| Page Views: 362 Last Visit to Oberammergau: - | Oberammergau, Germany by al_mary - last update: Mar 2, 2006 |
Never heard of Oberammergau ?
It's a world-famous village in the Bavarian Alps. Oberammergauhas became world
famous because of the passion plays performed in the village every ten years.
More than 2,000 Oberammergau villagers will take part in the passion plays,
fulfilling the solems promise of their forefathers to perform a play depicting
the passion of Christ.
The Black Death
Historically, the Oberammergau Passion plays came about in the time of the
plague that decimated most of central Europe during the Thirty years War at
the beginning of the 17th Century.
In 1632, the plague even penetrated the remote mountain valleys of the Alps.
Although the villagers kept guard to prevent the plague reaching the village,
a man from Oberammergau working as a farm labourer in a village 20 km
away carried the disease home.
Within a year, the Black Death had claimed over a fifth of the approximately
1,500 inhabitants of Oberammergau. ith no end to the plague in sight, the
village council and council of elders vowed on 27th October 1633 in the
parish church to perform Passion plays depicting the passion of Christ
every ten years if God would only show mercy and release their village
from the clutches of the plague ......
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| Religious Hand Carved Wood |
|  | Virtually The Whole Village Is Involved
The rest is history, because no more
villagers in Oberammergau died or
became infected with the plague.
The Passion play was performed for
the first time in 1634. And throughout
the intervening centuries, despite many
dangers and threats, and historical and
cultural changes, most all the villagers of
Oberammaergau have maintained their
solemn promise ......
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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500,000 View The Plays
All the text and music for the play
is based basically on material from
the 19th Century according to a
decision reached by the villagers in
April 1996.
In 1990, more than 2,000 villagers
took part in the Passion plays mainly
on stage, in the choir and in the orchestra.
There is covered seating for around 4,600
spectators. Over the whole season,
this means that almost 500,000 visitors
can enjoy the world famous performances.
Click On Photo To Enlarge
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| Pros: | "Very Moving Play" | | Cons: | "Happens Only Every 10 Years" | | In A Nutshell: | "A Town To See If You Travel To Germany" |
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