Photo: epd-Ost/Maik SchuckCranach altar in the city church St. Peter and Paul, WeimarThis town in Thuringia played a decisive role at several points in German history. The historical legacy of this town includes the Weimar Classicism of Wieland, Goethe, Herder, and Schiller; the Bauhaus; and the founding of the first German republic in 1919, known as the Weimar Republic. However, Weimar’s connection to Luther and the Reformation is more significant than is generally known.

Luther's pulpit in the city church

The small town belonged to the territory of the Ernestine princes and was a favourite destination of Frederick III (the Wise), who served as Luther's protector. The parish church, St. Peter and Paul contains a pulpit that was used by Luther between 1518 and 1540; it also features an altarpiece triptych by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son, Lucas Cranach the Younger. What remains of the Franciscan monastery, on the rear side of the Wittumspalais, is now used by the Liszt School of Music of Weimar.