Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission if you purchase through those links.
Playmobil is a German toy company that produces fun play sets for kids like castles, houses, pirate ships but they also have special editions like Martin Luther, Mozart, and Albrecht Dürer.
The Luther figurine was produced for the Luther Year 2017 because it was the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation that Luther started when he nailed 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517. He didn’t really want to break from the Catholic Church but reform it.
Playmobil Martin Luther is holding a quill and the bible that he translated into German. Since he was wanted by the Catholic Church for criticizing them and for putting forth the notion that through faith alone a person could go to heaven Luther went into hiding. He lived as Junker Jörg in the Wartburg where he translated the Bible into German.
There had been other translations before but his was going to be the most widely read and understood. During the 16th century, many Germans (though there wasn’t a German state per se) spoke German dialects and somebody from Hamburg couldn’t understand a person from Munich or Cologne. The German language that Luther chose for his translation was a combination of the most common parts of the Germanic dialects and therefore the one that could be understood by most Germans. Luther’s translation also helped to establish the written German language.
Martin Luther Playmobil was and is one of the best selling figurines of the German toy company but there are other special editions that have been successful.
For one there is Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, German painter of the 15th and 16th century. He also proved a fast seller. There is the Milkmaid from the painting by Johannes Vermeer as well as The Night Watch by Rembrandt, unfortunately as of 10/28 both are currently unavailable.
A couple of historic people were also made into Playmobil figurines, unfortunately not all of them can be bought on amazon.com, other than Mozart and Levi Strauss. Though after a quick search on 10/28/21, these are also currently not available.
Other figurines like Heinrich der Löwe, Friedrich der Große, Theodor Fontane, Goethe, Ludwig Erhard and Goetz von Berlichingen can be found on amazon.de. Check for shipping charges when ordering from the US.
10/27/20 Update: While I was making a pinterest board of special edition Playmobil figurines, I came across a whole lot more than I had initially posted: Heidi, Bach, Markgraf Friedrich III u.v.m. You can also look at my pinterest board, however it’s not separated by amazon.com and amazon.de.
Only registered users can comment.
Comments are closed.