Castle Church, Wittenberg

Reformation landmark traditionally associated with Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses and containing the graves of Luther and Melanchthon. Within Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt, the place preserves a distinct layer of Germany’s religious history and is interpreted through institutional and heritage sources.

The church became closely associated with Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformation. Luther and Philipp Melanchthon are buried here; UNESCO recognizes the Wittenberg and Eisleben memorials for their worldwide religious and cultural significance. Its formal heritage recognition is recorded as Part of Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg — UNESCO World Heritage Site (1996).

Tradition holds that Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the Castle Church door on 31 October 1517. The event is treated here as a well-known Reformation tradition rather than a detail that must be asserted beyond the evidence. The church’s role in the Reformation and the reformers’ burials are documented; the door-posting episode is explicitly identified as tradition.

Religious life at the site includes Lutheran worship, prayer and Reformation commemorations. Visitors should remember that worship and devotional use take priority over sightseeing wherever services or ceremonies are taking place.