The Stadt- und Pfarrkirche St. Marien zu Wittenberg (Town and Parish Church of St. Mary's) is the civic church of the German town of

Lutherstadt Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German federal c ...

. The reformers

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 ...

and Johannes Bugenhagen preached there and the building also saw the first celebration of the mass in German rather than Latin and the first ever distribution of the bread and wine to the congregation – it is thus considered the mother-church of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. In 1996, it was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

along with Castle Church of All Saints (Schlosskirche), the Lutherhaus, the Melanchthonhaus, and Martin Luther's birth house and death house in

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century ...

, because of its religious significance and testimony to the lasting, global influence of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

History

The first mention of the Pfarrkirche St.-Marien dates to 1187. Originally a wooden church in the Diocese of Brandenburg, in 1280 the present chancel and the chancel's south aisle were built. Between 1412 and 1439 the nave was replaced by the present three-aisle structure and the two towers built, originally crowned by stone pyramids. The first Protestant service was held here by Luther at Christmas 1521. In 1522, in the wake of the

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

begun by

Andreas Bodenstein Andreas Rudolph Bodenstein von Karlstadt (148624 December 1541), better known as Andreas Karlstadt, Andreas Carlstadt or Karolostadt, in Latin, Carolstadius, or simply as Andreas Bodenstein, was a German Protestant Christian theologian, theologi ...

, almost the whole interior decoration was demolished and removed, leaving the still-surviving High Medieval Judensau on the exterior of the south wall. On his return to Wittenberg from the Wartburg, Luther preached his famous invocavit sermons in the Stadtkirche. Luther married Katharina von Bora here on 13 June 1525, the service being conducted by his colleague and friend, Johannes Bugenhagen. In 1547, during the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

, the towers' stone pyramids were removed to make platforms for cannon. Despite the war, an altarpiece by

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

was unveiled in the church. In 1556 the platforms were replaced by the surviving octagonal caps, a clock and a clock-keeper's dwelling. This was followed by an extension of the east end and the overlying 'Ordinandenstube'. In 1811 the interior of the church was redesigned to a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

scheme by Carlo Ignazio Pozzi. The church was again restored in 1928 and also 1980–1983.

Altarpiece

The church contains a masterly altarpiece by

Lucas Cranach the Younger Lucas Cranach the Younger (, ; 4 October 1515 – 25 January 1586) was a German Renaissance painter and portraitist, the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and brother of Hans Cranach. Life and career Lucas Cranach the Younger was born in Wittenber ...

. Cranach lived in Wittenberg for most of his life, for this reason, many rich patrons chose to have a memorial painting by Cranach, rather than a gravestone. These encircle the altarpiece.

Tombs of interest

* Johannes Bugenhagen *Memorial painting to Sara Cracow (d.1563), daughter of Bugenhagen, by Cranach *

* Paul Eber memorial by Cranach *Memorial to Melchior Fend (d.1564) "Jesus in the Temple" by Peter Spitzer and Cranach *Memorial to Franziskus Oldehorst (d.1565) by Cranach and Peter Spitzer *Memorial painting of Caspar Niemeck (d.1562) by Cranach *Memorial painting to Samuel Selfisch (d.1615) *Memorial painting to Nikolaus von Seidlitz (d.1582) "Christ risen from his Tomb" by Augustin Cranach

Organ

The organ of the town church was built in 1983 by the organ builder Sauer. Parts of the previous organs were used. The large mid-section of the prospectus was taken from the organ of 1811, and some of the organ's registers of 1928 were also reused. The instrument has 53 registers on three manuals and a pedal.

General superintendents and superintendents

From 1533 to 1817 the Stadtkirche's pastor was also general superintendent of the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Electoral Circle The Electoral Circle (), which was renamed in 1807 as the Wittenberg Circle (), was a historical territory that mostly emerged from the heartlands of the former Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. The circle (or district) was created in the reign of Freder ...

(''Kurkreis'') and thus granted to the top theological lecturer at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. # Johannes Bugenhagen (1533–1558) # Paul Eber (1558–1569) # Friedrich Widebrand (1570–1574) # Kaspar Eberhard (1574–1575) # Polykarp Leyser the Elder (1576–1587) # David Voit (1587–1589) # Urban Pierius also: Birnbaum (1590–1591) # Polykarp Leyser the Elder (1593–1594) # Ägidius Hunnius the Elder (1594–1603) # Georg Mylius (1603–1607) # Friedrich Balduin (1607–1627) # Paul Röber (1627–1651) # Abraham Calov (1656–1686) # Balthasar Bebel (1686) #

Caspar Löscher Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts *Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist *Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) ...

(1687–1718) # Gottlieb Wernsdorf der Ältere (1719–1729) # Johann Georg Abicht (1730–1740) # Karl Gottlob Hofmann (1740–1774) # Johann Friedrich Hirt (1775–1783) # Karl Christian Tittmann (1784–1789) # Karl Ludwig Nitzsch (1790–1817) In 1817 the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

merged the University of Wittenberg with the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

and the post of general superintendent became one of superintendent, still tied to the pastorate of the Stadtkirche : # Karl Ludwig Nitzsch (1817–1831) # Heinrich Leonhard Heubner (1832–1853) # Immanuel Friedrich Emil Sander (1853–1859) # Karl August Schapper (1860–1866) # Karl Otto Bernhard Romberg (1867–1877) # Georg Christian Rietschel (1878–1887) # Carl Wilhelm Emil Quandt (1888–1908) # Friedrich Wilhelm Orthmann (1908–1923) # Maximilian Meichßner (1926–1954) # Gerhard Böhm (1956–1976) # Albrecht Steinwachs (1976–1997) Since 1999 the post of superintendent has not been tied to any pastorate, so the next superintendent of the Wittenberg church-circle will not ''ex officio'' be pastor of the Stadtkirche.

''Judensau''

The facade of the church has a '' Judensau'', or Jew's pig, from 1305. It portrays a rabbi who looks under the sow's tail, and other Jews drinking from its teats. An inscription reads "Rabini Shem hamphoras," gibberish which presumably bastardizes "shem ha-meforasch" (a secret name of God; see Shemhamphorasch). The sculpture is one of the last remaining examples in Germany of "medieval Jew baiting." In 1988, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the ''

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

'', debate sprung up about the monument, which resulted in the addition of a sculpture recognizing that during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

six million Jews were murdered "under the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross (), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging ...

". In '' Vom Schem Hamphoras'' (1543), Luther comments on the Judensau sculpture at Wittenberg, echoing the antisemitism of the image and locating the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

in the sow's bowels: In 2022, The

Federal Court of Justice The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of Private law, civil and Criminal law, criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, le ...

upheld rulings for the preservation of the ''Judensau''; when clarifying its stance, the court stated that the church provided historical context for the sculpture and condemned it.

Gallery

Wittenberg Stadtkirche 1.jpg, The altarpiece by

and son

Lucas Cranach d.J. - Reformationsaltar, St. Marien zu Wittenberg, linker Flügel.jpg, Left panel: (

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 ...

administered the baptism) Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Reformationsaltar, St. Marien zu Wittenberg, Mitteltafel.jpg, Central panel: ( The Last Supper) Lucas Cranach d.J. - Reformationsaltar, St. Marien zu Wittenberg, rechter Flügel.jpg, Right panel: ( Johannes Bugenhagen administering "the key's power") Lucas Cranach d.J. - Reformationsaltar, St. Marien zu Wittenberg, Predella.jpg, Low panel: (

preaching before an image of Christ)

References

External links

Parish website
{{Authority control Wittenberg Stadtkirche Lutheran churches in Germany Protestant churches in Saxony-Anhalt Churches in Wittenberg Wittenberg Stadtkirche

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

Martin Luther Judensau