On Ascension weekend 2025, Wittenberg played host to a special encounter: a Swedish youth group from the Lutheran Church in Landskrona, Sweden, travelled to Saxony-Anhalt on a pilgrimage along the Luther Trail. The group consisted of 18 young people aged between 15 and 25 and was accompanied by a pastor, a deaconess and a church musician. The two-day pilgrimage was organised and led by the trained pilgrim guides Ulrike Freihofer and Anke Baum.
The reason for the trip was the anniversary of the First Creed of Nicaea, which celebrates its 1700th anniversary in 2025. Under the theme “Ecumenism unites”, the pilgrimage was accompanied by spiritual impulses that encouraged reflection on commonalities in the Christian faith.
First stage: Wittenberg – Kemberg
After a communal pilgrimage blessing in Wittenberg, the group set off on the first stage on Friday 30 May. The route took them to the idyllic Bergwitzsee lake, where they stopped for a rest and a swim. The Bergwitz church also invited the group to linger and pause for a moment. Once they arrived in Kemberg, the young people were given a short tour of the church before returning to the youth hostel in Wittenberg, tired but fulfilled.
Second stage: Kemberg – Bad Düben
On Saturday, 31 May, the longer stage was on the programme. The pilgrims set off from Kemberg in the direction of Bad Düben. The temperatures of over 25 degrees were a real challenge for the young guests from cooler Sweden. Nevertheless, everyone persevered – with mutual encouragement, breaks in the shade and plenty of water.
Special finale in Luther Park
On Saturday evening, a moving open-air service was held in Lutherpark in Wittenberg. With music, prayers and personal impressions from the young people, this spiritual highlight was an unforgettable moment of the trip.
On Sunday, the group travelled back to Sweden – with tired feet but rich hearts. Many of the young people looked back proudly on what they had experienced. Some were already talking about their next pilgrimage on the journey home – this time perhaps in their home country.
This ecumenical pilgrimage experience has shown how lively faith in motion can be – across national borders, in walking, in sharing and in searching for God together.
Text and pictures: Ulrike Freihofer
