Places of the Reformation

Leipzig is the unofficial capital of Central Germany, with 1,000 years of history and an exciting present.

Reformation: The Leipzig Debate of 1519 between Luther and Eck in the Pleißenburg led to the break with Rome and ultimately to the emergence of the Protestant Church. At Pentecost in 1539, the Reformation was introduced in Albertine Saxony in St. Nicholas Church and St. Thomas Church. As a result, the university was reorganized with the involvement of Melanchthon.

Sights: Historic city center with Renaissance town hall and the arcade system of the trade fair buildings, St. Thomas Church with Bach’s grave, St. Nicholas Church, Museum of Fine Arts, Gewandhaus, Monument to the Battle of the Nations
 

Offer: A wide range of tourist services available at the Tourist Information

The western Saxon city of Zwickau lies in a wide valley plain at the entrance to the Western Ore Mountains and the Vogtland region.

Reformation: Zwickau is one of the European cities where the Reformation was introduced very early. Traces of the work of Thomas Müntzer, Martin Luther, and Philipp Melanchthon have been preserved to this day and continue to have an impact.
 

Sights: Priests' Houses, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Osterstein Castle, Town Hall, Council School Library
 

Offer: Luther circular trail, guided tours on Reformation history, children’s tours

In October 2007, the Emmaus Church from Heuersdorf was moved to Borna and relocated to Martin Luther Square in a globally noted operation.
 

Reformation: As early as 1519, Borna became the first town in Ernestine Saxony where Protestant preaching took place. On March 5, 1522, Martin Luther wrote the famous Ash Wednesday Letter in Borna, and at the end of April and beginning of May 1522, he preached four times in St. Mary's Town Church.

Sights: St. Mary's Town Church, Emmaus Church, Martin Luther Monument, Former City Gate (Reichstor) with museum
 

Services: Tourist and city information at the market, museum and church tours, city tours

Torgau, the political centre of the Reformation and the capital of Electoral Saxony in the 16th century, is today one of Germany's most beautiful Renaissance towns.
 

Reformation: As the former residence of the electors, Torgau was one of the places where the Reformation originated. Luther often stayed in the town, preached here, and consecrated the castle chapel in 1544, the first Protestant church building. Katharina von Bora died in Torgau on 20 December 1552.

Sights: Town church with Katharina Luther’s gravestone, Hartenfels Castle with castle church, historic Renaissance old town
 

Offer: daily public city tours, church space exploration, and Bible copying

Idyllically situated in the forest-rich Mulde valley, Grimma is a popular destination for guests interested in nature and culture.

Reformation: Martin Luther stayed several times at the Augustinian Monastery in Grimma and preached in both the monastery church and St Nicholas Church. Katharina von Bora lived for 12 years in the Cistercian convent Marienthron in Nimbschen and fled in 1523 with other nuns via Torgau to Wittenberg, where she became the reformer's wife in 1525.

Sights: Nimbschen monastery ruins, St Augustine Monastery Church, Church of Our Lady, the listed historic Old Town with its historic town hall, Göschenhaus Museum, Grimma District Museum
 

Offer: themed city tours “Katharina von Bora, a strong woman”

Döbeln is a beautiful city over 1,000 years old, located in the heart of Saxony.

Reformation: Starting in 1521, people came to Döbeln for the first Protestant sermons. The sermons could only be held in the town hall. Duke George the Bearded had several followers of Luther arrested. The preacher had to flee. Only after the introduction of the Reformation in Albertine Saxony could the Reformation spread freely here after 1539.

Sights: St. Nicolai Church with the “Miracle Man”, Eule organ and Luther monument, the original “Döbeln Giant Boot” from 1925 in the town hall, German Horse Tram Museum Döbeln
 

Offers: Hiking and cycling trails, outdoor pool with indoor pool, city tours, city museum, Central Saxony Theater Döbeln

Nestled in the scenic Zschopau Valley, the town of Waldheim – the pearl of the Zschopau Valley – is rich in Gründerzeit architecture.

Reformation: The monastery embraced Reformation ideas early on and was, in part, supportive of Martin Luther. As an Augustinian monk, Luther had been jointly responsible for the monastery before the Reformation. With the voluntary transfer of the monastery to the lord of Kriebstein Castle, Georg von Karlowitz, the Reformation in Waldheim was completed.

Sights: St. Nicolai Town Church, Art Nouveau town hall, Georg Kolbe exhibition, Kellerberg visitor mine, Saxon Prison Museum, railway viaducts 
 

Offer: Guided tour of the town hall with tower climb, themed city tours, Kellerberg tour
 

Altenburg was one of the important residences of the Saxon electors. As the closest confidant, secretary, and confessor of Frederick the Wise, Georg Spalatin mediated for years between him and Luther. Luther preached several times in the late Gothic town church of St. Bartholomäi. Spalatin was also buried here. Luther’s probably most significant stay in the city took place in January 1519. The reason was a meeting with Karl von Miltitz, the papal envoy to the Saxon court. He was tasked with finding out whether Luther continued to insist on his Wittenberg theses. Apart from the “Altenburg Silence Agreement,” a final attempt at an amicable resolution that did not last long, Miltitz left the city without success. Luther himself can be seen as a life-size sculpture on the main façade of the Altenburg Brüderkirche. The “Spalatin Path” connects five authentic places of the Reformation: the residential palace, St. Bartholomäi Church, the Brüderkirche, the Renaissance town hall, and the Red Spires. Information terminals, animated in an audiovisual format, tell the story of the place and its inhabitants.

In an attractive setting on the banks of the Mulde River and Lake Seelhausen, the municipality of Löbnitz offers many leisure and recreation opportunities.
 

Reformation: In Luther’s time, the route from Wittenberg to Leipzig passed through Kemberg and Löbnitz. Luther had a close friendship with the manor owner Ernst von Schönfeldt and his daughter Ave von Schönfeldt. 
 

Sights: Church with the largest painted ceiling in central Germany (coffered panels with biblical images and floral motifs), fully functional post mill, manor house
 

Offer: Guided church tours, mill tours, cycling and hiking trails at Lake Seelhausen and along the Mulde River, riding stables, carriage and wagon rides, sightseeing flights over Löbnitz and the surrounding area, skydiving

On the southern edge of the district of Northern Saxony in the Döllnitz Valley lies the small town of Mügeln, with a lively history spanning more than a thousand years.
 

Reformation: The Mügeln region was subject to the bishops of Meissen until the conversion of the last bishop during the Reformation period, Johann IX of Haugwitz. He resigned from his episcopal office in 1581, became Protestant, and died in Mügeln in 1595. 
 

Sights: historic town center, Ruhethal Castle, Marienthal Monastery, narrow-gauge railway with field railway, local history museum, St. John's Church and St. Mary's Church, Martin Luther Church in Sornzig, Church of Ablaß, St. Andrew’s Church in Schweta
 

Activities: outdoor pool, guided city tours by appointment, Mügeln station geo-portal with “Kaolin Adventure World”, hiking and cycling in the fruit-growing region

Colditz is known for Colditz Castle, which served as a prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers during World War II.

Reformation: Four pastors from the region had to answer to the Bishop of Merseburg in 1523 because of their evangelical beliefs. The choir formed around 1540 became a choral society in 1580.

Sights: Market Square, Renaissance Town Hall, Colditz Castle with Escape Museum, local history museum, heritage tower, St. Egidien town church
 

Offers: City tour, castle tour with HistoPad, cultural-historical hike in the game park, raft rental Wechselburg – Rochlitz – Colditz, Colditz circular hiking trail

Leisnig offers medieval charm, a wide range of culture, and is located on the edge of Saxony's largest fruit‑growing area.
 

Reformation: Martin Luther’s letters to the council and the Leisnig church congregation contain fundamental explanations on the Reformation’s reorganisation of community life, spiritual rights, Protestant worship, and social issues – the oldest Protestant social document was created here: the Leisnig Chest Order.

Sights: St. Matthäi Church, manor estate with permanent exhibition and Leisnig Chest Order, Mildenstein Castle, world’s largest cuffed boot, Buch Monastery
 

Offers: City, castle, church, and monastery tours; museum of historic vehicles and machines; library; outdoor pool; salt grotto; cycling and hiking trails

The medieval Kriebstein Castle is located in the center of the Dresden–Chemnitz–Leipzig triangle.

Reformation: The castle, built in 1384, belonged for six years to Duchess Elisabeth of Saxony, who resided in Rochlitz starting in 1537. Her successor, Georg von Karlowitz, introduced the Reformation. During this time, the famous Alexius Altar from the Waldheim Monastery was brought to the castle.

Sights: Castle museum with castle chapel, period-style rooms, knights' hall with Alexius Altar, large banquet hall, well chamber with castle well

Offers: Museum, guided tours, special exhibitions, events, passenger boat on the Kriebstein reservoir

Mittweida with its 16,000 inhabitants is one of the largest and most important towns in the district of Central Saxony and, as a university location, offers a high quality of life in a scenic setting.

Reformation: Protestant ideas spread early in Mittweida. In 1535, 73 Protestant citizens had to leave the town. In 1537, Duchess Elisabeth of Saxony introduced the Reformation.

Sights: historic old town, town church, town museum, Johannes Schilling House, Museum Alte Pfarrhäuser, village church in Ringethal
 

Offers: city tours, church tour with tower climb, climbing, hiking along the Zschopau River, themed circular hiking trails

Rochlitz, the over 1,000-year-old city of red porphyry, is nestled in the Valley of Castles and has preserved its unique and unmistakable atmosphere to this day.

Reformation: The Protestant movement in Rochlitz already welcomed Duchess Elisabeth of Saxony in 1523. She introduced the Reformation in her widow’s residence of Rochlitz and Kriebstein in 1537. 

Sights: Market Square, castle, St. Peter’s Church, St. Cunigunde’s Church with its magnificent winged altarpiece, porphyry educational trail on Rochlitzer Berg
 

Offers: themed castle tours, including with Duchess Elisabeth of Rochlitz, city tours in historical costumes, churches: St. Peter’s and St. Cunigunde’s, audio tour on Rochlitzer Berg

Penig is an old pilgrimage site that once belonged to the Diocese of Merseburg. The Altpenig Church of St. Aegidius is the oldest building in the town and was first mentioned in 1157.

Reformation: Penig became Protestant in 1539 and later belonged to the rule of the Lords of Schönburg. The Schönburg family sought to maintain their independence from the sovereign. Therefore, they had Johann Pfeffinger develop a church order for their territories. They established three superintendencies.

Sights: St. Aegidius Church, the town church "Our Lady on the Mountain"

The founding of the town of Waldenburg dates back to the 12th century. As early as the late Middle Ages, the pottery trade in Waldenburg developed into an important economic sector. Pottery goods from the Waldenburg workshops were sold across the region. During excavations at the Augustinian Monastery in Wittenberg, stoneware from Waldenburg was discovered.

Waldenburg Castle, built at the end of the 12th century as a base for the colonisation of the Pleisen region, served as the residential castle of the Princes of Schönburg – Waldenburg until 1945. On a guided tour, visitors can explore the luxurious interiors of the former princely representative and living quarters. Join a stylistic journey through various architectural eras of an eclectic Gesamtkunstwerk created between 1859 and 1912. The restored castle park, with its historic trees, rose garden, grotto and terrace, invites guests to take a stroll in the immediate vicinity of Grünfelder Park.

Gnandstein is a district of the pottery town Kohren-Sahlis. The symbol of the pottery craft is the well-known Pottery Fountain on the market square.
 

Reformation: The von Einsiedel family was among the first Saxon nobles to openly support the Reformation. Threats from Duke George meant that the Reformation could only be openly introduced in 1539.
 

Sights: Gnandstein Castle Museum with castle chapel, Pottery Museum, Pottery Fountain, Hofmann Collection, castle ruins, Schwind Pavilion, Mill Museum
 

Offerings: Hand printing workshop, fairy-tale garden, adventure dining, summer toboggan run, path train, maze, pottery courses, hiking

Glauchau, located in the Schönburg region.
 

Reformation: After 1542, the Lords of Schönburg promoted the Reformation in their territory. They established a superintendency in Glauchau.
 

Sights: Forder- and Hinterglauchau Castles, historic town center with town church, historic town hall, Bismarck Tower
 

Offerings: Municipal theater, museum, summer cultural events, church music days, historic castle spectacle, Night of the Castles, nearby recreation area at the reservoir, park facilities, approx. 60 km of marked hiking trails

Crimmitschau - a city with a textile tradition, tangible history, a modern appearance, and sporting ambitions.
 

Reformation: In 1529, the first Protestant pastor was appointed in Crimmitschau. The city school had a remarkable level of education with socially critical theater performances.
 

Sights: Town Hall, Market Fountain, St. Laurentius Church, architecturally unique factory owners’ villas, Textile Museum as a witness to textile history, Blankenhain Castle Museum
 

Offer: 2 outdoor pools, ice stadium, theater, cinema, organization of excursions and city tours

The 1,050-year-old town of Wurzen – birthplace of the painter, poet, and cabaret artist Joachim Ringelnatz – invites you to explore its main sights along the Ringelnatz Trail.
 

Reformation: The town is home to the Bishop’s Castle, where the bishops of Meissen resided for a time. In 1542, Luther worked to settle the Wurzen feud and helped prevent a war.
 

Sights: Old Town, castle, town church, cathedral, Ringelnatz Fountain/birthplace, museum with Ringelnatz collection, Post Gate, parks
 

Offerings: various guided tours, exhibitions, Mulde ferry service, boat and bike rentals, cycling and hiking trails, indoor swimming pool
 

Trebsen is an 850-year-old town located picturesquely in the Mulde Valley between Grimma and Wurzen.
 

Reformation: The von Minckwitz castle family supported the Reformation and brought Caspar Zeuner to the town in 1521 as the first Protestant pastor.

Sights: medieval castle with stepped gables, cell vaults, castle courtyard with remains of the keep, castle park, manor estate, historic town church with ceiling paintings and grave slabs
 

Offerings: events around the castle, knight tournaments, wine festivals, restaurant, outdoor seating, hall, exhibitions, concerts and guided tours at the manor estate, church visits

Dreiheide with its three districts is located on the edge of the beautiful Dübener Heide and is easy to explore by bike.
 

Reformation: Martin Luther is known to have visited the church in Süptitz in 1535 while passing through. In the 16th century, Süptitz was known as a wine-growing area. The Elector sent Süptitz wine to Luther several times. 
 

Sights: local heritage room, monument on the Süptitz Heights, post mill, Großwig natural swimming area, Bear Column, Süptitz Church (built in the 13th century), Weidenhain Church (Romanesque basilica style, frescoes in the apse), Großwig Church (Romanesque rubble-stone basilica, Flemming organ from 1787)

At the transition between the Leipzig Lowlands Bay and the Kohrener Land lies Frohburg with its impressive castle complex and a long history as the seat of one of Saxony’s largest knight estates. The medieval castle was built around 1200 and later expanded into a Baroque palace. Today, the Luther Trail runs through the spacious palace park – a scenically appealing stage with historical charm.

Reformation: In the 16th century, Frohburg was a place of lively Reformation activity. The lord of the castle, Doctor Melchior von Kreutzen, was in close contact with Martin Luther and supported him in legal matters. In St. Michael’s Church, reproductions based on works by Lucas Cranach still commemorate the Reformer. This links Frohburg’s regional noble culture with the religious upheaval of the Reformation period.

Sights: Frohburg Castle with museum and Romanesque vaulted cellars, Baroque staircases, collections on the town’s history, and ceramics by Kurt Feuerriegel; historical school lesson in the museum; St. Michael’s Church with an organ from 1806 and the tomb inscription of the castle’s founder; walk through the palace park and church square

Offers: Museum tours, changing special exhibitions, cultural events at the castle, guided city tours

The state-recognized moor spa town of Bad Düben is the southern gateway to the Dübener Heide Nature Park and a great destination for health and active vacationers, pilgrims, hikers, cyclists, and anyone seeking relaxation and nature experiences.
 

Reformation: On the route from Wittenberg to Leipzig, Luther and other reformers often passed through Düben, as did Katharina von Bora on her way to her estate in Zöllsdorf near Neukieritzsch.
 

Sights: historic old town, 1,000-year-old Düben Castle with landscape museum, St. Nicholas Town Church, spa park, and mills
 

Offers: city tours, HEIDE SPA health and wellness center, junction of long-distance hiking trails

Wolkenburg in the lovely town of Limbach-Oberfrohna, which combines tradition with a forward-looking spirit.
 

Reformation: After Luther gifted the Zöllsdorf estate to his wife in 1541, he asked the lord of Wolkenburg Castle to lend him 12 bushels of grain and 24 bushels of oats.
 

Sights: New Church, Wolkenburg Castle, Farming Museum, St. Anna Ore Mine, Esche Museum
 

Offerings: Leisure pool, city hall, Limbacher Teiche nature conservation area, zoo, city park, city nature trail

Neukieritzsch is a lively village, and the history of its districts as well as the transformation of the landscape in the Leipzig New Lakeland invite you to explore.
 

Reformation: The Zöllsdorf estate, the widow’s residence of Katharina Luther, was located within the Neukieritzsch district. On her estate, Katharina produced food for the large household in Wittenberg. A monument in the market square commemorates her today.
 

Sights: Katharina von Bora Church, Luther Monument, Schiller House Kahnsdorf, Information Centre at the Lippendorf Power Plant
 

Offers: Outdoor swimming pool, Pleiße Cycle Path, Pilgrims’ Route Via Imperii, power plant tours, viewpoint of the active open‑cast mine, excursion options at Lake Hainer

The Gneisenau town of Schildau is known as the town of the "Schildbürger" and is located at the northern edge of the Dahlener Heide.
 

Reformation: After the imperial ban was imposed on Luther in 1521, travelling outside the electoral territory became dangerous. Since Luther had to cross ducal territory near Torgau on these journeys, Schildau became the first safe stop within the Electorate.
 

Sights: Gneisenau Memorial Site, Path of the "Schildbürger", "Schildbürger" Museum and Fountain, "Schildbürger" Playground, Schildberg with observation tower, Equestrian Sports Arena, Forest Adventure Barn
 

Offers: Natural outdoor pool with adventure basin and large water slide, campground, marked hiking, cycling and riding trails, guided city tours

Eilenburg is a town on the Mulde River, located very close to the Dübener Heide Nature Park.

Reformation: Luther stayed in Eilenburg several times between 1518 and 1545 and preached here. In 1519, he travelled with his companions via Eilenburg to the disputation in Leipzig, and in 1539 to introduce the Reformation in Leipzig.

Sights: Castle Hill with circular trail, Sorben Tower, St. Mary’s Hill Church, City Museum, Zoo, St. Nicholas Town Church, Cellars in the Hill
 

Offerings: Indoor swimming pool, bowling, skittles, hiking and cycling trail, “Juri Gagarin” observatory, leisure center with surfing, camping, and water skiing