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Luther Trail: Section 35 – From Altenburg to Borna
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/ Außenansicht - St. Bartholomäi - AltenburgPhoto: Paul Hentschel, Lutherweg - Thüringer Tourismus GmbH -
/ Grabplatte Georg Spalatins - St. Bartholomäi - AltenburgPhoto: Paul Hentschel, Lutherweg - Thüringer Tourismus GmbH
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/ Rote Spitzen - AltenburgPhoto: Paul Hentschel, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH
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/ Residenzschloss - AltenburgPhoto: Paul Hentschel, Lutherweg - Thüringer Tourismus GmbH
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/ Schloss Windischleuba mit WassergrabenPhoto: Hedwig Storch, CC BY-SA, By Hedwig Storch (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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/ St. Marien - BornaPhoto: Sebastian Poster, CC BY-SA, By Sebastian Poster (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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/ Emmauskirche am neuen Standort in BornaPhoto: Ronnsen, CC BY-SA, By Ronnsen (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Renaissance castle in Windischleuba initially belonged to the Börries family of Münchhausen. Today it is used as a youth hostel.
Martin Luther travelled to Borna many times. Here he visited his friend, Michael von der Straßen, a professional travelling companion and a passionate advocate of the Reformation. Luther preached in the church of Borna and helped provide the town with its first Protestant priest as early as 1519. In 1522, unrest in Wittenberg caused Luther, disguised as Squire George, to stop in Borna on the way from Wartburg Castle to Wittenberg. On 6 March 1522, Ash Wednesday, he wrote his famous letter to Prince Elector Frederick the Wise. In the letter, he justified his reasons for leaving Wartburg Castle against the will of the Elector and referred to himself as a free man due to his faith in God.
The town of Borna requested that Luther be escorted to Wittenberg. He arrived there the next day and managed to calm the unrest that was threatening the Reformation.
Author’s recommendation
Safety information
Parts of this section go though a backwater basin in the Windischleuba reservoir. Make sure the route is passable, particularly after rain.Start
Destination
Turn-by-turn directions
Note
Public transport
Public transport friendly
Altenburg and Borna are connected to the Deutsche Bahn regional train network.
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