The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-11-17 00:00:00

THE LUTHER COMMEMORATIONS.

The Luther Commemoration took the form of a
great ns.tional festival throughout Germany, where
every town and village celebrated the Reformer's
memory by general decorations, services in the
churches and schools, addresses, concerts, perform-
ances, processions, popular fetes, and illuminations.
Writing from EislF ben, on Saturday, the Correspon-
dent of the Daily Noes says :

- -
The commemoration of the day on which Luther
was born here four hundred years ago began last
eveninc, with the general tolling of the bells in both
churches. It ie needless to say that every
house is covered with flags, !garlands, and wreaths,
particularly in the small oblong market square, in the
centre of which the new monument stands. The
place is decorated with rows of venetian masts, bearing
the escutcheons of all the Luther towns, banners, and
pine tree garlands in the most lavish manner. Two
great triumphal arches in the shape of the ancient
city gates are erected over the streets leading to the
square.
At ten this morning the conarnemontion begun with
a religious service in St. Andrew's Church, from the
highest spire of which also waved flags in the national
colours. From the same pulpit on which Luther had
stood so often, and now nearly hidden beneath
flowers, the Court Chaplain Frommel delivered a
festival sermon, taking a very appropriate text from
the Gospel, Luke 1, verses 66 to 6S, and answering
the question propounded with the words, " He was a
prophet."

At noon the ceremonies began in the Market square,
three sides of which surrounding the still covered
monument were occupied by crowded stands. All the
adjacent streets and windows and even the roofs were
also full of people, over 30,000 visitors having arrived
from all parts. The guests included the Minister
Herr Von Gossleri Count Stolberg, the high Govern.
ment officials, and many clergymen. After the entire
assemblage had sung Luther's hymn, " Eine (este
Burg," the Mayor of the town gave a history of the
monument, the idea of which originated as far back
as 1804. Then the covering in the blue and white
colours of Eisleben fell, and the bronze figure of the
Reformer stood revealed.

The figure, which is larger than life size, stands on
a fine pedestal of polished dark green granite, deco-
rated on all four sides with bronze-relief plates. The
one in front represents an allegorical scene. A youth-
ful angel, armed with a shield bearing Luther's
escutcheon, a cross and a heart on an open rose—has
beaten down the Anti-Christ, who lies writhing
before him. On the right side, Luther and Dr.
Eck, his theological opponent, are engaged in
their fierce disputation at Leipsic ; on the left
the Reformer is at work in the Wartburg,
translating the Bible, and on the rear-side of the
pedestal we see him surrounded by his family, playing
on a guitar to his children, with his wife, Catherine,
in the background. The entire monument, the castings
for which were executed at Gladenbeck's foundry at
Berlin, is a splendid work of art, worthy of the great
commemoration to-day.

After the consecration by the Court Chaplain
Koegel, and some further addresses, the singing of the
old hymn, "Now all thank God," closed the cere•
mony,

Meanwhile the historic procession had formed and,
passing through the triumphal gateway, now marched
past the uncovered monument. The procession was
arranged to represent Luther's reception by the Count
of Mansfield on his last journey from Wittenburg to
Eisleben in January, 1546, four weeks before his
death. All the characters in the procession were repre-
sented with the utmost historical accuracy and great
splendour. Some of the costumes cost more than
1,000 marks. The Count and Countess of Mansfield
on horseback, surrounded by their banner bearers,
heralds, knights, esquires, falconers and hunters, pre-
ceded an ancient gala coach drawn by four horses, in
which were seated Luther, his three sons, John,
Martin, Paul, and his friend Jonas. The representa-
tive of the Reformer was excellent in resemblance and
bearing. Senators, singing scholars, guilds, and
citizens, all in sixteenth century costumes, followed,
together with 300 miners of the Mansfield Copper
Mines in their quaint gala dresses, while groups of
fierce and dissolute-looking Landsknechts closed the
proces4on, which comprised more than 700 persons
with 200 horses.

To-night the festivities concluded with a general
illumination of the town. A. telegram was received
and read during the ceremonies, expressing the
warmest sympathy of the Crown Prince with Martin
Luther's native town on this memorable day.

In Berlin the anniversary was observed with much
ceremony, and popular enthusiasm. Flags floated every
where, and many houses, and most of the schools,
were richly decorated. The main portal of the Town
Hall was wreathed vt ith palm branches and laurels,
and the churches were lavi.hly adorned. At half.
past seven a.m. festal music was heard from the
towels of the churches of S. Nicholas and St. Mary
and of the Town Hall. With the bells of all the
churches ringing, the pupils of all the boys' and girls'
schools went in procession to church; and as the Pro-
testant churches did not suffice, services were held in
public halls.

In Leipzic Professor Schilling's Reformation monu-
ment, with statues of Luther and Melanothon, was
inaugurated with great festivities, and 1,000 singers
performed Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." At Dres-
den, Hanover, Cassel, and Magdeburg, great pro-
cessions went to the Luther monuments, before which
addresses were delivered. At Coburg a large Luther
bust was unveiled. At Darmstadt the foundation-
stone was laid of a new Protestant church, and
a similar ceremony took place at Mannheim,
At 13res1au the oratorio Luther in Worms was
performed in St. Bernard's Church, and at Dantzic
the same representation came off in St. Mary's
Cathedral, where also Sierming'a model of the
Eisleben statue was unveiled. At Strasburg Field.
Marshal Manteuffel, with the military and civil
authorities in full uniform, attended a festival service
in the new church. At Wartburg a service took place
in the Luther Chapel, attended by the Grand Ducal
family. Great festivities also came off in all other
prominent places. notably Hamburg, Bremen, Frank-
fort, Carlsruhe, Coblence, Stettin, Erfurt. and even
in Munich, the capital of Catholic Bavaria, as also
Nuremberg. In Augsburg special Luther services
took place in the Protestant churches and schools.
At Vienna the 400th anniversary of the birth of
Luther was celebrated by the members of the Augs-
burg Confession. They met in the church in the
Dorothea Gone, the Presbytery and the representa-
tive body sitting in the Leidy of the church, while the
congregation crowded the galleries. The lay curator,
Herr BanerreiEs, was in the chair and delivered the
address. The church was decorated with fresh pine
branches, and behind the railing in a group of cypress
trees stood Lnther's bust—a copy of the head on the
great Reformation memorial at Worms.

At Geneva, on Sunday, the Luther anniversary was
celebrated with great fervour. There were special
services in all the churches, which were crowded to
suffocation. In the afternoon there was a children's
conference in the Salle de la Reformation, at which
more than a thousand children listened attentively to
eloquent disccurses from Pastors Martin and Perrelet.

Throughout Denmark the festival was celebrated by
special meetings, the University of Copenhagen taking
a prominent part, and in all the churches services in
connection with the event were held.

The four•hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Luther was appropriately celebrated on Saturday and
Sunday throughout the United States by public
meetings held in the chief cities, at which religious and
musical exercises were conducted. A Luther statue,
modelled from the statue recently placed in Worms,
was unveiled at Washington. While the Germans
generally take the lead in these American celebra•
tions, most of them are supported by men of all
nationalities.