Historical figures: Historical figures: Katharina von Bora: Luther's wife

Katharina von Bora went down in history as the wife of reformer Martin Luther. But how did she contribute to the Reformation?

The daughter of an impoverished nobleman, Katharina joined a convent at the age of ten. Influenced by the reform movement, she escaped from Nimbschen Convent in 1523 to Wittenberg, where she married Martin Luther two years later. As Luther’s wife, she held the roles of mother of their six children and head of the household. She was a clever, educated, self-confident woman, and was an indispensable companion and adviser to husband.

When the Black Plague broke out in Wittenberg in 1552, Katharina fled to Torgau, where she died in December. Although buried at St Mary’s Church in Torgau, she is immortalized in Wittenberg as a bronze statue adjacent to the Luthers’ former home. (mz)