23 OCT Eisenach & Wartburg Castle

Today we went to Eisenach and Wartburg Castle. Gene was so excited because this is just one more piece in the puzzle of Martin Luther's life. Can you recall the story I told you on an earlier blog about Martin Luther being found guilty of Heresy in the City of Worms? Well this story takes place where that story ends. As he was being transferred from Worms back to Wittenburg, he was Kidnapped by a group of men secretly sent by Hans Von Berlepsch and Prince Burkhard Wenckheim . They brought him to Wartburg Castle where he was protected for 10 months. During this time he translated the New Testament from Latin into German.

In order to get to the castle we had to hike quite a ways on switch back roads, but the scenery on the way was to die for. Forests everywhere. As you can see from the pictures, I took a lot of them. This castle was built as a fort in the early 12th century. Soon after this it was added on to become the castle we see today. This castle is also associated with another story I told you about on our blog in Marburg. It was an interesting story about Elizabeth who was the daughter of a Hungarian King. When she was 4, an envoy from Germany came to betroth Elizabeth to the Kings son Ludwig II who was 8 at the time. It was arranged and Elizabeth was taken back to court at Wartbrug Castle where she would be raised until the time of the marriage which took place when she was 14 and he was 18. she was a very different kind of person, she felt that her wealth was only a means of giving to the poor. She would frequently carry baskets of bread to the market and give it to the hungry. This was strictly forbidden for her to do. One day the King asked her what she had in her baskets and she replied, "Roses". He asked to see for himself, so she took off the covering and low and behold there were roses in the place of the bread. She told her husband about it and he declared it "The miracle of the Roses" and she was allowed to do all of the charitable works she loved. After her husband was killed in the crusades, she was asked to leave with her children and she took refuse with her father who was living in Marburg at the time. There is a beautiful church called ElizabethKirche in Marburg. The Pope had her canonized into sainthood in 1235. She died in 1231 at the age of 24.

While we waited for the tour to begin we took pictures of the outer courtyard. They had little holes in the walls of one of the houses where the doves lived. They would come in and out all day. The males strutting their feathers to attract the females. Gene had to go to the very top of the tower so I took a picture of him peaking out. This castle actually had a draw bridge that was still in working order. From the top there was a spectacular view of the countryside. The trees are starting to lose their leaves now. Winter is setting in. Autumn didn't stay very long this year. The air was very cold and crisp. We had to wear our warm jackets, hats and neck scarves. I am not looking forward to being in the snow this winter.

The tour began and we saw a beautiful room where Elizabeth lived. This room was unbelievable. Mosaics everywhere, ceiling and walls. All around are mosaics of periods in her life such as when the envoy from Germany came to ask for her hand in marriage at 4 yrs. old, the wedding bed of Elizabeth and Ludvig, Her husband going off to war and her expulsion from the castle. You will love those pictures. Another room that blew us away was the Grand Court Room. This room was so long and it had three fireplaces. I can just imagine a grand ball with music going and those three fireplaces blazing on a cold winter night. It was considered one of the finest ballrooms of its time. In fact, the Bavarian King known as "Mad Ludwig" or "The Fairy Tale King", was so impressed with it on his visit that he had a copy of the plans drawn up and he incorporated the same floor plan in his Neuschwanstein castle (looks like the sleeping beauty castle). The acoustics in this room are said to have been made at the suggestion of Franz Liszt who was the court kapellmeister (director of music) in Weimar. Today there are lots of concerts conducted here playing the music of Liszt, Bach and Wagner, all from Germany.

Before we left Eisenach, we scouted around town and found a huge memorial that was built for the student Fraternity movement, and took pictures of some of the most interesting buildings and houses we have seen yet. As the poet Stefan Hermlin said about these surroundings, "The landscape is charming, simple and has boundless delightfullness." There are lots of walkways, paths and hiking routes that allow you to discover the beautiful scenery with its naturally formed gorges. I know my daughter Kim would enjoy a trip to this city. Have a good and restful Sunday.