Luther's Tree, Luther's Gate and Schöffer print shop

Legend has it that two women argued about Luther during the Diet of Worms. One of them, a follower of Luther, took her staff and thrust it into the ground, exclaiming: "By the truth that this staff will take root and grow into a tree, by the same truth are Luther's teachings true." Of course she was proven right, as the staff became an elm, reaching a height of 40 metres and becoming a protected natural monument and local landmark. But it lost its crown during a storm in 1870. Eventually it had to be felled in 1949. The mighty trunk with a circumference of 11 metres is preserved and transformed into a cultural monument by a wooden relief board by Gustav Nonnenmacher.

Luther's Gate on Torturmplatz does not really commemorate the reformer. Its actual name is 'Fisher Gate'. Not until the 19th century were the parallels to Luther's Gate in Augsburg discovered, a small exit that Luther used to flee the city after his interrogation by Cajetan. The gate in Worms is remarkable for the city and its history because it passes through a particularly handsome section of the former city walls that is now home to the Nibelungen Museum.

Meielburg, built in the style of a castle and home to the lawyer Dr Balthasar Meiel, member of Worms City Council (from 1502) and President of the City Court until his death in 1525, stood not far from Mainz Gate in the northern suburbs of the city.

It was also the location of Worm's first print shop run by Peter Schöffer the Younger (ca. 1475/80-1547), a native of Mainz, from around 1518 to 1529.

It printed 'The New Testament' by William Tyndale (first full print of the New Testament in English) in 1526, the Worms Prophets (translation of the prophetic books in the Old Testament by the Anabaptist reformers Ludwig Hätzer and Hans Denck) in 1527, and the Worms Bible (first full Protestant Bible before Luther and Zwingli) in 1529.

Meielburg was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. It was replaced around 1720 by the Eulenburg, a baroque town palace, which from 1840 onward was residence to Johann Philipp Bandel (1785-1866), wine merchant, collector of art and antiques, councillor and outspoken champion of democracy in the revolution of 1848/49. The baroque palace was destroyed during a bombing raid on 21 February 1945. Today it is the site of a care home run by the Eulenburg chapter of German Red Cross.

Luther's Gate on Torturmplatz does not really commemorate the reformer. Its actual name is 'Fisher Gate'. Not until the 19th century were the parallels to Luther's Gate in Augsburg discovered, a small exit that Luther used to flee the city after his interrogation by Cajetan. The gate in Worms is remarkable for the city and its history because it passes through a particularly handsome section of the former city walls that is now home to the Nibelungen Museum.