Castle Church, Wittenberg

About

All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as Schlosskirche (Castle Church) to distinguish it from the Stadtkirche (Town Church) of St. Mary's, sometimes known as the Reformation Memorial Church, is a Lutheran church in Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the site where, according to Philip Melanchthon, the Ninety-five Theses were posted by Martin Luther in 1517, launching the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Beginning in 1883, the church was restored as a memorial site and re-inaugurated on 31 October 1892, 375 years after Luther's posting. Because of its religious significance and testimony to the lasting global effects of the Reformation, the church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996 along with other sites in Wittenberg and Eisleben associated with Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon.

History: A first chapel dedicated to All Saints was erected at the new residence of the Ascanian duke Rudolf I of Saxe-Wittenberg in about 1340. Consecrated on 6 May 1346, Rudolf subordinated his foundation to the immediate jurisdiction of the Holy See. With further donations made by his successor Duke Rudolf II, it was determined the Wittenberg main church by...