Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, 60 kilometers (37 mi) north of Leipzig and 90 kilometers (56 mi) south-west of Berlin. It has a population of 46,008 (2018). Wittenberg's honorific title Lutherstadt stems from its close connections with the theologian Martin Luther and the Reformation, usually taken to have begun in the town, marking the birth of Protestantism. Several of Wittenberg's buildings are associated with these historical and religious events, including a preserved part of the Augustinian monastery in which Luther lived, first as a celibate monk and later as property owner with his later wife Katharina von Bora and family. Wittenberg was also the seat of the prince Elector of Saxony, a dignity held by the dukes of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, making it one of the most powerful cities in the Holy Roman Empire. Following the Congress of Vienna the town was transferred to the Kingdom of Prussia. Largely spared destruction during the Second World War, it later became part of East Germany. Today, Wittenberg is an industrial centre and tourist destination, best known for its intact historic center and various memorial sites dedicated to Luther and his collaborator, fellow theologian Philip Melanchthon. The buildings associated with those two figures were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996, along with other sites in Eisleben, because of their religious significance and testimony to one of the most influential movements of medieval Europe.