In the wee hours of the morning, worshippers, and visitors alike form a long line outside the Schlosskirche in the town of Wittenberg in Germany on a quiet Sunday morning. The occasion? The reopening of the church where Martin Luther posted his ’95 Thesis’ on after its renovation. Among those who have come to this worship service are Her Majesty the Margaret II the Queen of Denmark, His Excellency the President of Germany, and the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt.
Costing approximately €18 billion and taking four long years, all of the church’s ‘towers, walls, and even windows’ have been restored to their former glory. Though the service featured Martin Luther’s ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’ hymn, the founder of the Reformation might have flipped in his grave in front of the altar over the restoration costs.
Though hundreds of people had to queue to enter and many disappointed visitors had to turn to a nearby shopping mall to watch a live video broadcast, visitors at other times won’t have to. The church is open from 10am almost every day and host English worship services every Saturday with the nearby Stadtkirche. Martin Luther was known to have delivered over 2000 sermons in the Stadtkirche.
The Reformation began on 31st October 1517, so Germany will celebrate its 500th Anniversary of the Reformation next year in 2017. Large-scale celebration and special exhibitions of the city’s important history and impact on modern Christianity will open as early as March 2017. If in Berlin, Wittenberg is definitely well worth a day trip being only 40 minutes away by ICE trains.
