SIGHTGEIST No. 10

SIGHTGEIST THE SAXONY MAGAZINE THE FREEDOM OF A CHRISTIAN A HOLIDAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER POLE POSITION IN SAXONY

NEWS

EVENTS

STORIES

No. 10

New Discoveries In Dresden, palaces are built to culture.

The instruments have been tuned, the doors are open. Hear it, see it, feel it.

Symphony of a Thousand Gustav Mahler Dresden Philharmonic 25th - 27th AUG 2017 Rejoice in Life The New Year’s Eve concert with the Dresden Philharmonic 1st JAN 2018 Film with live concert Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – in concert 2nd - 4th FEB 2018 Easter with Beethoven Dresden Philharmonic 1st/2nd APR 2018

Visit Dresden

María Dueñas (violin) and Avi Avital (mandolin)

www.dresden.de/events www.kulturpalast-dresden.de www.dresden.de/dresdenmagazine

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Celebrate with us!

It seems like it was only yesterday that the first issue of SIGHTGEIST was published. What you are now holding in your hands is already the tenth edition of our Saxony Magazine – one of many reasons to celebrate in 2017!

It was 500 years ago that a monk named Martin Luther shook the very foundations of the world by criticizing the Catholic Church and demanding reforms by posting his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, then the capital of the Electorate of Saxony.

With the support of the Saxon rulers, the Reformation took place in Europe and is celebrated with many exhibitions and events in 2017. Saxony is home to many authentic sites that date back to these turbulent times, such as the very first Protestant church to be built, the chapel at Hartenfels Castle in Torgau, or the largest collection of items from the Reformation in the museums of Dresden’s State Art Collections.

Speaking of Dresden: Forty years ago the East German regime decided to establish a major music festival in Dresden. They could not have picked a better location: Dresden has a long musical tradition, being home to the oldest musical ensemble in the world that still performs today, the Saxon State Orchestra, and one of the most famous music venues, the Semper Opera House. What’s more, Dresden has recently gained a sparkling-new concert hall in the so-called “Palace of Culture” as well as an impressive new operetta stage. So long live Dresden Music Festival!

When it comes to wellbeing, Saxony offers a variety of options: Enjoy a holiday like no other in an eco-friendly and healthy environment in the village of Schmilka. The former royal spa of Bad Elster is not “bad”, as the name suggests (the word denotes a spa town in German), but boasts grand historical architecture and the latest health treatments, putting it on a par with its equally famous neighbours like Carlsbad/Karlovy Vary. For a more spiritual retreat, the oldest Cistercian convent in Germany, St Marienthal, is set in a beautiful location on the Polish border between Görlitz (“perhaps the most beautiful town in Germany”), and the scenic Zittau Mountains.

And let’s not forget our other new stories about a courageous investor, an unusual kind of sculptor and an art-minded prince’s favorite retreat, among others. So raise your glass to our anniversary edition and embark on a journey to Saxony!

Enjoy the read!

Hans-Jürgen Goller Editorial Director SIGHTGEIST 3

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Motherland of the Reformation

Contents

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Schmilka reborn

A new stage

03

Editorial

06

Kaleidoscope News and events

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The Freedom of a Christian When Luther changed the world

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A Holiday Unlike any Other Microcosm in a village

38

Dresden’s Heart Beats for Culture A different kind of energy

46

Pole Position in Saxony Porsche remains on course for growth in Leipzig

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A Symphony of Wellbeing Royal compositions of pleasure

66

A Musical Window on the World 40 seasons of Dresden Music Festival

74

Secret Residence of the Wettin Dynasty Weesenstein Castle – A jewel in Saxony’s crown

82

“You Can Make Anything Out of Wood” One of the world’s best chainsaw woodcarvers

92

In Love with Dresden Arturo Prisco has shaped the city’s face

98

Time-out in St. Marienthal Abbey A place of serenity and contemplation

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Cultural Highlights Festival calendar 2017/18

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Imprint

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92

Up a gear

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An Italian’s passion

A prince’s playground

The king’s spa

“Make your choice”

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A peaceful retreat

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Celebrity parade

82

Beautiful massacre

Saxony on stage

THE FREEDOM OF A CHRISTIAN When Luther changed the world

Above: Martin Luther’s former home in Wittenberg now houses the world's largest museum on the history of the Reformation.

Reformation Day was first celebrated in the former electorate of Saxony on 31

October 1617, marking the one-hundredth anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church. Although it is doubtful whether this event really occurred, the theses heralded the start of the Reformation.

Left: The door of Wittenberg Castle Church bears the text of Luther’s 95 theses.

When Reformation Day is commemorated again in Germany on 31 October 2017, it will be an official national holiday for the first time. Its celebration throughout Germany is not only a reminder of the historic significance of the Reformation far beyond the country’s borders, but also of its profound impact on society, which is still evident today.

The Protestant Church has been preparing for the anniversary with a “Reformation decade” that started in 2008. But what are the celebrations really about? The Reformation refers to an ecclesial revival movement between 1517 and 1648, which finally led to Western European Christendom splitting into different denominations.

The Reformation has its roots in the electorate of Saxony, the second-largest state of the German Empire at the time. Saxony’s former territory is today divided between the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg. Smaller regions belong to present-day Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Even the first Reformation Day was a political statement: The Reformation not only reflected the era, it was also exploited by some rulers in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, as the German non-national state was then called, to weaken the power of the emperor and the church.

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Hartenfels Castle, where the exhibition “TORGAU, Home of the Renaissance and Reformation” can be seen.

The schism was not planned: Whatever their political objectives, the protagonists of

Right: Inside the castle church.

Augustinian monk and theology professor, could never have imagined when he wrote

this movement intended to call for a return to Christian values and the message of the Bible – the Latin term “reformatio” means “restoration”. But Martin Luther, an his 95 theses criticizing the church’s practice of selling indulgences in 1517 that, rather than bringing the Catholic Church back to its roots as he had hoped, he would create a new religious denomination. He first sent the theses to members of the clergy and the nobility for discussion. On 31 October 1517, he also allegedly nailed them to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church with loud strokes of a hammer. Although experts disagree as to whether this actually happened, many sources since suggest that he did indeed post his theses. It was not an act of protest, but complied with the statutes of the University of Wittenberg, which required students to publish their theses, or more specifically pin them to a Wittenberg church door, as a basis for defending them.

In his theses, Luther attacked the practices of the Catholic Church, in particular the selling of indulgences: People who had committed a sin could shorten their time spent in purgatory by purchasing what were known as “letters of indulgence”.

While the peddling of indulgences was strictly regulated up to the 15th century, and only certain sins could be atoned for with money, this had changed by Luther’s day.

Under Pope Leo X, indulgences took on a far more important role, as he used them to collect money for building St. Peter’s Cathedral. German cardinals, who had purchased and accumulated church offices and had to buy the Pope’s favour, also upheld the system. The indulgence preacher Johann Tetzel from Pirna in Saxony became one of the best-known figures in connection with this practice. He was a Dominican friar from Leipzig, who travelled throughout the country promising deliverance from all sins with slogans like “As soon as coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs!”

As a preacher in Wittenberg, Luther found that ever fewer people were coming to confession and, instead of repenting, preferred to rely on letters of indulgence, which they bought in neighbouring towns. But Luther was convinced that God would only forgive people’s sins if they showed repentance. He believed that man depended solely on the grace of God for salvation, which he could only receive through faith. Shortly after being nailed to the church door, Luther’s theses were translated into German and spread like wildfire thanks to the printing press with movable type, which had recently been invented. Six months later, Luther defended his theses at the “Heidelberg Disputation”, an academic debate at Heidelberg University.

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Above: The marketplace in Torgau with the Renaissance town hall built in 1579.

The theses led to Luther’s major reformist writings. They formed the basis of his teach-

Top right: The ruins of Nimbschen Convent near Grimma.

to grow and bear fruit. In his writings, Luther challenged the secular nobility to initiate

ings and came at just the right time: Widespread social unrest, above all among the poor, and a readiness for political reform provided the fertile soil for these reformatory seeds a reform of the church themselves and advocated state education, relief for the poor and the abolition of celibacy and the Papal States.

Naturally, the Catholic Church rejected this devastating criticism of its practices. It wanted to force Luther to recant. The Pope called the monk an “antichrist” and ex-communicated him. According to the law, he should then have been given an imperial ban – a punishment imposed by the king or emperor, depriving the guilty party of his legal capacity and applicable throughout the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. However, thanks to the efforts of the conscientious Elector Frederick the Wise, Luther was first summoned to appear before the Diet of Worms on 17 April 1521 to recant to the emperor.

Others before him, such as the English theologian John Wyclif or the Czech preacher Jan Hus, had called for the Catholic Church to reform, but had paid for this defiance with their lives. In Worms, Luther refused to recant and was declared ostracized and outlawed

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