Torgau

Martin Luther in Torgau

Martin Luther declared that the buildings in Torgau were more beautiful than any from ancient times, noting that even King Solomon's temple was only made of wood.

Today, you can see with your own eyes what the great reformer meant, either on a guided tour or following the Torgau museum trail. The impressive town centre, for example, which dates back to the 16th century, has been miraculously preserved almost entirely in its original condition.

Recommended Event

4. KATHARINA-TAG in Torgau

28.06.2013 - 30.06.2013

Innerhalb der Lutherdekade erinnert alljährlich der KATHARINA-Tag in Torgau mit kulturellen Veranstaltungen an diese couragierte und außergewöhnliche Frau.

Luther Sites

St. Mary's Church with the tomb of Katharina Luther

Gravestone of Katharina Luther in Torgau
_{Photo: City Torgau}

Torgau was where Luther's wife Katharina took her first steps into society. In April 1523, the Torgau alderman Leonard Koppe smuggled twelve nuns out of Nimbschen Covent outside Grimma. Eight of them, including Katharina von Bora, later moved to Wittenberg.

Many years later, in 1552, the plague broke out in Wittenberg. Katharina, who had since become the wife of Martin Luther, fled for Torgau. Just before she arrived, Katharina was seriously injured in an accident caused when her horses startled.

During her stay in Torgau, Katharina Luther witnessed the engagement of her son Paul to the patrician's daughter Anna von Warbeck. She also lived to see the 18th birthday of her youngest daughter Margarethe on 17 December, before passing away three days later.

Places of interest

Useful Addresses and Contacts

Around 500 Renaissance and late-Gothic style buildings form an architectural ensemble of international standing. Hartenfels Palace, the best preserved early Renaissance palace in Germany, and the magnificent town hall that dominates the market square, are the highlights in an impressive historical townscape.