Torgau Germany Saxony
307
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Viking River Cruises (307 Cruises)
Viking Longships Astrid
152 Cruises
| 14 September | 5 days | One-way from Decin to Lutherstadt Wittenberg |
450-628-6241
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| 24 September | 5 days | One-way from Decin to Lutherstadt Wittenberg |
450-628-6241
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Viking Longships Beyla
155 Cruises
| 24 September | 6 days | One-way from Lutherstadt Wittenberg to Decin |
450-628-6241
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| 29 September | 5 days | One-way from Decin to Lutherstadt Wittenberg |
450-628-6241
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Frequently Asked Questions
For two dates four centuries apart. In 1544, Martin Luther consecrated the chapel of Hartenfels castle here, the first church ever built expressly for Protestant worship. On 25 April 1945, American and Soviet soldiers shook hands here on the Elbe.
About a ten-minute walk, and everything after that is covered on foot at a stroll. Boats come alongside at the foot of Hartenfels castle, which stands above the river.
A spiral staircase that rises with no central pillar at all, in the castle courtyard: a feat of stonecutting that already left 16th-century visitors open-mouthed. You go up, you come down, you look for the master builder's trick.
Yes, in the moat, and it is a firmly kept tradition: the town still maintains real brown bears there, heirs to a princely menagerie several centuries old. From the tower, meanwhile, the view runs out over the river and the red roofs.
Torgau had the court and the power, while Wittenberg had the pulpit and the university. Under the Electors of Saxony the town became the nerve centre of emerging Protestantism, and Luther preached here himself at the chapel's consecration in October 1544.
Luther's wife, who died here in 1552. The house where she died is now a touching little museum devoted to this remarkable woman, who ran farm, brewery and household while her husband was changing Europe. Her gravestone is in neighbouring St. Mary's church.
Remarkably so, because it was spared the great destructions. The centre holds around five hundred original late gothic or Renaissance buildings, a density rare in Germany, with freshly restored pastel façades.
The town hall, with its gables and carved oriel window. The surrounding streets hide inner courtyards, armorial doorways and old breweries, because beer brewed here was once sold as far away as Hamburg.
The annual commemoration of the meeting of 25 April 1945, immortalized in photographs that travelled the world: soldiers of both armies stepping across the girders of a destroyed bridge to shake hands. A memorial marks the spot on the bank.
No, and that is what makes it pleasant. You wander without queues, often alone in front of façades that give the place the air of a stage set. Currency: the euro, with cash useful in the small cafés in the centre.
