The first site I chose to research was The Wartburg Castel. I decided to just scroll through the list and this was the first one that jumped out at me. Castles are not common in America, so I wanted to research something new and uncommon. When I first started researching, one event grabbed my attention. The event, which was found on Wikipedia, that I found to be interesting was when a fire struck the Wartburg Castle in 1317 After the fire, the south tower was constructed and the new chapel was built into the Palas. Another event that I found interesting was when the first Wartburg festival took place on October 18th, 1817 . About 450 students, members of the newly founded German frats came together at the castle to celebrate the German victory over Napoleon two years before. They also wanted to get rid of conservatism and work towards a unified Germany. One thing that I found to be very interesting was that Martin Luther, who was excommunicated by the pope and outlawed by the emperor, sought refuge in the bailiff's lodge at the Wartburg. During the months of his custody, he lived and worked in a little room with very barely any furniture. This room today is known as the Luther Room. In this room is where he, in only 10 weeks, translated the New Testament from the original Greek texts into German. I found this information on a site called Wartburg-eisenach.
The second site I chose to research was Pilgrimage Church of Wies. I chose this because I figured it had something to do with a church where people view this as a safe haven while they are making their pilgrimage across countries. From the pictures on Wikipedia, this church was very well built. The art work is beautiful and immaculate. It was also stated that in 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scouraged Saviour. I found this to be a little out of the ordinary and something that cannot really be explained. It was also recorded by many who have prayed in front of the statue of Jesus on the altar, that people have been miraculously cured of their diseases. For these reasons, this church became a very popular pilgrimage church.
