Castle of the Week 9 - Wartburg
The 50 foot high walls of Wartburg Castle sit on
a forested 1230 foot outcrop of rock overlooking Eisenach in
Thuringia, eastern Germany. The castle is best known as the
refuge where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from
Greek into German in 10 weeks. Eisenach was the birthplace of
Johann Sebastian Bach and it is said that he gained inspiration
from the castle. Although it has a few remnants from feudal
times, the general outline is from a 19th century reconstruction
of the castle in its finest days.
Ludwig the Leaper started construction in about
1067 after finding the spot whilst out hunting. There was a small
dispute about the ownership of the land, but Ludwig prevailed and
the castle was begun. The oldest part is believed to be the arch
of the lower gatehouse, and only entrance, built in 1150. The
great hall was begun in 1160 and is one of the finest preserved
medieval halls still in existence. The two main towers are the
19th century North Tower and the earlier South Tower which has no
doors. A staircase winds round the outside and a grating in the
roof is the only access to the inside which was the
castle’s prison. Ludwig’s heirs became Counts under
the Holy Roman Empire and increased in power and wealth.
St Elizabeth of Hungary, wife of Count Ludwig IV
lived much of her life at Wartburg and her story is told in a
series of frescoes. She lived from 1207 to 1231 and is the patron
saint of many hospitals. Legend says that she would sneak out of
the castle at night to take food to the poor against her
parents’ and husband’s wishes. Later she built a
hospital for the poor just outside the castle gates. She was
canonised four years after her death.
After the family died out, the castle was kept
in good condition as it guarded the border. It was enlarged in
1500 with some half-timbered buildings including a
Gentlemen’s prison.
For 10 months in 1521 & 1522, the castle
provided refuge for Martin Luther. He was brought to Wartburg in
May 1521 following his excommunication by the Pope and
declaration as an outlaw at the Diet of Worms because he would
not agree to stop his teachings and writings against the Catholic
church. This meant he could be killed on sight by anyone so
Frederick the Wise arranged a friendly ‘kidnapping’
and he ended up at Wartburg. During his time there he changed his
appearance from pious monk to a Middle Ages knight calling
himself Knight George. As a result of his stay, the castle became
a powerful symbol of the Reformation
During the 1950s the East German government
restored the entire castle to its 16th century appearance. They
restored Luther’s room with its original floor and panelled
walls and placed Luther’s own bible of 1541, with his
hand-written comments in the margins, on a contemporary desk. In
1999 the castle was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List.
The architecture and decoration is largely Romanesque and Gothic,except for some of the rooms that have been renovated. The walls are partly stone and brick and partly wood and brick. Many of the medieval rooms can still be seen today, albeit restored. The knights’ warming room is the oldest room in the castle. This is where they rested during work or festivals. There is also a ladies’ warming room, decorated from floor to ceiling with a Byzantine style mosaic. The cellar now houses medieval pottery, tapestries and stone carvings as well as authentic medieval clothing.
Written by GillB* . Photos courtesy of Matthew Beermann|
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