Anabaptist 500th Anniversary Photo Blog

Tour Name: Anabaptist 500th Anniversary

Tour Director: Patti Olson

Dates: September 9-20, 2025

Tour Highlights:

We stepped back in time 500 years and traced the steps of the Anabaptists as they moved from the Zurich and Bern countryside to Strasbourg, France, through Germany and up into the Netherlands trying to escape persecution for their beliefs. We toured castles where they were held prisoner, saw the cages high up on a church spire where their leaders were put on public view, and visited a “hidden church” in a house where Menno Simons ministered. In addition, we toured the Gutenberg Museum; mechanical printing of the Bible benefitted both the Reformation and Anabaptist movements. And we toured Wartburg Castle and saw the room where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German. The entire tour was rich with the history of the early Anabaptists. See the captions on the photos to learn more.

Enjoy BNT Tour Director Patti Olson’s Anabaptist 500th Anniversary Photos:

After an overnight flight to Zurich, we drove near Bern, Switzerland, to Trachselwald Castle, where Anabaptists were once held prisoner.
We took an exciting gondola ride to the top of Stockhorn Mountain in the Alps near Bern and surveyed the rugged territory where Anabaptists hid out from persecutors.
High above the landscape and the clouds.
An ancient church in Erlenbach where Jakob Ammo was baptized as an infant. The wall paintings from so long ago are still vibrant.
The church in Erlenbach is now an evangelical reformed parish.
This is Thun Castle near Bern where one of our passenger’s relatives was held captive in the early days of the Anabaptist movement 500 years ago.
Many cities still have working public wells to provide clean water. This one is in the pedestrian zone of Bern.
Our large, comfortable coach equipped with refrigerators for cold drinks and a coffee maker!
This is Arno, our wonderful driver. He speaks French, German, and English. This was our third tour with him as driver.
Bern, Switzerland’s capital, is named for a bear caught by an ancient duke who said he would name a city after the first animal he found while hunting. The “bear pit” is not a lovely zoo along the river in Bern.
The ladies, gathered around a friendly bear at the river park.
From Amsterdam, we crossed along the North Sea on a 20-mile dike to the peninsula where Witmarsum and Pingjum are located. This is where Menno Simons ministered. This historic church in Witmarsum had a great display of Anabaptist history.
Nearby is a monument to Menno Simons.
A perfect place for our group photo.
Nearby Pingjum has a “hidden church” in a private home. A local guide took us inside to tour the home and its sanctuary that is not visible from the street.
This is the “hidden church”.
In Munster, high atop the spire and above the clock are the three famous cages where the bodies of Anabaptist leaders were put on public display.
This is the view from Wartberg Castle where Martin Luther hid out for 10 months to avoid capture by his persecutors.
This entire room in the castle is covered with shiny mosaic tiles.
The trek up to the castle was long and difficult, but worth the climb. The castle complex is really large and entered by crossing a drawbridge.
Down below Wartburg Castle is the town of Eisenach where Bach was born and lived for his first 10 years, and where Luther lived during his school years.
Martin Luther statue in Eisenach.
Nuremberg’s Old Town still has its ancient walls. We enjoyed a traditional sausage dinner just inside one of the city gates.
We had excellent local guides in all the cities. Several were medieval history students who really knew their topic. And all spoke English well.
Rhine Falls near Zurich is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. It may not be as high as Niagara Falls, but it has great power. We had an exciting boat ride right up to the base of the falls.
Also near Zurich is the town of Schleitheim, where the Schleitheim Confession of the Anabaptists was written to lay out a consistent order for the Anabaptist fellowships.
This is an original book of the confession.
The Anabaptist Movement began eight years after the start of the Protestant Reformation led by Luther, Zwingli (in Zurich), and Calvin.
This plaque along the Limmat River in Zurich recognizes that the persecution of the Anabaptists was wrong. It was here that some were drowned in the river in what was called “‘the third baptism”.
We had a beautiful day in Zurich to end our Anabaptist tour. Viewed here is the Limmat River and the twin towers of Zwingli’s Grossmunster church.