When Martin Luther stayed in Schmalkalden and attended the convention that produced the Schmalkaldic Articles, he was plagued by a severe bladder and kidney ailment. He therefore wanted to travel back to Wittenberg as quickly as possible in February 1537. So he and his followers decided on the direct route over the ridges of the Thuringian Forest along the Pass Road near today's "Neue Ausspanne".

Thus, after crossing the peaks, they arrived at the Tammichgrund. Luther stopped at a spring and drank from the pure mountain spring water of the Tambach. Drinking the cool, mineral-rich water provided him with relief and he quickly recovered from his painful illness. But the bumpy ride in the carriage will probably also have contributed to the relief.

In a letter to his friend Philipp Melanchton he wrote:

"[...] from Tambach, the place where I was blessed, for here is my Phanuel, where God appeared to me."

In 1717, on the 200th anniversary of the Reformation, the Luther Fountain was erected on this spot.