About a month ago, in a late celebration of Reformation Day and to "kick off" the Thankfulness Season, we hopped into the van, drove a mere two hours while the children watched the movie Luther in the back, and beheld this ...
This is the Coburg Fortress (Veste Coburg) in Bavaria, one
of the largest surviving medieval fortresses in Germany. Just a short history lesson ... in 1530, Martin Luther
lived in the Veste Coburg for five and half months under the protection of
Elector John the Steadfast. He stayed for the duration of the Diet of Augsburg,
which he could not attend as an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire. Philip
Melanchthon attended in Luther's place, making history with the drawing up of
the Augsburg Confession.
Once inside the fortress, the polite-but-somewhat-stern staff members "shepherded" us through numerous rooms, including what was (until just recently) the royal bathroom. After visiting several different museums in three castle buildings, we entered one of Bear's favorite rooms ... The "Knight" Room.
Thankfully, this was near the end of our tour or we would not have seen (among others) the
Lutherstube (Luther Room), where Martin Luther worked on his German translation of the Bible (most of which was done at the
Wartburg Castle) and wrote no less than 26 works on Reformation issues.
Definitely thankful for another incredible opportunity to journey back through HisStory.
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