A Village Keeps It's Promise
Oberammergau
The play is a testament to human tenacity - and strong faith. This year, once again, the townspeople of this tiny Bavarian village will keep their promise made in 1633, when a deadly plague spread through Europe following the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). It killed 80 townsfolk. The villagers promised to perform a play depicting the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ every 10 years if they were spared any further deaths. Miraculously, the disease halted. So, the following year, the first presentation took place. Since then, world events have intervened only a few times to keep them from taking to the stage.
The play initially was performed on a stage in the cemetery above the graves of the recent plague victims. In modern times, the locale has shifted. Today, the entire play, seen by more than half a million visitors from all over the world, takes place in 14 acts on a theater site built in 1830. Originally, it was an open-air venue. In 1890, the stage was enlarged, then renovated in 1990. Today, more than 4,720 viewers can be accommodated.
The play is set in the valley of the River Ammer, among the lush meadows and gentle foothills of the Ammergau Alps. It’s a beautiful village, a fairy-tale place, with its wooden balconies decorated with brilliant red geraniums and houses painted with cheery murals. This picturesque Bavarian village is only one hour away from the lively city of Munich.
In 2010, the 41st season will see 100-plus performances from May 15 to Oct. 3, every day except Monday and Wednesday. The presentation is long. Starting at 2:30pm, it finishes at 10:30, but that includes a three-hour dinner break from 5 to 8pm.
Tickets sell out quickly. Many tour companies are combining a visit to Oberammergau with visits to the Pilgrimage Church of Weis (a World Heritage Site) and stops at locales closely connected with Pope Benedict XVI, such as Marktl am Inn (where he was born and baptized in 1927), Freising Cathedral (where he and his brother Georg were ordained in 1951) and Regensburg (the university where he taught theology). Visit CometoGermany.com or e-mail tourist-info@oberammergau.de for more information.
The play is a testament to human tenacity - and strong faith. This year, once again, the townspeople of this tiny Bavarian village will keep their promise made in 1633, when a deadly plague spread through Europe following the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). It killed 80 townsfolk. The villagers promised to perform a play depicting the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ every 10 years if they were spared any further deaths. Miraculously, the disease halted. So, the following year, the first presentation took place. Since then, world events have intervened only a few times to keep them from taking to the stage.
The play initially was performed on a stage in the cemetery above the graves of the recent plague victims. In modern times, the locale has shifted. Today, the entire play, seen by more than half a million visitors from all over the world, takes place in 14 acts on a theater site built in 1830. Originally, it was an open-air venue. In 1890, the stage was enlarged, then renovated in 1990. Today, more than 4,720 viewers can be accommodated.
The play is set in the valley of the River Ammer, among the lush meadows and gentle foothills of the Ammergau Alps. It’s a beautiful village, a fairy-tale place, with its wooden balconies decorated with brilliant red geraniums and houses painted with cheery murals. This picturesque Bavarian village is only one hour away from the lively city of Munich.
In 2010, the 41st season will see 100-plus performances from May 15 to Oct. 3, every day except Monday and Wednesday. The presentation is long. Starting at 2:30pm, it finishes at 10:30, but that includes a three-hour dinner break from 5 to 8pm.
Tickets sell out quickly. Many tour companies are combining a visit to Oberammergau with visits to the Pilgrimage Church of Weis (a World Heritage Site) and stops at locales closely connected with Pope Benedict XVI, such as Marktl am Inn (where he was born and baptized in 1927), Freising Cathedral (where he and his brother Georg were ordained in 1951) and Regensburg (the university where he taught theology). Visit CometoGermany.com or e-mail tourist-info@oberammergau.de for more information.