The Luther Trail Saxony is an extension of the pilgrimage route created in 2008 to the places of activity of the reformer Martin Luther in Saxony-Anhalt. The two routes in Saxony run over a distance of 340 kilometers from Zwickau above Leipzig (West route) or Torgau (East route) to Bad Düben with a connection to the way in Saxony-Anhalt .. The way is marked with a green "L" in Fraktur. The exit route in Saxony-Anhalt amounts to a distance of 410 kilometers and in Thuringia it's 1,010 km.
background
According to tradition, Martin Luther (1483–1546) is said to have nailed a thesis paper on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg himself on October 31, 1517, one day before All Saints' Day, in which he branded the commercial trade in letters of indulgence in 95 theses. The event was only mentioned posthumously in 1540 in a note from Luther's secretary Georg Rörer. Independently of this, these theses were later published and the subject of public discussions throughout Germany.
This church-critical discussion and the return to the biblical message of the Gospel led to the turning away from Rome or the Catholic Church and the formation of the Evangelical or Protestant Church.
The posting of the theses is celebrated by Protestant Christians in Germany to commemorate Luther's Reformation. In the German federal states Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia October 31st is an official holiday. In Baden-Wuerttemberg is off school that day, in Lower Saxony Pupils can be exempted from lessons during the service. In Switzerland, the first Sunday in November is Reformation Day.
2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the posting of the theses. The formation of the Luther Trail is one of the activities in preparation for this anniversary. In negotiations between the state governments of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, the Luther Trail was extended to Saxony in 2010.
