Luther’s Presence Felt in Wittenberg : The university town southwest of Berlin preserves its history as home of the Reformation.

Martin Luther could hardly have known of the monumental and extensive changes in world history that he was soon to bring about when he unceremoniously nailed up his 95 theses on the door of this town’s Palace Church in 1517.

As an Augustinian priest and professor of theology at Wittenberg University, he was merely posting on the school’s bulletin board a list of subjects for upcoming tutorial discussions with his students, mainly on his objections to the dubious value and sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church.

After later denying absolutely the supremacy of the Pope, he was excommunicated by Rome in 1521. But the fires of the Reformation and Protestantism had already been lit and were soon spreading headlong throughout Europe.

Luther’s iconoclastic nature expressed itself even more four years later when he married a former nun who had left her order and was then working in the Wittenberg household of Lucas Cranach the Elder, the master painter and a friend of Luther’s who lived and worked in Wittenberg for 47 years.

Luther, never one to mollify, also had a rather dim view of Wittenberg and its citizens, since he considered them to be living on the very edge of culture and civility. Yet the flood of Europeans to the little city, particularly students anxious to hear this intemperate man preach his sermons of change, soon converted Wittenberg into an intellectual hub of Europe.

Lucas Cranach, court painter in Wittenberg and the originator of Protestant religious art, was but one of the artists, intellectuals, scholars and theologians who made 16th-Century Wittenberg glow with learning and vitality. The physical aspects of the town also underwent a renewal, blossoming with handsome buildings, homes, squares and gardens.

Today’s Wittenberg, dead center of the old East Germany about 65 miles southwest of Berlin, is now emerging from a 45-year nightmare under Communism. It is once again a very pretty little town on the Elbe River, celebrating its 700-year-old charter this year and definitely worth at least a day’s time for travelers in the region.

Some maps and tourist brochures identify it also as Lutherstadt, but there is really little need for that. The father of Protestantism is identified with just about everything in town. And encircling the soaring tower of the Palace Church, in huge letters easily readable from ground level, are his opening words of that beloved Lutheran hymn: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

Getting settled in: Hotel Goldener Adler, built in 1524 on the town’s Market Square, counted Luther as a steady customer in its restaurant. Now ending a complete renovation, the colorful little hotel has been given 20th-Century amenities to go with its considerable history. Still, as is the case with many older European hotels, bedrooms run from moderate in size to small. Ask for one in the front overlooking the busy market, particularly for Wednesday’s market day.

Waldhotel Vogel is a new one in a lovely wooded residential area just outside town. All 21 bedrooms are very modern if rather small, and there’s a tiny pool, plenty of parking, excellent breakfasts and evening meals. This one is a little difficult to find and is really more convenient for motorists.

Parkhotel, 14 miles from Wittenberg in the delightful little town of Pretzsch/Elbe, has been open little more than a year. Renovated using a series of traditional buildings as a base, the hotel is a marvelous example of what new capital can do in the former East Germany.

Resembling a stately chateau in a park setting, the hotel has sparkling new rooms and baths, atelier bedrooms upstairs with exposed roof beams, a superb dining room, outdoor beer garden with bowling, and enough activities to satisfy anyone: horseback riding, biking, canoes and kayaks for the nearby river, and archery equipment. This one is a real find.

Regional food and drink: The kitchens of Wittenberg’s region of Saxony-Anhalt turn out fare not all that different from other regions of Germany, although there is a strong affinity to the food of Berlin, with the usual emphasis on hearty meats, sausages, potatoes and dumplings. This area’s forests have perhaps more game than others, and the seasonal vegetables, fruits and berries add color, interest and zest to local tables.

The springtime spargel (asparagus) are as fine as one finds anywhere in Europe and, along with tender new potatoes and the first tiny strawberries, herald the arrival of spring throughout Germany. All those fresh fruits account for great desserts hereabouts, and the regional Kroftitzer beer is excellent.

Good local dining: Entering the Goldener Adler Hotel (Markt 7), one passes first beneath the vaulted 16th-Century ceilings of the Lutherstube, a bar-coffeehouse where its namesake still owes for a beer or two. Farther in brings one to a cozy, old-fashioned dining room that is considered one of the town’s best, most of its dishes very traditional. Try the cream of asparagus soup ($2), followed perhaps by the Wittenberger Bauerntopf (three beef medallions) served with potatoes, lots of vegetables and salad. There’s also a beef Stroganoff, several kinds of trout and other fish dishes, plus various pork and lamb entrees, all in the $12 range. Three three-course menus start at $20.

Parkhotel’s dining room (Pretzsch-Elbe) is very attractive and serene, and serves the best and freshest of the area’s specialties. The superb food, fine service and very friendly prices make this dining room something special. We had the venison goulash with red cabbage, preiselbeeren (a type of cranberry sauce) and homemade dumplings ($6.50), and a schnitzel with fresh local asparagus and Hollandaise sauce plus potatoes ($7.50). There is also a small selection of “seniorplates” here (goulash, pork steak with wild mushrooms, roast breast of chicken with creamed mushrooms), all for less than $6.

Originally an Augustinian monastery where Luther lived on first arriving in Wittenberg in 1508, the enormous Luther House was given to him as his home in 1532 by a grateful local prince. Down in the cellar is a very atmospheric and elegant coffeehouse-bar, the Cafe Lutherhaus, where you’ll find superb pastries and some of the town’s permanent or transient beautiful people. Try the homemade kirschtorte (a cherry tart) or apfelkuchen (apple cake) with your coffee or tea.

On your own: Apart from the Palace Church where Luther is buried among statues of leaders of the Reformation, the older (1218) City Church of St. Mary is where Luther preached. It’s considered the Mother Church of the Reformation. Wittenberg’s most noted piece of art is also in this church, the exquisite altarpiece painted by Lucas Cranach and his son.

After the Augustinian monastery was closed by the Reformation in 1522 and became Luther’s home, it later grew into the world’s largest museum of the Reformation. Luther’s living room-study has a magnificent Ten Commandments Table made by his friend Cranach in 1516.

Due to the worldwide interest in the home of the Reformation, Wittenberg has been preserved much better than many other towns and villages in what was East Germany. The best way to enjoy its many delights is to begin a walk at the Palace Church, down to Market Square and the Town Church, then continue along Collegienstrasse past Luther House to Luther Oak, where he defiantly burned the papal bull, or decree, that threatened him with excommunication.

Wittenberg’s cultural milieu is a bright one year-round, with religious and secular music performances at several locations in churches and historic buildings around town, plus numerous seminars on a variety of subjects. And while the towns and villages of Saxony-Anhalt, nearby Thuringen and the Harz Mountains haven’t exactly been in a time capsule for the past 47 years, this part of the former East Germany is a little like a newly reopened picture album of Romanesque, half-timbered Gothic, Renaissance and other buildings. It adds up to one of the most colorful and unsullied regions of Europe that we have visited.

GUIDEBOOK

Witnessing Wittenberg

Getting there: Fly Lufthansa, Delta, United, TWA and a number of foreign carriers from Los Angeles to Berlin. An advance-purchase, round-trip air ticket will cost from $498 to $535. From Berlin, it’s 64 miles to Wittenberg, a one-hour train ride for $12.50.

A few fast facts: Germany’s deutsch mark recently sold at 1.67 to the dollar, or about 49 cents each.

Where to stay: Goldener Adler (Markt 7; $87-$99 double B&B;, local telephone 2053); Waldhotel Vogel (Tommark 10; $68 B&B; double, telephone 51137); Parkhotel (Goetheallee 3, Pretzsch/ Elbe; $74 B&B; double, telephone 307). For more information: Call the German National Tourist Office at (310) 575-9799, or write (11766 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 750, Los Angeles 90025) for for a color brochure on the Saxony-Anhalt region, including Wittenberg, plus information on travel throughout Germany and a map of the country.