Wittenberg is famous for its close connection with Martin Luther (1483–1546) and the 16th century religious / theological movement of Protestantism begun here in the Reformation and the large branch of Western Christianity started here of Evangelical Lutheranism, for which it received the honorific title Lutherstadt and has been called the "cradle of the Reformation"[3] and "cradle of Protestantism".

[4] Several of Wittenberg's buildings are associated with the historical / religious events, including a preserved part of the Augustinian monastery of the local community of the world-wide Roman Catholic Order of St. Augustine in which Luther lived, first as a celibate monk and later as property owner with his later wife Katharina von Bora (c. 1499–1552), and family, considered to be the world's premier museum dedicated to Luther and the Reformation era.

Wittenberg was also the seat of the prince Elector of Saxony, a dignity held by the dukes of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, making it one of the most powerful cities in the thousand-years-old Holy Roman Empire (A.D. c.800 / 962–1806) in Central Europe.

Today Wittenberg is an industrial centre and popular tourist destination, best known for its intact historic centre and various additional memorial sites dedicated to Martin Luther and his friend and fellow theologian / reformer Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), major author of the Evangelical Lutheran seminal theological document of the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

The buildings associated with those two figures were added to the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) designated World Heritage list in 1996, along with other sites in nearby Eisleben, because of their religious significance and testimony to one of the most influential religious, political and social movements of world history from the Medieval / Middle Ages era in the History of Europe.

Historical documents first mention the settlement in 1180 as a small village founded by Flemish colonists under the rule of the House of Ascania.

The town became an important regional political and cultural centre at the end of the 15th century when Frederick III "the Wise", the Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, made his residence in Wittenberg.

On 31 October 1517, according to legend, Luther nailed his "95 Theses" against the selling of indulgences to the huge wooden double-doors front entrance (which longtime served as an informal bulletin board for the parish and local academic community) of the All Saints' Church / Castle Church – an event taken as marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and the start of a major branch of Western Christianity of Evangelical Ltheranism (followed by over 70 million believers in the world today).

The more radical later Protestant group of the Anabaptist movement also had one of its earliest homes in Wittenberg, when the Zwickau prophets moved there in late 1521 only to be suppressed by upset and angry Luther when he returned from temporary hiding and exile at the remote hilltop Wartburg Castle in the spring of 1522.

There he had spent months of time, effort and research into translating the texts in the languages ancient Hebrew, Ancient Greek and Latin and manuscripts of the Old Testament and New Testament in the Bible into then common 16th century version of their German language so that the Christian lay people could read the Holy Scriptures in Luther's Bible in their own tongue.

The Capitulation of Wittenberg (1547) is the name given to the treaty by which John Frederick the Magnanimous was compelled to resign the electoral dignity and most of his territory to the Albertine branch of the noble House of Wettin.

During the 18th century in 1760, during the Seven Years' War (1753 / 1756–1763, the military forces of the Habsburg monarchy of the Austrian Empire bombarded the Kingdom of Prussia's Royal Prussian Army, which occupied the town.

Wittenberg continued to be a fortress and military post of the third class during the rest of the 19th century with the reorganisation of German defences until later dismantled two years after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.

Eight compounds held 13,000 men of soldiers, sailors and pilots captured from the Allied armies of several opposing enemy nations.

The camp medical officer, Dr. Aschenbach who supposedly did the best he could, was later awarded the Imperial German military decoration of the Iron Cross for his part in the epidemic.

Unlike many other historic German cities during World War II, Wittenberg's town centre was spared destruction during the conflict.

In 1945, Wittenberg issued 19 of its own postage stamps, each depicting Hitler but with a large black round overprint covering his face.

Wittenberg is currently characterized by renovation and new construction work, an economic recovery and tourism development as a "place of pilgrimage for the Reformation".

In 2014 Lutherstadt Wittenberg was awarded the honorary title European City of the Reformation by the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.

Wittenberg is home to numerous historical sites, as well as portraits and other paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and Younger.

Inside the church are the tombs of Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, Johannes Bugenhagen, Paul Eber and of the electors Frederick the Wise (by Peter Vischer the Younger, 1527) and John the Constant (by Hans Vischer), and portraits of the reformers by Lucas Cranach the Younger, who is also buried in the church.

In 2013, the house received an extension according to plans by the architects Dietsch & Weber from Halle made of grey brick.

Over the history of the university, which is rich in tradition, developments took place that had an impact not only on Germany but also on large parts of the world.

[clarification needed] The Bugenhagen House next to the town church is the oldest Protestant vicarage in the world and is one of the most significant memorials to the Reformation.

The town house contains significant remains of the medieval building fabric of the former monastery church of the Franciscans, which in turn was used as the burial place of the Ascanians.

On it are the Renaissance town hall, the monuments to Martin Luther (designed by Schadow) and Philipp Melanchthon (by Drake), as well as the Marktbrunnen.

The shield with its crossed swords stands for the office of "Arch-Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire" inextricably joined by the Electorate, brought to Wittenberg by Rudolf I.

The Central German State Theatre (Mitteldeutsches Landestheater) reached great importance in GDR times.

Not only the men of the Reformation era Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Lucas Cranach left their mark on Wittenberg.

Much more than in its role as the capital of Kursachsen and as the residential town of Saxony-Wittenberg, the city was shaped by what was probably the most important university in Central Europe at the end of the Middle Ages.