The story that goes with this is interesting. Luther was tried at the Diet of Worms for his writings. There he said, "Here I stand, I can do no other" when asked if he would or would not recant of his writings. He had been given safe passage by the Emperor to appear -which meant no matter what the outcome of the trial, he was allowed to return home to Wittenberg. But Luther and the Prince were suspicious of the Emperor's safe passage, and well deserved to be so. Jan Hus had been given safe passage and after he was tried he was arrested and burnt at the stake.
So, as the trial ended, Luther was declared a heretic of the church. He was condemned and made an outlaw, subject to death if caught. On the way back to Wittenberg his party was set upon by masked men. Luther was even roughed up to make it look like he was being made a captive. They wisked him away, and took him to Eisenach and the Wartburg Castle.
Here he became Junker George. Here he lived for the next year and some months. During that time he translated the Greek text in a little over 11 weeks into the German New Testament. Besides that he wrote numerous hymns and treatises. It was here that Luther declared, "By my ink I have driven away the devil".
From Eisenach we coached to Luther's birthplace - Eisleben.
Now a landmark, and museum of all things Martin Luther, it is in a small town in Central Germany that this humble German got his start. Raised in a miner's family, his father prospered as an owner of a mine. He wanted Martin to be a lawyer, but God had other plans. The city has a marvelous square - near our hotel with a statue of him.
The picture was taken in late evening after we arrived. It is a tribute to this man who did so much for God. Today we are off to Wittenberg where it all began.
Peace
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