Castles and more castles!

This morning we went to Wartburg Castle. This castle is old, first mentioned in documents in 1087. It has a long history, and one significant event is the translation of the New Testament by Martin Luther. Martin Luther took refuge in the castle under the Duke of Saxony's protection, there he translated the bible from Latin into the common German language for everyone to be able to read.

There are newer additions (from around the 18th and 19th centuries) as well as the well-preserved oldest parts of the castle. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was in-style to restore old castles, and this castle also had some restorations. The tour we took was very interesting. We learned some of the history and legends of the castle. We went through the palace part of the castle and it was beautiful!

An important woman in Wartburg history is Saint Elisabeth. Many of the murals and paintings in the palace depicted scenes from her life. She was a princess and came to live in Wartburg in 1211, when she was 4 years old. She married the Count (called a landgrave) when she was just 14. She committed much of her life to helping and caring for the poor and the needy. She opened several hospitals and worked in them. She performed lowly duties that were very unsuitable for royalty. Her husband died while away on the crusades and as a result she had to leave the castle. She and her children went to live at a monastery and she worked at a hospital she had donated. She died at the young age of 24.

After we toured the palace, we were taken to a museum inside the castle. There were original bibles and teachings of Martin Luther on display. There was also a fun little "printing press" where we printed our own pictures of the castle. We eventually walked through the old part of the castle to the exact room where Martin Luther translated the bible.

I really enjoyed touring this castle and learning about its religious significance. Because of Martin Luther there was a reformation and the bible became available for everyone to read. There had to be a reformation to eventually lead to religious freedom and the restored gospel.

We then drove to and toured Ehrenburg Palace. This is where Prince Albert grew up and he and Queen Victoria would stay in this palace whenever they visited. I loved seeing all the different rooms and their decorations (no photography was allowed unfortunately). This palace was more modern than the castles we have visited this week.

We also walked around Veste Coburg, another castle not too far from the palace we had just visited. Prince Alberts ancestors lived here, but moved to the palace in the 1600s.

Jaren's dad told me that Germany (keep in mind, it's about the size of Montana) has over 2,500 castles and palaces (this does include ruined, unrestored castles). There are so many castles here!