‘Luther’s Fortress’. Martin Luther and the Reformation at the Veste Coburg and in its art collections

From April to October 1530, Martin Luther (1483–1546) stayed at the Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress). He had accompanied the delegation of his sovereign, Elector Johann of Saxony (1468–1532), on his way to Augsburg, where the Reformation creed, the Confessio Augustana was to be recited to Emperor Charles V (1500–1558). However, because Luther was banned from the empire and from the church, he was unable to leave the territory of Saxony, to which Coburg belonged at that time, and he had to remain under the protection of the massive fortress.

From Coburg, he influenced the negotiations led by Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560). Also in Coburg he translated parts of the Psalter and wrote programmatic works, including “Eine Predigt, dass man Kinder zur Schulen halten solle/A sermon that one should keep children at school” and the “Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen/Letter on Interpreting”. He received fellow campaigners of the Reformation cause and Prince Elector Johann Friedrich (1503–1554) presented him with a signet ring with the Luther rose as a gift.

“Dr. Luthers Stuben” (Dr. Luther’s rooms) as his living quarters on the fortress have been called in the inventories since the seventeenth century, soon attracted visitors, even though access to the fortress was difficult due to its continued military use. Unlike any other place, the shape of the gradually extended fortifications shows the history of confessional conflicts from the Hussite attacks to the time of the Schmalkaldic League and the Thirty Years’ War.

The importance of the Ernestine Electors for the success of the Reformation was always stressed by the dukes of Saxony-Coburg and was emphasised especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth century to legitimise the rule of their dynasty. In this way, the Veste Coburg developed into an important memorial site with its Luther parlour, a “Reformatorenzimmer” (reformer’s chamber), the Luther Library of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), the plans for a Luther monument and the erection of the “Lutherkapelle” (Luther Chapel) on top of the ground plan of the former castle church.

In addition, within the arts and antiquities collections of the Dukes of Coburg at the Veste also extensive holdings related to Luther, to the Reformation and to its aftermath up to the early twentieth century were gathered.

• The objects relating to the collection “‘Luther’s Fortress’. Martin Luther and the Reformation at the Veste Coburg”
• 3D presentation of the Luther chamber at Veste Coburg
• Video about the history of construction of the Veste Coburg

The other collections forming part of “‘Luther’s Fortress’. Martin Luther and the Reformation at the Veste Coburg and in its art collections”

• The Veste Coburg as an authentic Luther site and as a memorial to Luther
• Martin Luther and his contemporaries in portraits and writings
• Confessional image propaganda
• Luther Memoria and the Culture of Remembrance of the Reformation

>> This collection is part of the art collections at Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress).