languages_spoken_or_written johann von staupitz
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia . Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north , the Atlantic Ocean to the west , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . To the east and southeast , Europe is generally considered as separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains , the Ural River , the Caspian and Black Seas , and the waterways of the ___MASK91___ Straits . Yet the non - oceanic borders of Europe  a concept dating back to classical antiquity  are arbitrary . The primarily physiographic term " continent " as applied to Europe also incorporates cultural and political elements whose discontinuities are not always reflected by the continent ' s current overland boundaries . Munich ( also in British ___MASK52___ ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria , on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps . Munich is the third largest city in Germany , after Berlin and Hamburg , and the 12th biggest city of the European Union , with a population of above 1 . 5 million . The Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5 . 8 million people . Stuttgart ( Swabian : " Schduagert "), often nicknamed the "" Schwabenmetropole "" in reference to its location in the center of Swabia and the local dialect spoken by some natives , is the capital and largest city of the ___MASK68___ state of Baden - Württemberg . It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley locally known as the " Stuttgarter Kessel " an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest . Stuttgart ' s name comes from the Old High ___MASK68___ word "" Stuogarten "," or " stud farm "  a reference to the city ' s founding in 950 AD as a stud farm . Stuttgart  s urban area has a population of 623 , 738 , and a further making it the sixth largest city in Germany , 2 . 7 million people live in the city  s administrative region , and another 5 . 3 million people in its metropolitan area , making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany . Frankfurt am Main is a metropolis and the largest city in the ___MASK68___ state of Hesse and the fifth - largest city in Germany , with a 2015 population of 731 , 095 within its administrative boundaries , and 2 . 3 million in its urban area . The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine - Main Metropolitan Region , which has a population of 5 . 8 million and is Germany ' s second - largest metropolitan region after Rhine - Ruhr . Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013 , the geographic centre of the EU is about to the east of Frankfurt ' s CBD , the Bankenviertel . Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse , with around half of the population , and a majority of young people , having a migration background . A quarter of the population are foreign nationals , including many expatriates . Cologne is the largest city in the ___MASK68___ federal State of North Rhine - Westphalia and the fourth - largest city in Germany ( after Berlin , Hamburg , and Munich ). It is located within the Rhine - Ruhr metropolitan region , one of the major European metropolitan regions and the largest in Germany , with more than ten million inhabitants . Johann von Staupitz , O . S . B . , ( ca . 1460 , Motterwitz -- 28 December 1524 , St Peter ' s Archabbey , Salzburg ) was a theologian , university preacher , and Vicar General of the Augustinian friars in Germany , who supervised Martin Luther during a critical period in that man ' s spiritual life . Martin Luther himself remarked , `` If it had not been for Dr . Staupitz , I should have sunk in hell . '' Although he died as a Benedictine monk and had repudiated the Reformation , he is commemorated on 8 November as a priest in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod . Staupitz was born in Motterwitz about 1460 . Descended from an old Saxon family of Czech origin ( ze Stupic ) , he matriculated in the year 1485 and was accepted into the Augustinian order in Munich before being posted to Tübingen , where he was eventually promoted to the rank of prior . In 1500 , Staupitz was made a Doctor of Theology and in 1503 he was elected to the post of Vicar general of the ___MASK68___ Congregation of Augustinians . He was also made dean of the theology faculty at the new University of Wittenberg when it was founded in 1502 . In 1512 , while in his fifties , Staupitz resigned his professorship and relocated to the southern part of Germany , resigning his vicar - generalship officially in 1520 . In 1522 he accepted an offer from the Benedictines inviting him to join their order , becoming Abbot of St Peter ' s in Salzburg . As Augustinian Superior , Staupitz first met Martin Luther at Erfurt in April 1506 . A young monk plagued by persistent thoughts of spiritual inadequacy , Luther felt compelled to confess to Staupitz everything sinful he had ever done . At least once , Luther spent six hours confessing to Staupitz , who responded to the young man ' s doubts by counselling him on the Means of Grace and on salvation through the blood of Christ . He also commanded Luther to pursue a more academic career , hoping it would provide a distraction from his recurrent theological brooding . After Luther was branded a heretic in 1518 , Staupitz was appointed promagister of the Augustinian order to plead in protest with Luther , discussing the issue of indulgences in great detail . Staupitz is sometimes categorized as a forerunner of Luther , although his actual words indicate a man driven by anxious suspicions and an encouraging desire to understand Luther ' s objections . Staupitz perceived Luther ' s complaints as questions against clerical abuses , rather than as fundamental disputes of dogma . Ultimately , Staupitz released Martin Luther from the Augustinian order , preserving the good name of the order while simultaneously giving Luther freedom to act . His connection with Luther ' s views was now sealed , and in 1520 Pope Leo X demanded an abjuration and revocation of heresy from Staupitz . He refused to revoke , on the grounds that he had never asserted Luther ' s heresies himself , but he did abjure and recognize the Pontiff as his judge . Staupitz was no Lutheran , but was thoroughly Catholic in matters of faith , especially as regards the freedom of the will , the meritoriousness of good works , and justification , which has been established by Paulus from the writings of Staupitz . However , Luther perceived his abjuration as a betrayal . In his last letter to Luther in 1524 Staupitz made it clear he was bitter about the direction of the Reformation and its seemingly willful destruction of the unity of the Christian Church . Staupitz also wrote theological works on the topics of predestination , faith , and love . In 1559 , Pope Paul IV added these texts to the Index of Prohibited Books , seeing them as perhaps compromised by the friendly relations between Staupitz and Luther during Luther ' s earlier years . Staupitz died in 1524 at St Peter ' s Archabbey , Salzburg , where he had become a monk in 1522 , rising quickly to the post of abbot . He is now celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar . Hamburg ( local pronunciation ; ___MASK66___ / Low Saxon : " Hamborg " ), officially " Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg " ( Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg ), is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union . It is the second smallest German state by area . Its population is over 1 . 7 million people , and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5 . 1 million inhabitants . The city is situated on the river Elbe . The Protestant Reformation , often referred to simply as the Reformation ( from ___MASK95___ " reformatio ", " restoration , renewal "), was a schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther and continued by John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th century Europe . Timing most commonly used for this period is from 1517 ( the Ninety - five Theses are published by Martin Luther ) to 1648 ( Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years ' War ). The euro ( sign : €; code : EUR ) is the official currency of the eurozone , which consists of 19 of the member states of the European Union : Austria , Belgium , Cyprus , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , the ___MASK7___ , ___MASK13___ , Slovakia , Slovenia , and ___MASK3___ . The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the European Union and four other European countries , as well as unilaterally by two others , and is consequently used daily by some 337 million Europeans . Outside of Europe , a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency . Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in central - western Europe . It includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With about 82 million inhabitants , Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union . After the United States , it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world . Germany ' s capital and largest metropolis is Berlin . Other major cities include Hamburg , Munich , Cologne , Frankfurt , Stuttgart and Düsseldorf . Martin Luther ( 10 November 1483  18 February 1546 ), O . S . A ., was a ___MASK68___ professor of theology , composer , priest , monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation . Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church . He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God ' s punishment for sin could be purchased with money , proposing an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his " Ninety - five Theses " of 1517 . His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor . Düsseldorf ( Low Franconian , Ripuarian : " Düsseldörp " ) is the capital city of the ___MASK68___ state of North Rhine - Westphalia and the seventh most populous city in Germany . Düsseldorf is an international business and financial centre , renowned for its fashion and trade fairs . The city is headquarters to one Fortune Global 500 and two DAX companies . Messe Düsseldorf organises nearly one fifth of premier trade shows .