Luther Trail: Section 17 – From Neustadt bei Coburg to Sonneberg

Martin Luther travelled through Neustadt many times. On 4 April 1530 he arrived at ‘Neustadt an der Heide’ with his lord Elector John the Steadfast, the Elector’s staff, and great names of the Reformation such as Georg Spalatin, Justus Jonas and Philipp Melanchthon. The next day, he preached at St George’s Church.

Coming from Bavaria, the Luther Trail leads to the southern Thuringian ‘toy town’ of Sonneberg. Two important Luther sites are located here – the Luther House and the fortified Church of St Aegidien.

Ironically, Martin Luther never stayed in the Luther House as it wasn’t built during his lifetime! It simply serves as a reminder of Luther’s many stays in the region and is named in his honour. It was built between 1552 and 1555 in the neighbouring town of Judenbach on the old Nuremberg-Leipzig trade route. The ‘Councillor of Commerce’ for Sonneberg, Kommerzienrat Adolf Fleischmann, had the house moved from Judenbach to Sonneberg in 1874. Since 1914, a sandstone relief featuring a portrait of the Reformer can be seen carved into the house. The building has been used as guest house since 1874 and nowadays locals and tourists enjoy Thuringian-Franconian cuisine here in an authentic, historical atmosphere.

Structural characteristics of the Protestant fortified Church of St Aegidien include the square church tower and the defensive wall. In 1525, Martin Luther is said to have invested the region’s first Protestant priest, Andreas Lehr, here.