkirche Wittenberg
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, vi
Reference	783
UNESCO region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)

Historical population

The figures are given for the metropolitan district at the point in time. Up to 1791 the figures are generally estimated, later figures are from census or local authorities.

Historical Population 1800 to 2010

Year Inhabitants 1500 2,000 1532 4,500 1791 4,860 1792 4,703 1793 4,662 1794 4,617 1814 4,727 1826 6,725 1834 8,107 1846 10,283

Year Inhabitants 1875 12,479 1880 13,448 1885 13,836 1890 14,443 1895 16,479 1900 18,345 1905 20,331 1910 22,419 1925 24,160 1939 35,130

Year Inhabitants 1946 41,304 1950 49,852 1964 46,828 1971 47,323 1981 53,874 1989 51,754 1990 49,682 1992 55,096 1995 53,207 2000 49,643

Year Inhabitants 2005 47,805 2006 46,776 2007 45,615 2008 47,695 2009 50,113 2010 49,496 2011 49,076 2012 46,930 2013 46,729

from 2012: based on census

Places added to Wittenberg

• Abtsdorf
• Boßdorf
• Griebo
• Kropstädt
• Möhlau
• Reinsdorf
• Piesteritz

Main sights

Wittenberg is home to numerous historical sites, as well as portraits and other paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Younger. On the doors of All Saints' Church, the Schlosskirche ("castle church", built in 1496–1506) Luther is said to have nailed his 95 theses in 1517. It was seriously damaged by fire in 1760 during a bombardment by the French during the Seven Years' War, was practically rebuilt, and was later (1885–1892) restored. The wooden doors, burnt in 1760, were replaced in 1858 by bronze doors, bearing the Latin text of the theses. Inside the church are the tombs of Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, and of the electors Frederick the Wise (by Peter Vischer the Younger, 1527) and John the Constant (by Hans Vischer), and portraits of the reformers by Lucas Cranach the Younger.

St. Mary's Church, the parish church in which Luther often preached, was built in the 14th century, but has been much altered since Luther's time. It contains a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, representing the Last Supper (with the faces of Luther and other reformers), Baptism and Confession, also a font by Hermann Vischer the Elder (1457). In addition, there are numerous historic paintings in the church.

The ancient electoral palace is another of the buildings that suffered severely in 1760; it now contains archives.

Martin Luther's home, the Lutherhaus, where he studied and lived both before and after the Reformation, is now a museum containing many artifacts from his life. Melanchthon's house and the house of Lucas Cranach the Elder, mayor of Wittenberg, can also be found here. Statues of Luther (by Schadow), Melanchthon and Bugenhagen embellish the town. The spot outside the Elster Gate where Luther publicly burned the papal bull in 1520 is marked by an oak tree.

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  Wittenberg old town

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  Schlosskirche

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  Castle Church inside

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  Replica of the Ninety-Five Theses in the Schlosskirche, Wittenberg

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  Stadtkirche

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  The Augusteum and Lutherhaus

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  Town Hall and Luther Memorial on the market place

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  Hundertwasserschule, School by Friedensreich Hundertwasser

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  Werksiedlung Wittenberg

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  The Arsenal shopping centre, opened 2012

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  Fountain in the market square

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  Philipp Melanchthon in the market square

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  Market square, with ancient town hall, statue of Martin Luther and Stadtkirche

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  View over Wittenberg old town

Coat of arms

Wittenberg's oldest coat of arms

Wittenberg's civic coat of arms conveys with its various heraldic elements something of the town's history. On 27 June 1293, Wittenberg was granted town rights by Duke Albert II. There then arose a mediaeval town whose highest governing body was its council. This council, known to have existed as early as 1317, was given the job of administering the town in its care through law and legislation, and of handling the town's revenue. For documentation, the administration used its own seal. One version of what is believed to be the town's oldest town seal, which the council used, and which dated from the first half of the 14th century, set the pattern with its elements for various civic coats of arms down to the present day.

The coat of arms symbolizes, with its crenelated wall and the towers within and each side, a town that was already strongly fortified by 1409. The two shields in the centre form the coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony with the Saxon arms on the right, whose gold and black stripes recall the Ascanian rulers' house colours with the Rautenkranz (literally "lozenge wreath", although it is no such thing, as can be seen at the Saxony article) across them symbolizing the town's founder Duke Albrecht II since 1262, when it appeared in his arms. The shield on the left is the Wittenberg district's arms. In 1356, Emperor Charles IV bestowed upon the Duke of Saxony-Wittenberg the honour of Elector. Wittenberg became an Electoral residence. The shield with its crossed swords stands for the office of "Arch-Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire" inextricably joined by the Electorate, brought to Wittenberg by Rudolf I. Both coats of arms continued to be used by the Wettins after the Ascanians died out. The flowing water at the foot of the shield symbolizes Wittenberg's location on the River Elbe. The fish is a salmon, which were once abundant in the Elbe. The fishermen, like all professions in town, got their own order in 1422, and the fish found its way onto their coat of arms.

Economy and infrastructure

The town is an important centre of chemical industry with the SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz GmbH. The whole area of the industrial park covers more than 220 hectares with more than 1,500 workers. Wittenberg is also the headquarters of the eco-friendly web search engine Ecosia. Tourism plays a major role. Wittenberg is one of the top destinations in Saxony-Anhalt.

Lutherstadt Wittenberg station is the main railway station. It connects Wittenberg hourly with Berlin to the north and Leipzig and Halle (Saale) to the south. The station is being rebuilt. Construction should be completed in 2017.

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  Lutherstadt Wittenberg station

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  The Elbe bridge is part of the Bundesstraße 2 federal highway

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  The 'SKW Piesteritz' industrial area

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  The Elbe connects Wittenberg with Hamburg and Magdeburg

Theatre, culture and education

Campus Leucorea

Wittenberg has a long tradition of cultural events. The Central German State Theatre (Mitteldeutsches Landestheater) reached a great importance in GDR times. Since 1996, the town has staged open-air theatre shows based on the Lutheran history still alive in many historical places of the ancient town. As highlights, in 2001 and 2005, Fernando Scarpa became the artistic director of the "Bühne Wittenberg" (Stage Wittenberg), a project for theatre, art and culture in the whole of Germany which attracts many visitors to the town and whose success is known European-wide. On 2002 and 2003 Stefano Vagnini, Italian composer and organist created the music for Thesys and Luther Stories. Prince Hamlet is said to have studied in Wittenberg and it was the supposed home of Dr Faustus.

Wittenberg is seat of the Leucorea which is part of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Wittenberg is twinned with:

• Göttingen, Germany, since 1988
• Bretten, Germany, since 1990
• Springfield, Ohio, United States, since 1995
• Békéscsaba, Hungary, since 1999
• Haderslev, Denmark, since 2004

External links

• Municipal website
• Wittenberg Photo Gallery
• Theatre of Wittenberg (German)
• Luther and the Chemicals Industry, a 2013 documentary in English by Deutsche Welle covering the history of the city