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Discover Germany
Travel Feature
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Wartburg Castle: A Significant Cultural Legacy
WARTBURG CASTLE: A SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL LEGACY
The fog of warm breath carrying her words rolls towards us and dissipates. I nod, acknowledge that I’m on my way, and then turn back to admire the magnificent exterior of the medieval castle. Snow dusts the steep-sided rocks that the imposing landmark is built upon. The precipice drops for more than 400 metres. It’s easy to understand why, centuries ago, this location near the town of Eisenach was chosen to host a fortress. Difficult to reach, Wartburg Castle has commanding views far over the surrounding countryside. From its ramparts, occupying Soviet troops could gaze into the homeland of their morally 50
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Issue 103
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March 2023
decadent enemy and defend their comrades in the German Democratic Republic from the corrupting influence of the West. Unwittingly, the border defences and strict regulations that for decades denied civilians entry to the Thuringian Forest helped the woodland regenerate and rewild during the Cold War. For nature lovers, that makes the area today known as the Green Heart of Germany and a fulfilling place to spend time outdoors. The Thuringian Forest Nature Park is characterised by dense woodland penetrated by hiking routes, including the 170-kilometre Rennsteig Trail. From vantage points around the castle, gazing out at branches still bare of leaves but covered by today’s heavy frost, it’s
easy to imagine the expanses of old-growth forest that once decked so much of central Europe and played such a key role in folklore. The Brothers Grimm famously collected such popular stories and wrote them down as fairytales, building upon a tradition of engaging storytelling that has close associations with Wartburg Castle. Interestingly, the fortification can lay claim to being the birthplace of the German language as we know it today. While staying at the castle, from May 1521 until March 1522, Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible from ancient Greek into a form of German that could be widely understood. In an age of distinctive regional dialects and little standardisation, Luther’s choices became popularised by the printing presses that helped share his version of the New Testament. Inside a small and sparsely furnished room, visitors look at an edition of his work beneath a protective glass casing. The book is displayed atop a scratched wooden desk, next to an
TEXT & PHOTOS: STUART FORSTER
Bright sunshine cuts through the chilled, mist-laden air hanging with uncanny stillness around Wartburg Castle in central Germany. The scene appears ready for a director to call 'action' on a horror movie that might take viewers into the serene lair of some sleeping vampire lord. Instead “follow me, please” is uttered politely by our tour guide, who patiently intimates that we stop clicking photos and follow her into the UNESCO World Heritage Site.