Description

Apart from its famous altar from the time of the Reformation the Wittenberg municipal church of St. Mary's also houses a substantial treasure of tombs and memorials. This richly illustrated volume offers for the first time a comprehensive view of the surviving monuments, many of which were created by famous artists such as Lucas Cranach the Younger or Sebastian Walther. The book further contains a detailed essay on the development of the Lutheran sepulchral and memorial culture from the Reformation to the end of the 16th century. The monuments are presented in their various functions as religious statements, objects of social representation, or private legacies. Lost items have been reconstructed with the help of surviving source material. Many of those buried and commemorated in this church were closely associated with the Wittenberg Reformation around Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, so that in addition to the Luther House and the Schlosskirche, the municipal church of St. Mary's can be experienced as one of the central elements of the memorial site "Wittenberg Reformation".