Luthers Geburtshaus
History of the architecture of Luther’s birthplace
The birthplace Ensemble photographed from the tower of St. Peter's Church Martin Luther was born in a late medieval, half-timbered house of the St. Peter’s Quarter in the street now named after him. After the family moved away, the house remained in private hands for another 200 years. As early as 1583, Luther’s birthplace was identified by a memorial plaque; it features a full-length portrait of Luther and has survived to the present. A city fire destroyed much of the building in 1689. The city of Eisleben then purchased the property and erected the Luther memorial site, which still exists today. A charity school was opened together with the memorial in 1693 – as a living means of honouring Luther. It continued to operate until the twentieth century. A representative hall, known as the ‘Schöner Saal’, was created in the upper storey of the building and featured portraits of Luther and Melanchthon as well as the Saxon electors. The presence of this public gallery makes the Luther Birthplace Museum one of the first history museums in a German-speaking country. It was maintained exclusively by means of donations and occasional grants from the city treasury.

In 1817, Frederick William III, King of Prussia, declared that the management of Luther’s birthplace was to be transferred to the Prussian government. The building was renovated and entirely devoted to the museum. The king founded a charity school, the ‘Lutherarmenschule’, in the immediate vicinity of the Luther Birthplace Museum.

Luther's birthplace is a memorial site since 1693 From 2005 to 2007, the Luther Birthplace Museum was completely modernised and also expanded by means of an annex connecting the house with the charity school; a visitors’ centre was also built on the opposite street corner (design: Springer Architekten, Berlin). The ensemble of buildings has since received numerous awards:

2007: Architekturpreis des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt (Architectural Award of the State of Saxony-Anhalt)
2008: Commendation in connection with the ‘Deutscher Städtebaupreis’ (German Urban Design Prize)
2009: Recognition by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum as one of 24 best architectural works in Germany
2009: Hannes-Meyer-Preis (Association of German Architects [BDA], Regional Association of Saxony-Anhalt)
2010: ‘Nike’ award for the best construction of space (Association of German Architects [BDA])