• Festival with historical costumes
    Schmalkalden
  • City Hall at night
    Schmalkalden
  • chancel of the city church
    Schmalkalden

Martin Luther and the Schmalkaldic League

Schmalkalden, on the southern edge of the Thuringian Forest, is one of the finest surviving examples of a central European town of the Middle Ages. Its old quarter has so many enchanting places for you to discover: quiet secluded corners and narrow lanes that open up into pretty little squares. The history of the town shines through in the lovingly restored timber-framed buildings, the stone houses, the late-Gothic hall church of St. George and Wilhelmsburg Palace, a jewel of Renaissance art and architecture.

Formerly part of Hessen, Schmalkalden was a focal point for Germany and Europe in the 16th century. The Landgrave Philip of Hesse was one of the first Protestant princes of Germany and an adversary of Charles V. He regarded the reformation of the church - driven by the faith of Martin Luther - not as a purely German event, but as a change that would resonate throughout the whole of Europe.

Following the events at the Augsburg Diet in 1530 and the renewal of the Worms Edict, Philip was one of the princes who realised that only a united alliance of all Protestants would offer protection against the Emperor. The Schmalkaldic League was founded in the last week of December, 1530. Seven imperial diets were held in Schmalkalden. The one in 1537 has gone down in history as the most "glittering princes' diet". It was attended by sixteen princes, six counts, envoys of the Emperor, of the Pope and of the kings of France and Denmark, representatives of the 28 Imperial and Hanseatic cities, and 42 Evangelist theologists led by Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. On the instructions of the Elector of Saxony, Johann Frederick, Martin Luther presented his articles of faith, which were incorporated into the Book of Concord of the Evangelical church as the Schmalkaldic Articles. Written at a time when he was close to death, Luther poured his heart and soul into the articles, which were often referred to as his "private confession".

On a walk around the old quarter, you can still see monuments of the Reformation and the places associated with Martin Luther.