Philipp Melanchthon
Born February 16, 1497 in Bretten, died April 19, 1560 in Wittenberg
Philipp Schwarzerdt (Melanchthon: Greek for black earth) was a reformer, humanist and close colleague of Martin Luther. Following his studies in Heidelberg and Tübingen, he was appointed to the Wittenberg university in 1518 to teach Greek. As an expert in Greek, Melanchthon played a major role in translating the Bible into German. His quill produced the most important fundamental writings of the Reformation: the »Loci communes« (1521), the first, most influential dogmatic writings of the German Protestant Church, and the »Augsburgische Glaubensbekenntnis«. Due to his many theological and pedagogic writings, he received the honorary title »Praeceptor Germaniae« (Teacher of Germany) from his contemporaries.
Melanchthon Anniversary
In 1997, the City of Bretten celebrated the 500th anniversary of the birth of Phillip Melanchthon, its most celebrated son, with a large-scale festival and conference. In cooperation with its partner city Wittenberg and the three Melanchthon cities Pforzheim, Tübingen and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, an important international project was started. The goal of the anniversary celebration – under the patronage of Federal President Roman Herzog – was to examine the religious, theological and ethical-philosophical aspects and find meaning in Phillip Melanchthon’s teachings and influence of the past in terms of its relevance in present times.
