Lutheran Heritage Tour: 2023

We’re going back to Germany!

We’ve put together a fantastic tour of Germany, and we would love to have you join us.

We will visit almost all the major Reformation sites, giving special attention to the Diet of Worms and the kidnapping and other events that followed.

Dates: May 31-June 12, 2023

Highlights

We’ve planned a highlight every day!

  • See the bronze monkey at the Heidelberg Bridge
  • Cruise along the Rhine River
  • Stand where Luther said, “Here I Stand!”
  • Climb up to the Marburg Castle where Luther debated Zwingli
  • The Wartburg Castle where Luther translated the New Testament from Greek
  • Hear the Leipzig Boys Choir sing in the famous St Thomas Church
  • The Annual Bach Festival in Leipzig
  • The Marriage Festival of Martin and Katie Luther in Wittenberg
  • and a lot more!

Included in the tour: 

  • Tour Book (including a journal, hymns, Scripture, etc.).
  • Daily devotions, Bible studies, and teaching from Pastor Wolfmueller.
  • Tour Director, the services of a professional, multilingual Tour Director will be provided throughout.
  • Meals, lots of meals! 12 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 11 dinners.
  • Quality, four-star hotels.
  • Ground transportation: Motorcoaches are fully air-conditioned while touring.
  • Sightseeing: Sightseeing as outlined in the itinerary with inside visits (including admission charges) and special features. Sightseeing with local guides where applicable.
  • Tips for tour director, driver, porters, etc.
  • WIFI on the motorcoach. Headsets on tour.
  • PLEASE NOTE: Airfare is not included in the cost.

Cost

  • The cost is $4,189 per person.
  • Single supplement $1,031.

Your tour hosts…

We’re planning on two buses of tourists, cruising around Germany! Dr Carl Fickenscher and I will host this tour, moving back and forth between buses.

ITINERARY

Day 1 – 31 May (Wed) – ARRIVE, FRANKFURT GERMANY Welcome to Germany!

  • Meet your Tour Director at your Frankfurt hotel
  • This evening, join your Tour Director for a welcome drink and dinner at your hotel
  • We will have an overview of our trip, a short devotion, and evening prayer
  • (Dinner)

Day 2 – 01 June (Thu) – FRANKFURT – SPEYER – HEIDELBERG – MANNHEIM

  • Drive to Speyer for a morning walking tour including the Speyer Cathedral and the location of the first and second Diets of Speyer
  • Continue visiting Heidelberg, Germany’s oldest university town, of Student Prince fame
  • Time to stroll around in the Old Town, then ride the funicular up the hill
  • Visit the red-walled castle where the great vat, a 58,000-gallon 18th-century wine cask
  • Enjoy a group dinner in Heidelberg before traveling to Mannheim for your overnight stay
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Heidelberg bridge and castle

Day 3 – 02 June (Fri) – MANHEIM – WORMS – MAINZ – WIESBADEN

  • Travel to Worms, where the Imperial Council passed judgment on Luther in 1521
  • Visit the Cathedral where Luther presented his case
  • Visit Trinity Church and the Reformation Monument
  • Continue to Mainz to visit the Gutenberg Museum, which houses original copies of the Bible
  • Visit the Mainz Cathedral
  • Enjoy a scenic Rhine Cruise past castle-crested cliffs, terraced vineyards, and half-timbered towns.
  • Travel to your hotel in Wiesbaden to enjoy dinner at a local restaurant with your group
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Dom Cathedral in Worms

Day 4 – 03 June (SAT) – WIESBADEN – MARBURG – EISENACH

  • Head to Marburg to begin with a walking tour of Marburg’s Old Town
  • Then we make our way to the city center for your tour of the Marburg Castle.
  • Continue to Eisenach and experience the Luther House, St. George’s Church, where Luther was a choir boy and later preached
  • See the Luther and Bach Memorials
  • Visit the Nikolai Church, the last Roman building in the region
  • Visit the Bach House and Museum
  • Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant or your hotel
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Eisenach

Day 5 – 04 June (SUN) – EISENACH. EXCURSION TO – MÖHRA – STEINBACH – WARTBURG CASTLE

  • After lunch in Eisenach, travel to Möhra to see the Luther family village and church where Luther spent the night with his uncle and grandmother before he was kidnapped
  • Make a brief stop at Steinbach, the location of Luther’s ‘kidnapping’
  • Continue to Wartburg and visit the beautifully restored WARTBURG CASTLE, where he lived in disguise as “Knight George”. It was during this period that Luther translated the New Testament from Ancient Greek into German in just ten weeks
  • Return to Eisenach to enjoy dinner at a local restaurant
  • (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Wartburg Castle

Day 6 – 05 June (MON) – EISENACH – SCHMALKALDEN – COBURG – ERFURT

  • Drive to Schmalkalden and visit St. George’s church and the Rathaus
  • Enjoy some free time to walk around the city
  • Continue south to Coburg to visit fascinating Coburg Fortress, where Luther lived protected during the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530. As an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire, he could not attend the Imperial Diet of Augsburg, but instead spent his time continuing his work translating the Bible and writing on Reformation issues
  • Continue back north to Erfurt, whose 36 churches, 15 monasteries, and other ecclesiastical buildings have earned it the nickname “Thuringian Rome”
  • Enjoy a group dinner at a local restaurant or your hotel
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Schmalkalden City Center

Day 7 – 06 June (TUE) – ERFURT– WEIMAR – EISLEBEN – HALLE

  • This morning explore the beautiful Old Town of Erfurt which preserves the atmosphere Luther must have experienced during his student days.
  • A highlight is an inspirational visit to the Augustinian Monastery where Luther lived as a monk in his youth and see the unique Merchants’ Bridge, lined with half-timbered homes on both sides
  • Drive to Wiemar to visit the cathedral where you will see the famous Cranach altarpiece
  • Continue to Eisleben, where Luther’s life began and ended
  • Visit Luther’s Birth House and Death House Museums
  • Visit St. Peter & Paul church, where Luther preached his last sermon in 1546
  • Continue to Halle to enjoy dinner with your group at your hotel
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Erfurt Cathedral

Day 8 – 07 June (WED) – HALLE – WITTENBERG

  • Enjoy a walking tour of the Halle city square, with a visit to the Market Church where you’ll encounter the death mask of Martin Luther
  • Continue to Wittenburg for a guided walking tour
  • Visit the Luther House, where Martin Luther and his family lived
  • Visit St. Mary’s church, a twin-towered gothic church where Luther preached reform, got married, and baptized his six children
  • Visit the Old Latin School for an independently arranged service
  • Finally, see the door of Castle Church, where Luther posted his 95 Theses, launching the Reformation in 1517
  • Enjoy Dinner with your group at a local restaurant or your hotel
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Halle

Day 9 – 08 June (THU) – WITTENBERG – TORGAU – DRESDEN – LEIPZIG

  • Travel to the picturesque city of Torgau to see the peaceful Hartenfels Castle courtyard with the Castle Church, the first Protestant church building in history
  • View the Katie Luther Death House and Museum
  • Continue to Dresden, the former capital of Saxony, badly damaged by Allied bombing but since restored to its baroque splendor
  • During your guided walking tour, visit the Zwinger Palace Courtyard to admire its impressive architecture; the magnificent baroque Semper Opera, originally built in 1841, once destroyed by fire, then destroyed by bombing, and finally restored in 1985; and the newly rebuilt Frauenkirche
  • We make our way to Leipzig to attend Bach Festival Opening Concert with the Thomanerchor and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in St. Thomas Church (subject to availability)
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Dresden

Day 10 – 09 June (FRI) – LEIPZIG

  • Enjoy a walking tour of Leipzig and visit the Thomaskirche, where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor and where the St. Thomas Boys Choir calls home
  • See the market square that today is a site for celebrations and festivals, but once was the scene of executions and political demonstrations
  • Spend the balance of the afternoon enjoying the Bach Festival
  • (Breakfast)
Leipzig

Day 11 – 10 June (SAT) – LEIPZIG – WITTENBERG – JÜTERBOG – BERLIN

  • Travel to Wittenberg, Martin Luther’s hometown for more than 30 years and the birthplace of the Reformation
  • Experience the colorful and boisterous marriage festival of Martin & Katie Luther
  • Spot Martin and Katie Luther walking through town, as well as Melanchthon, Bugenhagen, Cranach, and other Reformation characters
  • Attend the English church service in the Castle or Town Church
  • Stop in Jüterbog to visit St Nikolai church to see the coffer Tetzel used to sell indulgences
  • Visit the church and museum
  • Continue to Berlin and enjoy dinner with your group
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
St Mary’s Church, Wittenberg

Day 12 – 11 June (SUN) – BERLIN

  • Attend morning church service at Trinity Lutheran Church
  • Half-day of sightseeing with a Local Guide in the once-divided metropolis includes the elegant Ku’damm, the restored Reichstag, Charlottenburg Castle, a picture stop at monumental Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, and the 21-foot Victory Column
  • Visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, a memorial to peace and reconciliation
  • Drive along Unter den Linden Boulevard, and pass the State Opera House and Checkpoint Charlie, the best known former border between east and west Berlin
  • The rest of the day free in Berlin
  • Enjoy a special farewell dinner tonight to celebrate the success of your trip
  • (Breakfast, Dinner)
Berlin, Brandenberg Gate

Day 13 – 12 June (MON) –DEPART BERLIN, GERMANY

  • After breakfast our Globus custom tour comes to and end as we depart with memories and a full heart
  • Individual departure airport transfers are included for shared vehicle transport
  • (Breakfast)