#uniquedestinations

Oberammergau painted facades (iStock image)

Oberammergau is a little town located in Bavarian Alps, not far from Munich. The town is famous for its woodcarving tradition, which is kept alive since 1520 and also for the magnificent painted facades of its buildings. The citizens of the town have created real masterpieces, that represent biblical scenes, peasant paintings, local fairy tales and other classic representations.

Tableau of Oberammergau Passion Play. Vintage halftone circa late 19th century. (iStock image)

But Oberammargau is really famous for the Passion Play that takes place here every ten years. The Passion Play was first performed in 1634 and was the result of the vow made by the inhabitants : if God spared their village from plague, they would perform a passion play every ten years. According to the myth a man arrived to the town for Christmas and had brought the plague with him. The plague began spreading throughout Oberammergau but after the vow was made, not another inhabitant of the town died. At the same time all of the town citizens suffering from the plague finally recovered.

Passion Play publicity photo

The play is performed in years ending in zero and also was performed in 1934 (the 300th anniversary) and in 1984 (the 350th anniversary). Nowadays it is an event that involves over 2000 actors, singers, musicians and technicians, who are all citizens of the town. The show has great production, enchanting music, well written scripts, spectacular settings and imaginative costumes. It has a total length of almost six hours and consists of sixteen acts. The play is in German but a textbook comes out every time with the translation in various languages.

Oberammergau publicity photo

In 2010 the show was attended by over 500.000 people from all over the world. The next show is going to be held in 2020 (from May to October) and you could already buy tickets. For more information check the official site.

Buy your tickets, visit this picturesque village and watch a magnificent show that you could attend only every ten years.

Oberammergau (iStock image)

This is an official video presenting the show and how it is created :