The year 1999 marked the 500th anniversary of the birth of Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther's beloved wife. According to Dr. Stefan Rhein, Director of Luther monuments in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, remarked that Katharine von Bora was Luther's companion and equal partner; she was the picture of a self-assured, self-confident, liberated woman at the side of her husband. But this most important woman of the Reformation period of the 16th century is relatively unknown, for she lived in the shadow of her powerful husband. Much of her life has been fictionalized and idealized. In her honor, a special exhibit was prepared by the curator, Dr. Martin Treu, in the Lutherhalle which was the former home of Martin and Katie Luther, and which displayed factual details concerning her life.
Although scholars know a great deal of Katharine's married life with Luther, they have very few facts dealing with activities before the wedding and after Luther's death. It is thought that she was born on January 29, 1499, on a country estate in Lippendorf near Borna, which is approximately 15 miles south of Leipzig. Her father, Hans von Bora, was a member of the nobility but lived in poor circumstances. He was not in a position to raise many children. For this reason, he sent his five-year-old daughter to a convent in Brehna. At the age of nine, Katharine went to the Convent Marienthron in Nimbschen located near Grimma. Six years later she took her monastic vows and became a nun. Katharine's Aunt, Magdalene, was also in the Convent Marienthron. Due to her duties, Katharine learned how to manage and take care of a large estate, for the convent owned a great deal of secular and ecclesiastical property which not only covered the cost of its inhabitants (40 servants and 44 nuns) but also showed a profit.
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