Travel with the Zenks: Luther Was Here

Have you ever heard of the Diet of Worms? No, this is not some new fad to loose weight.

Martin Luther had been writing some pretty scandalous pamphlets, getting them printed on Gutenberg's new movable type press and distributing them around the country. He questioned the right of the Church to sell salvation and forgiveness for sins, past, present and future, to raise money to build "superchurches," and to require priests to remain celibate, among other things. This did not sit too well with the Pope and other Church officials, especially since Martin Luther was a priest himself. So, they summoned him to the town of Worms (pronounced Voorms) to appear before the officials to explain, defend or rescind his tracts. He traveled across Germany for 2 weeks to appear at the trial (Diet). When he arrived, his followers by the hundreds met him and followed him to the Bishop's Palace. There he was asked if he was ready to take back all he had written. Instead of an outright answer, he asked for more time to think about it. The next day he gave a 3 part answer. He could not take back his thoughts because they were in his head. He could not take back what others read into his writings. As far as the content on the writings, he stood by them until reason and scripture proved them false. He said something to the effect of, "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. So help me God." That ended the trial, so he headed home to Wittenberg. The next day he was found guilty and excommunicated. This meant that anyone was free to kill him and take all his possessions. Prince Phillip sent men to "kidnap" Luther and take him to some place out of the way. He was taken to Wartburg Castle where he continued to write and to translate the New Testament into German, but first he had to look at all the dialects and try to make a "Standard" German so everyone could read the Bible. We visited the town, Worms, where the Diet was held.

Many of the buildings still exist, but the Bishop's palace is gone. We know where it was, so I could stand "in the shoes of Luther."

Portions of the old wall, along which Luther walked to the trial are still there, but from the looks of them they may not last much longer.

The church is still there, but it just escaped destruction. A fertilizer factory had a huge explosion which damaged many of the buildings in Worms. Builders were inspecting the damage when a dog began chasing everyone in the church and barking. When he would not stop, they chased him outside. Just them, a major portion of the roof collapsed. The men were safe because of the dog. In gratitude, when one of the arches was rebuilt, the head of the dog was shown peaking out.

We saw a great deal more of the city on our walk.

This looked interesting.

I have no idea what this is supposed to represent..

This one I know. It represents the cycle
of growing grapes and making wine.

There is a square with a group of statues in honor of the Reformation. Our guide was able to identify each statue and tell us the significance. However, you will just have to take my word that everyone and everything depicted has to do with the Reformation.

Nearby, a small bronze copy of the grouping had Braille labels so the blind would know what the grouping looked like and who they were.

Next we went to the major city of Heidelberg which seemed to have 3 major attractions for our group: 1. Lunch
2. Shopping
3. Heidelberg Castle

Lunch was at the oldest hotel in Heidelberg, the Hotel Ritter. This was a beautiful hotel, well restored and serving a delicious lunch.

After lunch we had time to visit the Holy Ghost Church (Protestant) and the Holy Ghost Church (Catholic.) One of the most interesting things was the grave of a prominent couple, both shown standing on the backs of dogs. At the time, this meant that they were trustworthy. However, if the dog had been in the picture in any other way, it meant that the person was wicked.

One of the squares had a statue of the Virgin Mary, with gold trim and a starry gold crown. The town fathers pondered what to do with the statue during the Reformation. It was too beautiful to tear down, so they compromised by removing the crown. After time passed and reformation fervor died down, it was replaced and remains in place today.

Behind the statue you can see part of the ruins of Heidelberg Castle.

We were told we could not get lost when we were shopping in Heidelberg because there was only one street. That was not exactly true, but almost everything could be bought along the main pedestrian street. One of the favorite shops was the Christmas Store with every imaginable item related to Christmas and a few things that were not related.

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle dominate the skyline. It is visible from almost anywhere in town. After the castle was abandoned and began falling down the townspeople helped themselves to the bricks and stone to build their own houses. Fortunately a preservationist led the fight to protect what was left, so we were able to see the shells of many parts of the castle.

The moat surrounding the castle was dry and did not contain alligators or even bears. Instead, it held deer and other animals which were slated to be served at royal banquets. The corner tower held prisoners. I wondered how such tall structures could be built without the modern equipment we use today. The tower showed one way. Each stone had two holes where a clamp grabbed them so they could be lifted up to the higher levels. Now there are no prisoners, only tiny bats which keep the summer mosquitoes in check.

Notice the stonemason's marks
on some of the blocks.

Only the shell remains of most of the buildings, but the facade with its empty windows still are guarded by the ancient statues on the top of the walls and in between the windows.

The central tower has a sort of sundial and astronomical chart over the row of windows.

The lower floors of the building on the right hold a Pharmacy museum tracing the origins of medicine from ancient times. I have no idea why this paper alligator was hanging from the ceiling in the Pharmacy Museum.

Of course, I had to get a picture of one of the gold gargoyles on the building to the left.