Torgau - Marienkirche

The place was first mentioned in a document from 973. It fell under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, and a stone castle was built, around which the settlement congregated. A market is attested in 1119.

Torgau belonged to the duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, which in 1356 was raised to be the Electorate of Saxony. After the last Ascanian duke died without issue in 1423, the Electorate passed to the Wettin dynasty, which took up its residence at Torgau.

After 1485 Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony and his successors had Schloss Hartenfels (Hartenfels Castle) at Torgau built. During the Reformation, the town council closed all monasteries in 1523. Citizens of Torgau destroyed paintings and statues of saints in the churches and stormed the Franciscan monastery.

The Marienkirche is a late Gothic hall church with older components. The construction goes back to Romanesque origins, which have been preserved in the west building of the church. They originate from a Romanesque basilica built between 1200 and 1220. The present hall church was probably built after 1380 starting with the choir. The roof truss was dendrochronologically dated to 1463.

The Gravestone of Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther's widow, who died in Torgau in 1552. While fleeing the plague, she had an accident here in a carriage and succumbed to her injuries.