A Missionary Outing to Marburg

Sometimes group outings just sort of bubble up, like, “Hey, who wants to join us on a trip to Marburg??” Today we and several other couples drove about 1,5 hours north through foggy countryside to visit Marburg and the castle there. This was one of our first outings more than a year ago. Here’s a post from that visit. We were happy to go back.

A few pics while waiting for our tour guide to arrive (Alexander Greb, a member from the Wetzlar Ward).

The stonework at this castle intrigues me. I wrote about “The Enduring Power of Stones and Words” here. If only these stones could speak!

The locals say that the crooked steeple on the cathedral below will straighten out the year a virgin graduates from Marburg University. One of the student dorms is located in the castle complex.

More fascinating stonework:

This is the courtyard of the castle. Today we didn’t go inside. We walked around the grounds and learned about the history of this place, made famous by the Saint Elizabeth, from Hungary (1207-1231), who was brought to live here.

This memorial is a tribute to her:

Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her husband’s death, she regained her dowry, using the money to build a hospital where she herself served the sick. She became a symbol of Christian charity after her death in 1231 at the age of 24 and was canonized on 25 May 1235. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. She was an early member of the Third Order of St. Francis, and is today honored as its patroness.

Her husband’s family wasn’t too excited about her spending her family wealth on the poor and needy. She did it anyway. Bravo, Elizabeth!

The fog clearing and the steeple still crooked.

Below is a medieval toilet, that dropped waste into the garden grounds below.

This was an important meeting of religious leaders at Marburg in 1529 where they discussed the true meaning of the Sacrament–was in a symbol of Christ’s body and blood, or was it literal?