Originally built in 1504 as part of the University of Wittenberg, the building was the home of Martin Luther for most of his adult life and a significant location in the history of the Protestant Reformation.

[1] When the university was opened in 1503, the monks of the Order of Saint Augustine were given land previously belonging to the Heilig-geist-Spital (Hospital of the Holy Spirit) located near the Elster Gate.

There, they began building a cloister, known as the Black Monastery because of the color of the monks' habits, which was to be a residence hall and academy for the Augustinians studying in Wittenberg.

[2][3] In 1507, after his ordination as a priest, Martin Luther was sent by Johann von Staupitz to continue his study, and he took up residence in a cell in the southwest corner of the new monastery.

[5] Luther lived with the Augustinians in the Black Monastery until 1521, when he was forced to hide at Wartburg Castle due to political tensions surrounding the Protestant Reformation.

Finally, the dreadful state of the building became too much to ignore, and Friedrich August Stüler was hired to restore and rebuild the Lutherhaus between the years 1853 and 1856.

The Augusteum is an extension to the Lutherhaus that was commissioned by Augustus of Saxony in 1564 as a library, although actual work did not begin until 1579 under the direction of Hans Irmisch.

Its very modern style was designed, in the words of the architects, to allow "function and history [to] stand visibly by each other"[9] and was awarded the Architectural Prize of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.

[11] It contains many original objects from Luther's life, including his pulpit from the Stadtkirche, his friar's habit, several paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, and numerous bibles, pamphlets, and manuscripts.