Oberammergau Passion Plays
It all started with the Bubonic Plague and a pledge to God
A summer’s day and an afternoon coffee break in the quaint Bavarian village of Oberammergau is a true delight. Nestling in the Ammer valley surrounded by the foothills of the alps, this small town with traditional houses adorned with frescos attracts many visitors. However, one could be excused for wondering why everyone visits Oberammerau instead of one of the neighbouring villages, which are equally pretty and appealing. The answer dates back to 1633 when the bubonic plague swept through Europe, with Oberammergau not being spared. Day after day with more and more citizens succumbing to this terrible disease, the people agreed to try to contain the plague and not leave their community for fear of spreading the contagious virus to other districts. Oberammergau’s citizens also made a pledge to God, a pledge that they would act out a passion play about the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, every 10 years, on the condition that no more inhabitants of Oberammergau were to perish because of this deadly outbreak. The villagers were answered by God and the deaths and infections ceased, so in 1634 the very first passion play took place by the graves of the ones who had lost their lives to this vicious plague.
The promise to God was kept, with the plays being performed every 10 years thereafter and only being interrupted by war, until 2020 when the plays were disrupted by another pandemic, Covid-19. In 2020 the Passion Play had to be postponed for two years due to the corona-pandemic. The 42nd Oberammergau Passion Play will now take place from 14 May to 2 October 2022.
Oberammergau is usually a village we visit for a coffee stop and hear about the famous Passion Plays; a place we pass through en route to Munich or Innsbruck or after visiting King Ludwig’s Castles. However, every ten years Oberammergau becomes the main attraction in Bavaria, more important than the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle built by the mad King Ludwig, that millions flock to see each year; even more important than the state capital Munich. Oberammergau has a place in the sun every decade and the townsfolk rely on this. As we approach that magical year at the end of the decade when the plays run 5 times a week from May to October, this village seems to transform itself from a sleepy village to a community alive with expectation. Hotel, restaurant and souvenir shop owners rub their hands in glee at the thought of 4,000 visitors a day for a 5-month period and for some this event is the making of them. The former owner of the Theatre Café situated next the Passion Play house told me that the whole community lives for this once in a decade event and that he was selling up as he could not keep looking forward to something that happened only 5 or 6 times in his adult life. It is a unique situation and there can there be any other towns that are quiet for 9 years and become the centre stage of their whole region for one summer on the tenth year. I think not. This is one of the reasons the Oberammergau Passion Plays are so special.
With a cast of 2,000 locals the Oberammergau Passion Plays are truly a most memorable, once in a lifetime experience. Book your spot
