Lutherstadt

thumb|right|Wittenberg was the centre of Luther's activities A Lutherstadt (, or 'Luther town'; plural Lutherstädte) is a city German protestant reformer Martin Luther visited or played an important role in. Two cities, Lutherstadt Eisleben and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, have "Lutherstadt" in their official names, while Mansfeld-Lutherstadt is the unofficial name of a district in Mansfeld. These three places which were important in Luther's life were awarded the "European Heritage Label".

== Union of Lutherstädte == The Union of Lutherstädte was founded in 1993 on the 125th anniversary of the Luther Monument in Worms, Germany. It is formed by 16 towns where Luther and his teaching played a major role.: Augsburg: Luther met papal legate Thomas Cajetan in 1518. Two sessions of the Imperial Diet for the Augsburg Confession took place in 1530. The peace of Augsburg was concluded there in 1555. Coburg: Luther remained there during the negotiations for the Augsburg Confession. Eisenach: Luther's mother Margarethe, born Lindemann, came from Eisenach, where she met Luther's father Hans, who came from the village of Möhra, 15 kilometres south of Eisenach. Luther therefore lived with relatives in Eisenach between 1498 and 1501 to attend the Latin school St Georgen and the Franciscan monastery of St Paul. From May 1521, Luther lived incognito as Junker Jörg at the Wartburg for 10 months. During this time, he translated the New Testament into German. Eisleben: place of birth and death of Luther. Erfurt: Luther studied at the University of Erfurt from 1501 to 1505, then had a religious conversion before entering St. Augustine's Friary. Halle: Luther visited Halle many times. He travelled from Halle to Mansfeld with Justus Jonas. His body lays in repose there. Heidelberg: Luther explained his theology in front of a congregation of Augustinian Friars. Magdeburg: Luther attended the Catholic school in this city. Marburg: Luther and Ulrich Zwingli meet at the Marburg Colloquy. Nordhausen: the first city to adopt the reformation doctrine by its municipal council in 1524. Schmalkalden: Luther participated in the negotiations for the Schmalkaldic League. Speyer: Protestation at Speyer against an imperial ban against Luther in 1529. Torgau: Luther was often in Torgau, since it was the seat of his prince-electors Johann the Steadfast and John Frederick I of Saxony. In 1544, Luther inaugurated the church of Schloss Hartenfels Castle as the first newly built Protestant church. In addition, his wife Katharina von Bora died there in 1552. Wittenberg: The centre of Luther's activities. There he publicised the Ninety-five Theses and burned the canon law and the papal bull Exsurge Domine. It is also where Luther wrote the Luther Bible, his Large Catechism, Small Catechism and other documents. Worms: Luther defended his theses in front of the Diet of Worms in 1521. Zeitz: Luther was from time to time in Zeitz, notably during the consecration of his friend Nikolaus von Amsdorf as the first Protestant bishop. Zeitz is the seat of the Union of the descendants of Luther.