The Stadt- und Pfarrkirche St Marien (Stadtkirche Wittenberg) was where Martin Luther’s ecumenical revolution began, with the world’s first Protestant worship services in 1521. It was also here that Luther preached his famous Lectern sermons in 1522, and where he married ex-nun Katharina von Bora three years later. Ongoing renovations continue.
The church's centrepiece is its large altar, designed jointly by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son. The side facing the nave shows Luther, his friend Philipp Melanchthon and other Reformation figures, as well as Cranach himself, in biblical contexts. The altar is also painted on its reverse side. On the lower rung, you’ll see a defaced painting of heaven and hell; medieval students etched their initials into the painting’s divine half if they passed their final exams – and into purgatory if they failed.
