The collections of the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt

The Luther Memorials Foundation possesses collections of unique breadth; these include books, graphic art, manuscripts, coins, and medals as well as paintings related to Luther, to the history of the Reformation, and to their historical reception. The initial impulse behind the collections in Eisleben came in 1693, when a memorial was opened in the house where Luther was born. The collection of the Luther House in Wittenberg was begun in 1877 in preparation for the house's opening as a museum in 1883. Its foundation was laid by the collection of Dean (Oberdomprediger) Augustin of the Halberstadt Cathedral, and by that of Karl Knaake, the initiator of the Weimar edition of Luther’s works.

The collections at a glance:

Historical printed materials
The library houses 30,000 titles from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, including an extensive collection of dissertations. Ninety per cent of the first editions of Luther's writings are included in the library’s holdings. Luther’s most important writings as a Protestant reformer in 1520, the 1522 translation of the New Testament (the so-called September Testament), and the first complete Bible of 1534 are among the library’s most extraordinary artefacts. The last extant copy of the ‘Klugschen Gesangsbuch’ (Klug hymnal), of 1533, is another exceptional object.

Manuscripts
The collection of manuscripts consists of around 7,000 items; these include not only letters and manuscripts related to the history of the Reformation, but also manuscripts related to the history of Wittenberg’s university and to the history of German and European dynasties as well as cultural historical documents from the eleventh to the twentieth century. Letters and manuscripts by Luther and his contemporaries as well as medieval documents and autograph manuscripts by important individuals from later centuries are all to be found among this material.

Graphic art
The collection of graphic art includes around 15,000 works from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century, particularly portraits of Luther, scenes from Luther's life, portraits of other Protestant reformers, memorial prints, caricatures, and townscapes. The sixteenth-century holdings include around 1,400 works and are of particularly great value, particularly because of the prints by the elder and younger Lucas Cranach.

Coins and medals
The collection of coins and medals includes about 3,500 objects. In addition to valuable gold coins, it most notably includes medals that were created for the numerous Luther and Reformation anniversaries celebrated from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The foundation’s holdings in this area rank it among the world’s largest specialist collections.

Paintings
The foundation’s collection of paintings contains extraordinary portraits of Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop, including a very early portrait of the Protestant reformer, from 1520. The depiction of the Ten Commandments, created in Cranach’s workshop in 1516, is another exceptional painting.

Objects
The ‘Luther relics’ and the furniture from Luther's home as well as the everyday objects from the sixteenth century are the most impressive items within this collection. The majority of the objects are from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Luther souvenirs such as cups, plates, glasses, and small sculptures – to name a few examples.