Pilgrimage Netherlands Czestochowa (Poland) Day 8

On the 8th day of the tour, you will spend the night near the Elbe. The roads are even more so, as you will be taking agricultural paths.

Make sure to leave a little on time, as a visit to the city of Luther, Wittenberg, should not be missed.

Wittenberg is a university town on the Elbe in East Germany that has close ties to Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation. The Luther House, once a monastery and Lutheran residence, is now a museum showcasing his personal artifacts and paintings. In the main square of the town, the marketplace, stands the town church from the 13th century where Luther preached, known as the mother church of the Reformation.

On October 31, 1517, Luther took action against his frustration with the then-common practice of indulgences. He wrote 95 Theses in which he criticized the abuses. It is often claimed that the church reformer nailed the document to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. However, there is no concrete evidence for this. What is certain is that Luther forwarded the theses to the Archbishop of Mainz with the request for a written response.

This act is regarded as the beginning of the Reformation. In this Reformation, the focus of faith was much more placed on the Bible, and the authority of, for example, the Pope and the Church was diminished. Luther's theses became widely disseminated. The arrival of the printing press made this possible.

The Wittenberg campsite is located by the Elbe. The options for shelter are limited, but under the awning of the toilet block, you can stay dry.