The Luther Monument () is a group of statues that was erected in

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, Germany, to commemorate the Protestant reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

. It was designed and partly made by Ernst Rietschel, and unveiled on 25 June 1868. The monument includes a group of bronze statues on stone plinths centred on a statue of Luther, surrounded by statues of related individuals and allegorical statues representing related towns. The elements are arranged in the shape of a castle, reflecting Luther's hymn " A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" ("Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" in German). It is the largest of the Luther Monuments, and shaped views of the reformer. Copies of the central Luther statue are located in Europe and the United States, including the Luther Monument in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(1884).

History

Plans to build a significant monument to Martin Luther in Worms were already made in the 18th century. In 1856, an association, the Luther-Denkmal-Verein, was formed, which pursued the idea and collected donations from Europe and the Americas. Among the historical topics remembered by the monument are Luther's Ninety-five Theses of 1517 and his appearance at the

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...

in 1521, where he defended his theses facing

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

. The main high bronze statue of Luther is surrounded by eleven others depicting other reformers, political figures, and personified related towns. The statues are mounted on separate stone plinths on a stepped base, and the overall shape of the monument is intended to resemble a castle, representing Luther's hymn " Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" (A firm castle is our God). Ernst Rietschel designed the group in 1859. He completed the sculptures of Luther and John Wycliff but died in 1861. The other statues were mostly executed by his pupils. Adolf von Donndorf contributed standing figures of Reuchlin and Frederick the Wise of Saxony, seated figures of

Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, ; ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498), also referred to as Jerome Savonarola, was an ascetic Dominican friar from Ferrara and a preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He became known for his prophecies of civic ...

Peter Waldo Peter Waldo (; also ''Valdo'', ''Valdes'', ''Waldes''; , ''de Vaux''; ; c. 1140 – c. 1205) was the leader of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages. The tradition that his first name was "Peter" can only be traced ...

and an allegorical statue (with mural crown) representing the town of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

grieving after the Sack of Magdeburg in 1631, as well as reliefs. Johannes Schilling created a statue for the town of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

, the location of the Protestation at Speyer in 1529. made statues of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...

, and one for the town of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, where the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...

was first presented in 1530. The architect Georg Hermann Nicolai, a pupil of Gottfried Semper, was also involved. The monument was cast at the . Luther is depicted in the robe of preacher, not the habit and cowl of a monk. He is holding a Bible in his left hand, and rests his right fist upon the book. According to Hans A. Pohlsander, "his posture suggests courage and determination". In addition to the main statues, the monument has inscriptions with quotations, scenes from Luther's life, coats of arms of 27 Protestant towns, and bronze relief sculptures depicting two Electors of Saxony, with others including Justus Jonas, Johann Bugenhagen, Johannes Calvin and

Ulrich Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

.'' ''Beschreibung des Lutherdenkmals''
Worms.de. Accessed on September 26, 2018 The monument was unveiled on 25 June 1868 in a ceremony attended by around 20,000 people, including nobility and leading German Protestants. Rietschel's statue of Luther became a typical image of the reformer in the late 19th century and became a model for many monuments to him, with copies in Europe and the United States, such as the Luther Monument in Washington, D.C. (1884), and others at the Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis (1903), in Decorah, Iowa (1911),

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

(1921),

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

, Iowa (1923), and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(1930). The 150th anniversary of the monument was celebrated as a major event in 2018.

Gallery

Lutherdenkmal Worms 22.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 17.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 13.jpg,

Worms Lutherdenkmal Petrus Waldus 2012-02-21-18-24-52.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 18.jpg,

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christianity, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxfor ...

Lutherdenkmal Worms 19.jpg, Philip Melanchthon Lutherdenkmal Worms 07.jpg, Johann Reuchlin Lutherdenkmal Worms 03.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 06.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 12 Magdeburg.jpg,

Lutherdenkmal Worms 08.jpg,

Kurfürst Friedrich III. von Sachsen.jpg,

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German: ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Prince-elector of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the protection given to his su ...

Literature

* Ludwig Joseph Hundhausen: ''Das Luthermonument zu Worms im Lichte der Wahrheit. Gedanken und Thatsachen zur Beantwortung der Frage: Kirche oder Protestantismus?'' Franz Kirchheim, Mainz 1868. * Christiane Theiselmann: ''Das Wormser Lutherdenkmal Ernst Rietschels (1856–1868) im Rahmen der Lutherrezeption des 19. Jahrhunderts''. Europäische Hochschulschriften, Frankfurt am Main 1992. . * Ferdinand Werner: ''Das Lutherdenkmal und die Wormser Grünanlagen''. In: 24 (2/2012), pp. 223–259.

References

External links

3D
lutherdenkmal.de {{authority control 1868 establishments in the North German Confederation Bronze sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1868 Cultural depictions of Martin Luther Outdoor sculptures in Germany Monuments and memorials in Germany Worms, Germany Statues in Germany