Toegangspoort van de Wartburg in Eisenach 1880 - 1890

This print, "Toegangspoort van de Wartburg in Eisenach," was created by Willem Linnig the Younger, sometime in the late 19th century. Linnig captures the entrance to Wartburg Castle, a site laden with German history and cultural memory. The figure of a lone, elderly woman, hunched over and leaning on a cane, stands at the threshold. What does it mean to depict a woman at this historic threshold? Her presence invites reflection on the experiences of those often marginalized in historical narratives. The Wartburg, famously a refuge for Martin Luther, symbolizes a pivotal moment in religious and political history. Yet, through Linnig's focus on this woman, the print gently redirects our attention to the everyday lives that unfolded within and around these grand historical events. Consider how Linnig uses her to connect the weight of history with the personal and human scale of experience. It prompts us to consider whose stories are told, and whose remain in the shadows of history.