Getting to Lutherstadt Wittenberg

On Cheap Flights, Trains, or by Car to UNESCO Listed Luther Sights

May 20, 2008

Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hauptbahnhof, Germany, Janine Pohl / Wikimedia Commons

Transportation to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is easy allowing Reformation sights to be seen on a day trip from Leipzig and Berlin by train or car.

Lutherstadt Wittenberg, famous as the home of Martin Luther and thus considered the cradle of the German Protestant church Reformation of the early sixteenth century, is the Elbe Valley in Saxony-Anhalt in Central Eastern Germany. Getting to Lutherstadt Wittenberg is easy by car or train from Leipzig or Berlin while cheap flights are also available to the airports at either of these major German cities.

Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a popular day trip destination from either Berlin or Leipzig and often seen during a stopover when traveling between these two cities.

Cheap Flights to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Germany

The closest airport to Lutherstadt Wittenberg is Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEJ), which has mostly cheap flights aimed at Germans heading on low-cost airlines to the beaches of the Mediterranean. Far more flights are available to airports in Berlin.

Trains from LEJ Airport to Lutherstadt Wittenberg require a change at Halle or Leipzig. The airport is right next to the Autobahn A9 allowing for airport transfer times by car of about an hour.

By Car to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

The closest autobahn exit to Lutherstadt Wittenberg is exit 8 (Coswig) on the Autobahn A9 between Berlin and Leipzig (and all the way to Munich in Bavaria). From the autobahn, it is around 16 km (10 miles) on a small country road to Lutherstadt Wittenberg.

From Berlin and Leipzig, using the B2 country road is shorter and often faster than the autobahn. Driving distances and times are around 100 km (60 miles) in 90 minutes from Berlin and 70 km (44 miles) in just over an hour from Leipzig

By Train to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Wittenberg has long been an important crossing point of the important railway lines between Berlin and Leipzig with those between Dresden and Magdeburg. However, the modern railway network generally requires travelers to either change trains in Leipzig, Berlin, or Halle when traveling to Lutherstadt Wittenberg.

By Train to Lutherstadt Wittenberg from Berlin

Lutherstadt Wittenberg is a stop on at least hourly trains from Berlin to Leipzig or Halle and beyond. Three different options are available with each different type of train running generally every two hours:

Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains takes 41 minutes from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
Inter-City (IC) trains are often a few minutes faster than the ICE trains on this route.
Regional Express (RE) trains stop more often and take around 1h15.

By Train to Lutherstadt Wittenberg from Leipzig

Lutherstadt Wittenberg is easily reached from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof on frequent trains. Fast, slow, and very slow options are available:

Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains takes 29 minutes with trains available every two hours.
Regional Bahn (RB) trains run every hour but note the vastly different journey times of these trains. The RB train takes either 1h04 or 1h39. In case of the latter, changing at Bitterfeld will shorten the journey by half an hour.

By Train to Lutherstadt Wittenberg from Halle an der Saale

Lutherstadt Wittenberg can be reached at least once per hour by train from Halle an der Saale. Inter-City (IC) trains does the journey every two hours in half an hour while the Regional Bahn (RB) trains take a more leisurely hour – changes are sometimes required in Bitterfeld

Buying Train Tickets to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt

German train tickets are mostly priced according to the speed of the train – the faster the train, the more expensive the ticket. The luxurious, sleek Inter-City-Express (ICE) trains are the most expensive. Inter-City (IC) trains are often as fast as the ICE trains but tickets are slightly cheaper.

Tickets for the Regional Express (RE) trains from Berlin to Lutherstadt Wittenberg are priced at about two-thirds the price of ICE trains while the slow Regional Bahn (RB) trains from Leipzig are almost half the price of ICE trains.

When buying tickets ask for Lutherstadt Wittenberg and not Wittenberge. Wittenberge is a town also on the Elbe River but in the state Brandenburg downstream from Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In Leipzig, ticket sellers will probably double check to make sure travelers really want to go to Wittenberge but not in Berlin, as Wittenberge itself is a stop on ICE trains going northwest from Berlin. (Wittenberge to Lutherstadt Wittenberg by train requires a transfer in Berlin!)

Wittenberge claims to have the largest tower clock – built by Singer sewing machines during the 1920s – on the European continent but the town is completely devoid of any Luther sights.

Several towns in Germany have important Luther sights but the most important and best-known ones are of course in Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt.

The copyright of the article Getting to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Germany Travel is owned by Henk Bekker. Permission to republish Getting to Lutherstadt Wittenberg in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.