Wolfgang von Anhalt-Köthen

Wolfgang von Anhalt-Köthen was an advocate of the Reformation and contributed significantly to its spread. He was born in Köthen in 1492 and took over the government of his principality at the age of 16. In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, he met Martin Luther, who immediately won him over to his convictions. With Luther's help, Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen had the Reformation introduced in his territories of Köthen (1525) and Bernburg (1526), which thus became the second and third Reformed states in the world, after the Electorate of Saxony-Wittenberg. Wolfgang signed important documents of the Reformation, such as the Augsburg Confession of 1530, became a member of the Schmalkaldic League and championed Luther's teachings. As a humanist ruler, Wolfgang was committed to the Reformation church and school system as well as to the care of the poor and the sick. He made significant changes to Bernburg Castle and played a major role in the development of Bernburg into an early modern residential town. He died in Zerbst in 1566.

Bernburg luminaire
In Bernburg, Prince Wolfgang had a house built on the Bernburg Castle in 1538/1539, which is a unique monument to the princely reformation. The so-called "Bernburg Lamp" has a special picture programme: on the decorative façade of the building there are half-reliefs of Ascanian princes and those who were close to them and who were important in terms of the Reformation movement. Among others, Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, Prince Georg III of Anhalt-Dessau, Prince Joachim of Anhalt, Johann Ernst of Saxe-Coburg, Duke Philipp of Brunswick, Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg and Emperor Charles V are depicted.

Further Information:

Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts
Friedrichstraße 22/24
06844 Dessau-Roßlau

Tel. 0340 2526101
presse@kircheanhalt.de
www.landeskirche-anhalts.de