The Luther Trail and the German Luther Trail Association have turned 15 years old
The German Luther Trail Association (DLWG) has been involved in organising the Luther Trail for 15 years. Launched in 2008, the trail invites visitors to go on pilgrimages and hikes in the footsteps of the reformer Martin Luther in seven German states. Yesterday, Monday, an anniversary event in Lutherstadt Wittenberg commemorated the founding of the Luther Trail Society in November 2008. Stakeholders from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Bavaria and Hesse took part in the event. As President of the DLWG, Pastor Dr Ekkehard Steinhäuser stated: “The Luther Trail is a great success story. It has outlasted the anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 and, 15 years after its opening, has become an indispensable brand for tourism, local authorities and the federal states as well as for the churches. ” Vice President Dr Michael Löffler said: “The Luther Trail also connects East and West Germany in a very special way.” The Luther Trail stretches over a total length of more than 2,500 kilometres. The DLWG is based in the historic Leucorea Foundation in Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
At the meeting, Theresia Stadtler-Philipp was dismissed as treasurer of the DLWG and Christian Otto as state representative for Saxony. Sandra Rosendahl was co-opted by the Executive Committee as the new treasurer until the next General Assembly, while Steffen Schnabel will represent Saxony on the Executive Committee. Michael Kummer, the DLWG’s state representative for Bavaria, presented the society’s new websites, which provide information about the trail and its background, the route and pilgrimage offers at www.lutherweg.de, www.lutherweg-sachsen-anhalt.de and www.lutherweg-bayern.de. For the first time, a pilgrim’s pass for all sections of the Luther Trail has recently become available. It can be ordered from the DLWG office at buero@lutherweg.de or from the country representatives of the Luther Trail (see www.lutherweg.de). A campaign to mark the anniversary of the “Auerbachs Keller” restaurant in Leipzig was also presented in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The historic pub is a stop along the Luther Trail and will be celebrating its 500th anniversary in 2025.
Plans for the coming years include connecting the Brandenburg section to the Saxony-Anhalt Luther Trail and extending the Bavarian Luther Trail to Augsburg.
The Luther Trail Society was founded as a registered association on 5 November by representatives from churches, local authorities and tourism and hiking associations. The first section of the Saxony-Anhalt Luther Trail had already been opened on 28 March 2008. The first president of the DLWG was the then Ballenstedt district pastor Jürgen Dittrich. He held the office twice in the following years. Sonja Hahn, an art historian from Garitz, also served as president. The current president, Dr Ekkehard Steinhäuser, pastor of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, was elected to the office in 2014.
Following the opening of the Luther Trail for Saxony-Anhalt in 2008, the Luther Trails in Thuringia, Saxony, Hesse/Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria and Brandenburg were successively expanded. In the federal states, responsibility for the respective sections of the trail lies with local stakeholders, mostly tourism organisations or associations. The Saxony-Anhalt Luther Trail is coordinated directly by the DLWG via a project centre funded by the state.
Lutherstadt Wittenberg, 28 November 2023
Pictures:
Outgoing and new members of the Executive Committee of the German Luther Trail Society in the courtyard of the Leucorea in Wittenberg
Members and guests of the German Luther Trail Association present the new pilgrimage pass
Photos: J. Killyen
