The aim of this paper is to show the importance and range of Schleiermacher's groundbreaking legacy to contemporary translation studies. Being the second outstanding statement on translation within the realm of German translation theory (after Luther's Circular Letter on Translation published in 1530), Schleiermacher's essay has broken new ground as it provided quite different insights into the translational activity from those traditionally proclaimed by translation theory at large. Its innovative traces at the theoretical, methodological and terminological levels explain the productivity and modernity of Schleiermacher's text and its continual reception up to present times.