Oberammergau is a small, picturesque rural village of only 5,300 residents that lies mainly on the eastern bank of the River Ammer in a wide valley of the Ammergau Alps of southern Bavaria. It stands almost due north of Garmisch-Parkenkirchen and close to the Austrian border, within an extremely beautiful and popular, well visited area of the German Oberland. During the summer months it is surrounded by spectacular touring scenery and provides easy access to several attractive, tiny traditional Bavarian villages and offers a variety of activities from hiking and mountain bike tracks to climbing, and during the winter months it offers good opportunities for downhill, cross-country skiing and winter sleigh rides. Standing close to the ‘Romantic Road’ which begins or finishes at Fussen, Oberammergau is a great location to use as a base to visit the awesome castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, the popular Linderhof Castle and the Ettal Abbey, and a little further away the historic village of Mittenwald which is well known as a violin making centre!! Surrounded by green meadows and forest covered steep hills which are backed by snow capped mountains, the village is overlooked by the Kofel, a steep rocky outcrop which has been nicknamed the ‘Matterhorn of Oberammergau’. It is possible to climb to the summit from where fantastic views of the village and valley can be enjoyed. Oberammergau is however best known internationally for the famous Passion Play. The Oberammergau Passion Play is the oldest festival in Germany and has been performed every 10 years almost continuously since 1634. The village is also well known as a centre of traditional woodcarving and is a photographers delight due to the many traditional Bavarian buildings which are covered in external wall frescoes (called luftmalerei), making this one of the most picturesque towns in the Bavarian Alps.
The Passion Play is by far the main attraction of the village although it is only performed every 10 years with the next plays being 2010 and 2020 etc. This tradition commenced in 1634, when a travelling villager unknowingly carried the Black Death to Oberammergau causing nearly 100 residents to die!! The horrified survivors pledged to God that they would perform the Passion Play every 10 years if the village could be spared and protected from any further deaths by the plague. Since 1633 the village has been protected and the play has been performed almost continuously since 1634 except for periods when religious plays were banned. The play is performed in the Passion Play Theatre by 2,500 local amateur actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians all of which live in the village. The actors have already been appointed and have become part of the ‘Hair and Beard Decree’, meaning that they have to grow their hair and beards from Ash Wednesday, 25th February 2009 until the performances of April to September 2010.
If you are staying in Oberammergau for a few days why not spend some time looking around and see some of the local attractions such as the beautiful fresco paintings on the Pilatushaus, which is considered to be a masterpiece and compare them to the paintings of the Hansel and Gretel House, Forester’s Lodge, Musldomer House or the Peddler Houses. Some of these paintings originated from the hand of Franz Seraph Zwink who lived here in the late 18th century. Or have a look at the local Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul. This Rococo styled church was built between 1735 and 1740 and has an elegant and simple square tower with a clock and a black, onion domed roof. The cemetery contains graves for the poor souls who died from the plague of 1633. There is also the Museum of Local History which displays various sections of art and handicrafts over the years with an emphasis on wood carving from traditional to more modern themes. The origins of the woodcarving business in Oberammergau can be traced to the Middle Ages during which time the items were all religious and were transported throughout Europe due to their high quality. Today there are still approximately 60 woodcarvers in the village some of which demonstrate their skills during a living workshop in the Pilatushaus.
Within the vicinity of the village are other small communities most of which are home to lovingly cared for churches and abbeys, many of which can be visited by driving around the chapel loop road which passes many chapels, shrines, field crosses and monuments. Of the most important sites to see is the large and spectacular Benedictine Abbey Ettal. Founded in 1330 the abbey is well known for its projecting stucco decoration and the beautiful ceiling fresco. Today you can visit the Abbey, the Distillery of the Abbey and the Brewery Museum. In the village of Unterammergau can be seen the oldest church in the Ammergau Alps. It is a charming little church whose tower originated in the Gothic style and internally is finished with an enchanting Rococo filigree. For something a little different why not pay a visit to the Glenleiten Open Air Museum which includes over 60 Bavarian buildings of all sorts which has been brought together to re-construct the a living picture of the heritage of life in a farming community in Upper Bavaria around the 1900’s. Here you can also see people and horses at work!!
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