bavarikon4UMartin Luther and the Early Reformation in Bavaria. Adherents, Opponents, Sympathisers
Nine personalities, twelve locations, 120 works of art – get to know the Bavarian history of the Reformation during the sixteenth century!
The former duchy of Bavaria, then consisting of territories such as Altbayern (Old Bavaria, i.e. Upper and Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate), Franconia and Swabia, was influenced by an enormous cultural diversity. Even though the duchy of Bavaria developed early on into a stronghold of Counterreformation, it nonetheless introduced ecclesiastical reforms. The Ingolstadt theologian Johannes Eck personified this type of policy. Proceeding from the imperial city of Nuremberg and reformers such as Andreas Osiander the new doctrine quickly became prevalent in Franconia. In Swabia, Memmingen and Lindau also became centres of Reformation. Augsburg, by contrast, is connected with two events of world-historical importance: there, in 1530, the Protestants delivered to the emperor the “Confessio Augustana” and, in 1555, the Augsburger Religionsfriede (Augsburg Peace of Religion) was agreed.
Martin Luther did not spend much time in Bavaria and his personal influence was limited. Nonetheless, the Bavarian history of the Reformation cannot be imagined without his fundamental theological works. His six-month long stay at the Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress) which at the time belonged to the electorate of Saxony, plays to this day an important part within German memorial culture.
For the virtual exhibition, bavarikon gathered 120 high-quality objects from over 20 archives, libraries, museums and parish offices, among these historic prints, paintings, church furnishings and works of the applied arts. Particular highlights are 26 original manuscripts composed by Martin Luther and a 3D-presentation of his Coburg accommodation.
The chronological emphasis of the exhibition covers the years between 1517 and 1530.
