Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-25
ElSLEBEN, LUTHER'S BIRTHPLACE
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS
itten for and the Chicago Record Herald.


he Chicago Record Herald
, dryers. or "ha1loren," as they are called.
They are a peculiar people. and have pc
culiar customs, inherited from generation
after generation through many centuries.
Everybody In the village Is engaged I'm ex-
tracing salt from this little lake. which
has an inexhaustibief supply. Why. that.
particular: pond should be salt. while all
other ponds in the neighSorh0od are filed
! with fresh water. is a mystery. The
"halloren'' have their own theories.
which may be correct: They believe there
Is a salt mine underneath the water.
| which can carry only so much of the
chemical in solution. When the water
comes to0he surface. under the influence
of the sun, the salt is precipitated In the
shallow places. which they rake over and
with fine tools draw the sediment out
into the air and spread 1t over cement
floors to drain and dry. Then they pack
1t into sacks and ship it to market
The "halloren'' have been carrying OH
this business for ages, using simple pro-
cesses handed down from
Ancient their forefathers. They are
-r.u, very ciannish They do
MesAVuS' not admit outsiders to the
! community, although they send their
overflow of population ont into the world
The eldest son inherits his fathers trace
and interest in the property. and as the
volume of business is limited the younger
sons must seek their fortunes elsewhere
The streets of. Eisleben are narrow,
crooked and irregular, and as our chauf-
feur could not understand which way to
70, a gentleman politely called couple of
urchins who were on their way home
from school and told them to guide us
.<v1ir,@ IN>I vrV1x- IL
mobile and had the presence Of mind to
direct US by the most circuitouS route.
We passed the schoolhouse, where their
playmates stared at them in awe and
admiration. and by their homes, which
they pointed out with pride. and. finally.
they introduced us with gravity and u
grace that could not have been surpassed
by the l1urgoineister. to the old dame
who keeps the house in which the great
reformer was born. Those boys Will get
on In the world. They confided to us
that no boy in the town had ever ridden
in an automobile before and it would
have been fun to have witnessed their
! triumph that afternoon, when they re-
turned to school.
Thomas Carlyle in his Hero Worship
says that it was an accident that gave
the honor of Iuthers birth
Carlyles to Eisleben, and explains
1y- that it occurred while his
'oAs'"A' parents were attending the
winter fair in that place. '1n the tumult
OF this scene,'' he says, Frau Luther
was taken with travail, found refuge In
some poor house, and the boy she bore
was named Martin Luther. This poor
Frau Luther had gone with her husband
to make her small merchandising, per-
haps to sell the hook of yarn she had
been spinning. to buy the small winter
necessaries for her narrow hut or house
hold" But the good lady that keeps the
house told us that Hans Luther had come
from Mohra to seek employment in Elsie
ben, rented the lower rooms OF this house
and occupied them for two months before
and after that eventful day.
The house is situated OH a side street
and Is entered through a courtyard. An
inscription over the door reads:
In this house DR.; Martin Luther was born
the 10 Of November 1853.
Gods word is T.utbers lore;
Which abides forever more.
The birth room is dark, with small VIM
doWs. The walls are whitcwashed and
the floor is polished until 1t shines. The
old lady showed us her relics with great
pride. the most important of which is a
printed report of the forty-fourth con-
vention OF the Evangelical Lutheran Syn
cd Of Ohio, at Miamisburg, May %, 1881.
y
ter in the United States. which, she told
US, had been sent to her husband. She
considered them documents of great value
and Importance, even more precious than
Is a board that Luther often used to
write upon. She has number Of coins
and medals bearing the profile of Luther
and the arms Of his princely protectors
Some Of them were struck to commence
rate events In the reformation. There
are several pictures of Luther and books
which belonged to him.
Much more interesting is the house in
which Luther died. 1t was and still is
the parsonage of the Church
The House of st. Andrew, and the
~ n..+h present incumbent, who
VI ~S"'A' speaks English we'll, was
kind enough to show us around The old
church, built 600 years ago, contains the
pulpit from which Luther often preached
and interesting monuments of the Counts
Of Mansfield.
A bronze statue of Luther was unveiled
In the market place in 1883.
The parsonage stands opposite the
church in excellent preservation, having
been restored few years ago. 1t has
q high pitched roof with two rows of
dormer windows. The apartments occu-
are In the second story and consist of
sitting room and a bedroom Both remain
as they were at the time; the same candle
sticks and pewter wash bowl and pitcher
he used are there; the bed upon which
he died stands where it did then; the same
chairs and other articles of furniture are
preserved. The imperial coat of arms
hang over the door. and the walls are
decorated with portraits Of Luthers
father and mother from life by Cranach,
one Of the most famous artists of that
time. There are portraits OF Luther and
Melanchthon by the same artist, and the
Grand Duke Frederick Of Saxony, who
was Luther's protector. A large paint
ing represents the death OF Luther.
Gathered around the bedside Of the dying
man are Count Albrecht Of Mansfield,
Count Thomas Of the same family, the
Prince of Anhalt, Johann Albrecht bur-
gomeister of Dlieben; the pastor OF the
church, the Countess Of Schwarzberg,
Luther's three young sons and several
other persons, The picture has been re-