August Hermann Francke, the leading figure of Halle's Pietism, requested six weeks' leave from the Prussian king after the regular termination of his Prorectorates in July 1717. In fact, the approved vacation, which he completed with his son and two employees, lasted more than 30 weeks and became a "kind of missionary journey" (Gustav Kramer 1875, 187) and "an energy-sapping propaganda enterprise" (Horst Weigelt 2001, 208), according to previous research. This was aimed at improving the reputation of the University of Halle and the Glaucha institutions founded by Francke.

The project, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation and carried out in cooperation with the Francke Foundations in Halle
Francke's diary, the extensive correspondence, sermons preached and travel reports written during the journey, the project aims to investigate the significance of the so-called "Journey into the Empire" for the establishment of Pietism as a variety of Lutheran churchmanship in the Old Empire. The extent to which the journey through Thuringia, Hesse, Württemberg and Bavaria was intentional or the result of situational interactions and constant agreements with Berlin will be investigated, as will Francke's positioning vis-à-vis local separatist movements, which were also considered 'Pietist' and thus posed a threat to the 'Pietism brand'. The analysis of the differentiation of addressees according to class, office and gender - Francke met representatives of all classes on his journey, such as dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses, civil servants, representatives of municipal magistrates and their wives and maids as well as pastors and pastors' wives - also provides insights into relatively new fields of research such as nobility and religiosity, image formation in the early modern period and gender and Pietism.