Luther's home

After extensive restoration the place of Martin Luther’s birth and death reopens in Eisleben.

Luther's home in Eisleben

Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in the small town of Eisleben, where his father worked as a miner in the nearby copper industry. His father was a wealthy entrepreneur and wanted his son to become a lawyer in order to give him a career in the burgeoning business and administrative sector of the late Middle Ages.

Catholic monk starts a reformation
After a horrifying storm he promised himself and God to enter a cloister, instead of obeying his father’s career plans. After diligent studies he entered an academic career that, however, led him to a reworking of the fundamental theology of the Christian system of belief.  His theology would later become known as Protestantism or Lutheranism, and showed the way for a reformation of the churches in Northern Europe. In 1546 he died in the same house, he was born in. 

On exhibition are a number of relics from his deathbed. His last words were according to his friends: “In the end we are all beggars when we stand before God”.

Pilgrimage to Eisleben
The house reflects the social aspirations of the elder Luther. It is a proper house built of stone and with a half-timbered upper storey. The ground floor is traditionally furnished with a hall, a living room and a kitchen in the back. Behind the house is a lovely little garden. The upper storey burnt in 1689, but was rebuilt as the house very early on became an important venue for Lutherans (and other aficionados) on the traditional pilgrimage to the Lutheran cities of Eisleben, Mansfeld, Magdeburg, Eisenach, Erfurt, Worms, Wartburg, Wittenberg, Augsburg and Torgau. 

A congregation’s local pastor conduct most pilgrimages. Strangely enough there is not an official itinerary for this Lutheran pilgrimage, but see below for places to get inspiration and to plan your own tour. The house in Eisleben is together with Luther’s home in Wittenberg on the UNESCO list.

Related information
Official webpage on Martin Luther, Luther 
Inspiration to travel in Luther-Land, Wayfarers on Luther or Routes to Luther
Official Weimar edition of Martin Luther’s writings can be accessed here, Luther canon

Good English introductions on Martin Luther are:  
Heiko A. Oberman: Luther: Man between God and the Devil
Yale University Press 2006, Link to Amazon and
Diarmaid MacCulloch: The Reformation. Penguin 2006, Link to Amazon