|
The Oberammergau Passion Play Who has not heard of Oberammergau? The pretty village in the Bavarian Alps which has become world famous because of the Passion Plays performed in the village every ten years? The next season of performances is in 2010 and more than two thousand Oberammergau villagers will take part in the Passion Plays, fulfilling the solemn promise of their forefathers to perform a play depicting the Passion of Christ. Historically, the Oberammergau Passion Plays began in the time of the plague that decimated central Europe during the Thirty Years War at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1632, the plague even penetrated the remote mountain valleys of the Alps. Although villagers kept guard to prevent the plague reaching the village, a man from Oberammergau working as a farm labourer in a village 20 kilometres away carried the disease home. Within a year, the Black Death had claimed more than a fifth of the approximately 1,500 inhabitants of Oberammergau. With no end to the plague in sight, the village council and council of elders vowed on 27th October 1633 in the parish church to perform a Passion Play depicting the Passion of Christ every ten years if God would only show mercy and release their village from the clutches of the plague. The rest is history: from that hour on, no more villagers in Oberammergau died or became infected by the plague. The Passion Play was performed for the first time in 1634. Throughout the intervening centuries, despite many dangers and threats, and historical and cultural changes, the villagers of Oberammergau have maintained their solemn promise. The Passion Play The Passion Play today engulfs the village; just about everyone is involved in some way or other. With about 5000 spectators at every performance, it is the atmosphere of the event that is part of the whole experience. Even in the morning before the play begins, you can imagine the atmosphere and buzz in the village as thousands of theatre-goers fill the streets. The covered auditorium provides seating fro all the spectators, although the stage itself is open to the elements. The slightly stark style of the building ensures excellent acoustics so that everyone can hear every word, even though no amplification is used. The play is in German of course, but dont let that worry you. Assuming you know your gospel reasonably well you will be able to follow everything that is going on, for it is the emotion of the play that communicates the most powerfully. You will be given a copy of the text in English to follow if you wish. The Oberammergau Arrangements Our tickets for the Oberammergau Passion Play are among the best available for the 2010 event.
Tickets for the Oberammergau Passion Play include two nights accommodation in the village, and all your meals as well as the Play tickets themselves. The Play takes place during the afternoon and evening, so you have your arrival evening, and the morning of the performance day to enjoy in the village. Being based as near as possible to the centre of the village of Oberammergau is a distinct advantage. Actually we rejected almost all the first batch of tickets we were offered as they were all based too far from the centre of Oberammergau. Waiting has paid off as we now have some excellent tickets the majority of which are based in good quality hotels in the centre of Oberammergau itself. The hotels not in Oberammergau are in the next village in the valley Ettal just a very short bus ride away. A choice of quality
Our accommodation in Oberammergau We offer some excellent hotels in Oberammergau. Some are in the centre of the village, perfect for capturing the very special atmosphere, from the excitement building up to the play to the emotion once the play has finished. Our alternative hotels are in Ettal, just a five minute coach journey from Oberammergau.
Hotel Ludwig der Bayer - 3 star Ettal 23 June, 21 July & 25 August
Our holidays We are able to offer two different holiday packages for the Passion Play as follows: Wednesday departures 7 nights. Fly to Innsbruck Airport and drive to Oberammergau where you stay for two nights. The Passion Play performance is on Thursday. On Friday morning depart Oberammergau and drive to Austria where you stay in a good quality hotel for five nights before returning to Innsbruck Airport and the flight home. There are two dates (July 28 and August 4) where this pattern is reversed, ie you have five nights in Austria first and finish with the two nights at Oberammergau. Wednesday departures 10 nights. Fly to Innsbruck Airport and drive first to a resort in Austria where you will stay for three nights. On Saturday, drive to Oberammergau where you stay for two nights. The Passion Play performance is on Sunday. On Monday morning depart Oberammergau and drive to the Italian South Tyrol where you stay in a good quality hotel for five nights before returning to Innsbruck Airport We will be using good quality 3 & 4 star hotels in both Austria and Italy and we are sure that you will be well looked after. We will have a programme of walks, excursions and activities in the resorts we will be using and we are sure that you will have plenty of choice of things to do in these very beautiful corners of the Alps. Click here for full details of our featured resorts and hotels Click here for prices and itineraires Flights Flights for summer 2010 are not on sale yet, so we cannot confirm any arrangements at this stage, other than the fact that we plan to use Innsbruck Airport which is the best located airport for Oberammergau. Early indications are that our flights will be early in the day from Gatwick. Further details will be available later in 2009. No currency surcharges We guarantee that whatever happens to the pound between now and 2010, you will not pay any currency surcharges. If the pound continues to slide against the Euro any further releases of tickets will almost certainly be costed with higher prices than we can offer now. How to book Call us on 020 8949 8020 and we'll talk you through exactly what we have available - Please note we are open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm. |
|
The majority of our tickets are in good three star hotels, centrally located in Oberammergau, but we do have some cheaper tickets which include accommodation in guest houses and private accommodation. These rooms are always clean and well kept and you can save a considerable amount by taking these tickets. Bear in mind though that the best seats in the theatre are allocated to holders of the higher quality tickets.
Hotel Wolf - 3 star Central Oberammergau 23 & 30 June & 14 July 
Hotel Posh - 3 star 
Cafe Hochenleitner Oberammergau 26 May, 9 June, 11 & 18 August
Pension Kleiber Oberammergau 4,11 & 18 August
Hotel Blaue Gams - 3 star Ettal 26 May, 23 June, 21 July, 11 & 18 August
and the flight home.
|
