Wartburg - The Castle of the Germans
Eisenach’s main draw is Wartburg Castle, which is Thuringia’s second most visited site after Weimar. Located on the mountain top to the south of Eisenach, the castle was a 10-minute drive from the city center. Due to the castle's popularity, visitors must park their cars in the paid parking lot below and then hike up to the castle entrance. Since we were running behind schedule, we chose to take a shuttle to the top for just €2 each, and it was well worth it. Luckily, the weather had cleared up by the time we arrived, so we were treated to the perfect postcard view of the castle. Although scaffolding was on the castle keep, we were in awe of its architectural majesty. It may not be flamboyant like Karlštejn Castle or Château de Saumur, but it somehow feels more authentic.
Much to my surprise, visitors could roam Wartburg’s castle without paying for the hefty admission charge. The castle was built on a mountain ridge, giving it an elongated appearance. I have visited enough castles to be able to estimate their age based on the type of defense used in contemporary warfare. Without concentric defensive walls, it is squarely a medieval fortress. From the exterior, one could make out three distinct sections. The father's section is the oldest part of the castle and is attributed to Ludwig the Springer, the 11th-century count of Thuringia. Legends had it that Ludwig stumbled on this spot while on a hunting excursion and was captivated by the beauty of the landscape. He proclaimed on this spot that he would build his castle here. Because the land is outside of his personal realm, he staked a claim to this area by transporting earth from his dukedom.
This oldest section is anchored by the massive “palace.” Much of its architecture was unaltered throughout the centuries, thus making it the best-preserved late-Romanesque residence north of the Alps. This was the official residence of the Landgraves of Thuringia and also the starting point of the guided tours. Although there is a daily English-language tour at 1:40 pm, we had to join a German tour with a complimentary audio guide due to our schedule. If you can’t sign up for the English tour, we recommend waiting for the self-guided tour, which is available from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. The self-guided tour actually offers the best flexibility.
The tour began at the lower level, where numerous archaeological artifacts recovered during the most recent restoration are on display. The most interesting item is actually a funerary effigy of Ledwig the Jumper. Interestingly, he supposedly earned his nickname “the Springer” after escaping from a three-year prison sentence by jumping off a prison tower into the River Saale. However, many historians believe that this legend was fabricated after his death, and “Springer” was actually a mistranslation of the Salian dynasty, to which he belonged. However, the guides definitely prefer the legend more. Sadly, Ludwig later participated in a failed revolt against the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V. He had to relinquish control of the castle in exchange for his release.
Besides Martin Luther, Wartburg’s claim to fame is its association with Saint Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a Hungarian princess who arrived at Wartburg in 1211 at the age of four to be betrothed to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, who was seven years her senior. They got married when she turned fourteen, but were only married for six years until Louis passed away on the way to the Sixth Crusade. As a window, Elizabeth was committed to celibacy against her family’s pressure to remarry. She lived a monastic-like life, embodying the utmost Christian virtues, akin to the Beguines. From an early age, Elizabeth already expressed her distaste for the materialist life of the Therigian court. She dressed plainly and regularly gave away her worldly possessions to the poor. She withdrew from court life and went on to found a hospital for the poor with her dowry, actively working to serve those in need or in sickness.
Sadly, Elizabeth passed away at the young age of twenty-four. Immediately after her death, miracles were reported at her grave site inside the hospital she founded. With the fierce advocacy of her confessor, Konrad von Marburg, Elizabeth was on the fast track to quick canonization and was sometimes regarded as the patron saint of all Germany. Her tomb and relics became a center of pilgrimage in medieval Germany. A contemporary of Saint Francis of Assisi, Elizabeth’s cult was propagated by the Franciscan orders far beyond German-speaking realms. She has become the patron saint of hospitals, the sick, the homeless, and those in exile. Her relics could be found from Sweden to Colombia.
The most splendid room inside the castle was undoubtedly the Private Chamber of Saint Elizabeth. This room, which was supposedly the private domain of Saint Elizabeth, is adorned with dazzling golden mosaics that illustrate her brief life. Unsuspected visitors could easily mistake them as original to her time in Wartburg Castle, but they were, in fact, commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1902. The Neo-Byzantine mosaics are so rich in material and colors that one could easily mistake them for those in Hagia Sophia. I later found that the designer, August Oetken, was behind the mosaic interior of Cathedral Basilica in Saint Louis, one of my favorite churches in North America, and it boasts the most extensive mosaic collection outside of Russia.
Above Elizabeth’s chamber is the castle’s chapel, which is one of the most “authentic” rooms in the entire castle. It is generally assumed that Saint Elizabeth prayed here and Martin Luther performed sermons here while hiding at the castle. To the left of the altar is an original fresco of the Apostles uncovered during the renovation; it was obvious that most of us prefer the 20th-century mosaics downstairs. According to a 19th-century etching held by the United Kingdom’s Royal Collection, the chapel was richly decorated until relatively recently. Given that Saint Elizabeth was revered in both the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran faiths, both Catholic and Protestant services are held here.
The hallway connecting to the chapel is Elizabeth’s Gallery. The narrow gallery is decorated with a series of wall frescos by Austrian artist Moritz von Schwind. They depict seven acts of charity by Saint Elizabeth. The most famous panel among them is the one above the doorway. It depicted the miracle of the roses, a supposed miracle within the Catholic traditions. The rose is often associated with the Virgin Mary and is frequently connected to female saints. According to legend, Saint Elizabeth would secretly give away the finery of the court to the poor when she ventured outside of the castle. Her husband, Louis, became suspicious and asked her to reveal the treasures she concealed under her cloaks. Miraculously, the treasure instantly transformed into rose petals, thus shielding Elizabeth from scorn.
The miracles of the roses are also attributed to Saint Elizabeth of Portugal and Saint Casilda of Toledo, among others. Nowadays, the most notable miracle of the roses was actually the Lady of Guadalupe, in which Juan Diego revealed one of the most famous Marian apparitions. The more time we spent inside the Wartburg, the more intrigued I became by the story of Elizabeth. While this castle is most famous for its association with Luther, those in the know consider Elizabeth to be the lead character of Warburg.
Passing through the doorway below the fresco of roses, we entered the Hall of Minstrels, considered by many visitors to be the highlight. This grand hall is supposed to be the venue of the famous Sängerkrieg, the famous battle of minstrels in 1207, the same year Elizabeth was born. The story of the Sängerkrieg was puzzling and intriguing. According to the story, the court of Landgrave Hermann I at Wartburg was among the most cultured in the Holy Roman Empire. He hosted a contest among six of the most celebrated minstrels (musicians/poets) from the region. Five of the contestants sang the praises of Hermann, while the sixth minstrel, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, was the most talented but made the fatal mistake of glorifying his Austrian master, Duke Leopold of Austria.
His competitors somehow convinced Hermann that Ofterdingen’s disrespect was punishable by death. Through the intervention of Hermann’s wife, he was granted a reprieve on the condition that he must attend the same competition a year later. Fast-forwarding a year, he showed us with a Hungarian sorcerer, Klingsor, who helped mediate the contest into an amicable conclusion. According to legend, Klingsor was able to resolve the conflict with an intriguing prophecy that a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary born that year would be married to the Thuringian court, a prestigious marital alliance.
As it happened, Klingsor’s prophecy was fulfilled by the marriage of Saint Elizabeth and Hermann’s successor, Louis IV. Most historians believe the tales of Sängerkrieg are purely fictional, but it nevertheless became a popular tale with a profound cultural impact. The story of Sängerkrieg and interests in Wartburg experienced a resurgence in the 18th century. Celebrated German composer Richard Wagner was enamored with the majesty and tales of Wartburg Castle. In 1845, he combined the legends of Tannhäuser and Sängerkrieg into one of his most celebrated operas. This opera is still performed at the Wartburg regularly, but tickets are always sold out well in advance.
Nowadays, the tales of Sängerkrieg are immortalized by a massive fresco by Moritz von Schwind. The murals adorn the largest wall of the hall and incorporate the architectural elements of the rooms. It was as if we were witnessing the singing battle in person. I wish I had learned about the tales before our visit. I could have spent a long time just staring at this work to make out which character is the sorcerer. Setting aside the issue of historical accuracy, the guide jokingly refers to this as the precursor of American Idol and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Back to historical reality, the next room is probably the highlight of the castle for many Germans. In the 19th century, the Festival Hall was regarded as one of the best performance halls due to its excellent acoustics. The hall is richly decorated with gold inlaid coffered ceilings and is the venue for regular performances of Tannhäuser. After King Ludwig II of Bavaria visited the Wartburg early in his reign, he was so impressed by the interior that he decided to replicate it for his Neuschwanstein Castle, the most iconic of romantic German castles.
One of the most pivotal events that took place in the castle was the Wartburg Festival (Wartburgfest). On 18 October 1817, approximately 500 Protestant German students gathered at Wartburg Castle to advocate for the unification of the fragmented German-speaking states. After the defeat of the Napoleonic forces, German states remained divided after the Congress of Vienna, to the dismay of German nationalists. 1817 marked the three-hundredth anniversary of the nailing of the Ninety-Five Thesis in Wittenberg, so the students elected to gather at Wartberg Castle for a national festival. The motto of the festival was Honor, Freedom, Fatherland! The student fraternity flag, bearing the colors red, white, and gold, was later adopted as today’s German flag.
At the end of the celebratory gathering, the group issued a series of proclamations and resolutions. They include the end of Germany’s political divisions, advocacy for a constitutional monarchy, freedom of speech and the press, and the rights to judicial due process. The Wartsburg Festival combines an intense ethnic nationalism with progressive views on social and political reforms. At the end of the festival, the students spontaneously marched to the foothill of the castle to burn a collection of “mock books” made of stacks of waste paper. A list of books deemed contrary to the students’ ideals was symbolically burned. The students took inspiration from Martin Luther’s public burning of the papal bull that excommunicated him in 1520.
In the aftermath of the book burning, the Wartburg Festival’s organizing committee distanced itself from the book burning and insisted it was not part of the official program. However, the students’ book burning left a lasting impact on German history. German writer Heinrich Heine, who was contemporary to the Warburg Festival, famously said, “Where books burn, so do people.” Fast forward to the 20th century, the Nazis used the book burning at Wartburg as a historical precedent in the 1933 book burning against all things “un-German” in their ideology. German nationalism is undoubtedly a dangerous territory.
I was a little confused when our guide concluded the tour at the Festival Hall. Where are the Martin Luther rooms and artifacts that we came here to see? Even though I was fascinated by the story of Saint Elizabeth and the Sängerkrieg, I could not leave this place without learning more about Luther’s time here. Fortunately, the successive galleries began to showcase more of Martin Luther's life, particularly his time at the castle. For me, the most memorable items on display are the portrait paintings of Luther’s parents by the famed painter Lucas Cranach the Elder. These are the only known portraits of them painted during their lifetime.
Historically speaking, the most important artifacts in the castle are its collection of Luther Bibles. After the Diet of Worms in 1521, the Holy Roman Emperor banned Luther from preaching and disseminating Protestant ideas. He was described as a heretic and an enemy of the state. Anyone could kill Luther without consequences. Thankfully, Luther got wind of the final verdict and escaped. His wagon was ambushed by the men who worked for Frederick the Wise, Luther’s main benefactor. Luther was taken to the Wartburg Castle for his own protection. His whereabouts were kept a secret for ten months. Luther grew a beard and adopted an alias: Junker Jörg, or Knight George.
During his ten-month stay in Wartburg Castle, Luther was given a study and a small bedroom on the upper level of the northern bastion. While in captivity, Luther was provided with everything he needed to develop his theological and philosophical teachings further. Utilizing Latin-Greek Bibles by Desiderius Erasmus, Luther translated the New Testament from ancient Greek to German. Luther’s translation marked the first time the Bible was translated into the language of the common people. In retrospect, it is remarkable that it took 1,500 years for one of the most widely read books to be translated into a language accessible to ordinary people. On display in one of the rooms are numerous Luther Bibles, many of which feature Luther's personal annotations in the margins.
Luther’s quarter is accessible through a half-timber hallway; it was as if Luther never left. Named Luther’s Passage, the hallway provides him access between the living quarters and the recreational space. Visitors may also recognize the space from numerous movies and TV productions set in Luther's life. Thanks to Luther’s celebrity, his personal quarters had already become a place of pilgrimage during his lifetime and were thus beautifully preserved. The wood paneling and windows of the Luthers’ Room are all original to the Luthers’ time. The room today is relatively spartan, especially compared to some of the historical photographs. Over the centuries, pilgrims and Luther fans came here and took pieces of the original furniture as souvenirs. All the furniture on display today is recreation based on old photos. One of the most curious objects in the room is a piece of whale vertebra on the floor. Used as a footstool, it is the only original piece of furniture in the room.
During his ten-month captivity here, Luther not only translated the New Testament but also penned numerous rebuttals to his theological critics, particularly Jacobus Latomus at the Old University of Leuven. Ironically, what drew Luther out of hiding was the civil unrest in Wittenberg. In his absence, many of his followers, particularly fellow faculty at the University of Wittenberg, radicalized his teaching into a campaign of iconoclasm by smashing all religious icons and causing a state of anarchy. In response, Luther delivered a series of sermons, called Invocavit sermons, to advocate peaceful means of reformation within the church.
For Germans, Wartburg’s cultural significance goes beyond the religious dimensions of the Luther Bible; it also signifies the emergence of a unified German language. Because the German-speaking world had been historically fragmented, the linguistic diversity of the German language was inadvertently standardized by Luther’s popular works. Together with the call for national unity at the Wartburg Festival, it was no wonder that Wartburg Castle was sometimes referred to as "the castle of the Germans,” and appropriately, the first German castle to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wartburg’s national importance was also highlighted by a presidential visit from Bill Clinton in 1998.
One surprising delight of our visit was a footpath along the base of the castle wall, known as the Path of Virtue. It is an excellent place to survey the beautiful hilly landscapes of Thuringia. From down below, we were able to get a glimpse of Luther’s quarters from the exterior. Only reopened in 2007, the path also serves as an outdoor exhibit for the medieval construction technique, with an interactive display of medieval tools and mechanical gears. This section of the castle seemed particularly popular with young families. After all, I doubt that any young children would be particularly interested in Saint Elizabeth or the Protestant Reformation.
Just a few steps from the castle entrance is the former five-star hotel: Romantik Hotel. It was said to be one of the most spectacular luxury hotels in Germany. Unfortunately, it was closed down following a dispute between the operator and the Wartburg Foundation, which owned the property. Given the castle’s geographic isolation, it would have been quite a unique experience to enjoy the solitude of the castle in the evening.
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