Schlosskirche (Castle Church)

Schlosskirche (Castle Church) Review

In 1517 the indignant Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses attacking the Roman Catholic Church's policy of selling indulgences to the doors of the Schlosskirche. Written in Latin, the theses might have gone unnoticed had not someone—without Luther's knowledge—translated them into German and distributed them. In 1521 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to Worms when Luther refused to retract his position. It was on the way home from his confrontation with the emperor that Luther was "captured" by his protector, Elector Frederick the Wise, and hidden from papal authorities in Eisenach for the better part of a year. The Theses are hung on the original door in bronze. Inside the church, simple bronze plaques mark the burial places of Luther and Melanchthon.