Lutherstadt Wittenberg (dpa/sa) - Wittenberg has benefited massively from the UNESCO World Heritage title over the past 25 years - the anniversary was celebrated on Saturday. Minister-President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) explained that the world cultural heritage is a very special way of creating community and identity. It has become an important trademark for Saxony-Anhalt.
The President of the German Unesco Commission, Maria Böhmer, said on the occasion of the anniversary that the Luther memorials in Wittenberg and Eisleben are lively places of learning. "These sites of significant events of the Reformation show what it means to be a world heritage site: to formulate educational assignments for the future from the events of the past and to constantly renew oneself at the same time."
Wittenberg's Lord Mayor Torsten Zugeh emphasized that the city was extremely grateful for the international recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "From an urban development perspective, this status has contributed to the fact that large amounts of funding have flowed into the renovation of the old town and that Wittenberg can present itself to locals and guests as "more beautiful than ever!"."
The Luther memorials with World Heritage status in Saxony-Anhalt include Luther's former home in Wittenberg, his birthplace and death house in Eisleben, the Wittenberg Castle Church and the town church, and the home of Luther's companion Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) in Wittenberg. The official date of inclusion as World Heritage was December 6, 1996 - at that time the Bauhaus Dessau and the Cologne Cathedral were also included in the list. The celebrations for the 25th anniversary in Wittenberg had been postponed due to the corona.
