Oberammergau - The Passion Play

Oberammergau: this picturesque Bavarian village in southern Germany, with its quaint window boxes and fairytale murals painted on its buildings, has been a woodcarving center since the 12th century. The town is best known, however, for the Passion play its residents have performed every decade since 1634.

According to tradition, the town's residents vowed to perform a play based on the life of Jesus if their lives were saved from the black plague that had reached epidemic proportions in the 17th century. While the town death records do not show an abrupt cessation of deaths in the village, tradition holds that the village was spared. The play was first performed on Pentecost in 1634, on a stage which was built at the cemetery over the fresh graves of the Black Death victims.

With a cast of over 2000 – all village residents – the play runs eight hours long, including an intermission during which a meal is served.  The play has attracted audiences from around the world since the late 19th century and will be viewed by approximately half a million people in 2010.  Dehoney Travel invites you to join us for this remarkable event, on an unforgettable tour featuring the best of Europe and highlighted by the magnificent Oberammergau Passion Play!