Burg Nanstein and the Diet of Worms

In between our spring break trip and the beginning of our summer travel, Austin had ear surgery at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center which is nearly four hours from our house. Because of the scheduling of his pre-op appointments and his surgery, we found ourselves in a hotel there over the weekend and decided to do a little exploring.

Not far from the hospital, we found the ruins of Nanstein Castle. The castle was built around 1162 at the command of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. In 1504 part of the castle was inherited by Franz von Sickingen, a German knight, after his father's death in the War of the Bavarian succession. By 1518, Sickingen had acquired the entire castle and made sweeping refortifications to the premises. Sickingen eventually lost his life at the castle in 1523 during a siege.

Burg Nanstein was a fantastic castle to explore, but seeing as how the weather that day was incredibly cold (even though it was the end of April), we were more than happy to hop in our warm car and drive to our next stop. After less than an hour's drive from Landstuhl, we found ourselves in the city of Worms. Worms was one of the cities that held Diets, or general assemblies, of the Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire. The most famous of these Diets was in Worms in 1521 during which Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation were examined. Luther was summoned to appear before the assembly. On April 17th, he was asked to recant "the heresies" of his 95 Theses as well as a number of his other writings. Luther asked for time to consider the request, spent the night in prayer, then addressed the assembly on April 18th. As we all know, he refused their request, and he ended his refusal with these words:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.

As a result of his refusal, Martin Luther knew he would be arrested and punished even though he had been promised safe travel back home. Luckily on his way home, Luther was seized by Prince Frederick who hid him in Wartburg Castle to keep him safe. During his time at the castle, Luther began translating the Bible into German. Luther was eventually able to come out of hiding and was never arrested, as the emperor had become distracted by other matters.

The Cathedral of St. Peter at Worms is where the Diet of Worms was held, and we were thrilled to be able to see this very important part of our Protestant history.

After visiting the cathedral, we happened upon the town's museum which had a room dedicated to Martin Luther and what he did at the Diet of Worms.

It was a very humbling experience to see the place where Martin Luther took a stand for his faith despite knowing the consequences it would most likely bring. In addition to all the beautiful places and things we've seen in Europe, I'm extremely thankful for opportunities like this one to view history through our own eyes instead of just through words on a page.