PHOTO: Martin Luther studied at the Erfurt Monastery

It may feel counterintuitive to think of Martin Luther (1483-1546) as a radical, but there was never a more revolutionary act in Western history than when he nailed his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church in 1517, launching the Protestant Reformation. For years, Luther was a marked man who had to watch his back at every turn because he had moved the very foundations of what was, at that time, the most powerful political organization in Europe. What was a revolution then is an institution now as there are more than 70 million Lutherans worldwide, of which 8.67 million live in the U.S. alone.

As we approach the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses in 2017, the German National Tourism Organization (GNTO) is preparing for the culmination of the Luther Decade. Each year of the decade was assigned a specific theme, such as music or art. At this year’s German Travel Mart, Michaela Klare, the current GNTO director of North Eastern Europe and the one-time director of the GNTO’s New York Office, said, “We think that Americans are going to really respond to Luther year 2017. His influence is so powerful in the U.S. and it gives us a real opportunity to reach out to people who are influenced by him through religion as well as people who just see what an important historic legacy he left.”

Destination Germany plans to emphasize Luther’s legacy in promotions leading up to the anniversary year. Luther Country is a joint marketing effort by the towns, castles and regions where Luther lived and worked. Luther spent most of his life in the neighboring German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. In 2011, Luther Country launched a dedicated website (www.visit-luther.com) to promote these areas as a travel destination. A few years later the LutherCountry Facebook page was added at (www.facebook.com/LutherCountry) offering news, events and highlights happening in the 10 LutherCities, including Schmalkalden, Eisenach, Weimar, Erfurt and Muhlhausen as well as Halle (Saale), Lutherstadt Eisleben, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Dessau and Magdeburg.

The Luther Trail is a circular trail that joins two towns that are significant in the history of the Reformation. One is Lutherstadt Eisleben, where Martin Luther was born and where he died. The other is Lutherstadt Wittenberg, regarded as the heart of the Reformation. Both are situated between Berlin and Leipzig in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. Marked with a medieval-looking green L, the 250-mile-long Luther Trail links 40 important towns, villages and sites, such as Halle (Saale), Mansfeld Lutherstadt, Dessau and Woerlitz.

There are also well-posted walks. In Lutherstadt Wittenberg, for example, the Luther Trail not only highlights seven important sites, but also doubles as a contemplative path. It includes the Fountain in the Cranach Courtyard, where painter Lucas Cranach worked. It continues past the grand entrance to the Town Hall. You also visit the Leucorea, the university where, in 1514, Luther studied the Bible.

PHOTO: In Wittenberg, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door, launching the Protestant Reformation.

The Luther House in Wittenberg (Saxony-Anhalt) is where he lived and worked from 1508 until his death in 1546. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora at Wittenberg, a marriage that is celebrated to this day over a three-day festival every June with a reenactment. The highlight is the “wedding procession” on Saturday afternoon. The University of Wittenberg has kept the house open as a museum since 1883. The exhibition displays such original objects as Luther’s pulpit and a monk’s habit. The Luther room, for the most part, was left in its original form after the house was sold to the university.

Luther stayed at Wartburg Castle, above the town of Eisenach, from May 1521 until March 1522. His cell, now known as Luther’s Room, is open to visitors. It was here that Luther translated the New Testament into German. Until that translation came along, the Bible was only accessible to scholars and priests with a command of the Biblical languages. Luther’s translation invited ordinary people to read the book themselves and consider their own understanding of it. Eisleben knew Luther’s significance as far back as 1693, when the town turned his birth house into a memorial, becoming Germany’s first museum.

In the town of Worms, in 1521, Luther appeared before the Imperial Diet, where Charles V demanded that he recant his teachings. When Luther refused, the Emperor banned him and his teachings. In a bid to protect him, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, offered Luther a place to hide at Wartburg Castle. The bishops’ court, where the Diet of Worms took place, has since vanished, but standing in its place is the world’s largest monument to Luther - The Luther Library, with more than 600 of his works.

Luther hid at Coburg Fortress in Bavaria for six months after being outlawed by the Emperor, while his most steadfast supporter, Melanchthon, presented the famous Augsburg Confession to the Imperial Diet. Today, the castle is one of Germany’s largest and best-preserved medieval fortresses. Luther’s authentically furnished living quarters and the chapel where he prayed, serve as reminders of his exile. One highlight is the life-size portrait of Luther, which was painted by Cranach the Younger in 1575.

Schmalkalden is a pretty town with half-timbered buildings dating from the 15th to 18th centuries. Luther preached in the town’s St. George’s Church. He stayed in the Luther House, a brightly painted half-timbered building in February 1537. At the City Hall he presented his Articles of Faith and they were incorporated into the Book of Concord of the Protestant church. Today, Lutheran ministers are still ordained using the Schmalkalden Articles of Faith.

Wilhelmsburg Castle, one of Germany’s best-preserved fortresses is now a museum with a permanent exhibition, called “Launch into a New Era.” Back in 1537, Luther traveled from Schmalkalden to Eisleben through the Thuringian Forest. He was suffering from kidney stones, and so was in constant pain. On reaching the outskirts of Tambach-Dietharz, he passed the stones and the pain disappeared. Luther was delighted, and wrote that he refreshed himself at a spring. And you, too, can drink fresh, clean water from the very same fountain. It’s best to start the 10-mile trail in Tambach-Dietharz and end in Schmalkalden. In that direction, the trail goes downhill.