On May 4, 1895, the monument on Karlsplatz in Eisenach was ceremoniously inaugurated. The former arrival of the reformer Martin Luther at Wartburg Castle was commemorated in a state ceremony. The foundation stone was laid five and a half years earlier on November 3 by the Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in the presence of representatives of the Protestant regional church, the Weimar court, the state government, the Eisenach town council and around 10,000 visitors. The sculptor Adolf von Donndorf was commissioned by the general assembly of the Evangelical Federation to create a unique monument to the most important man of the Protestant church. It depicts Martin Luther with his gown and Bible as a far-sighted but reserved thinker. Four bronze reliefs are incorporated into the plinth. They depict him as a Kurrendesinger, a Bible translator at Wartburg Castle and Junker Jörg in hunting garb. The fourth illustrates Luther's life maxim: „A strong fortress is our God“, the beginning of his famous hymn. The red stone plinth beneath the monument bears the inscription: ERRICHTET AM ERINNERUNGSTAGE VON LUTHERS ANKUNFT AUF WARTBURG, 4. MAY 1895. Contrary to the general opinion that Luther's gaze was directed towards Wartburg Castle, the Burschenschaftsdenkmal is located on the extended line of sight of the monument.