Oberammergau Passion Play

In 1633 the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, now in Germany, prayed that if God would spare them from the effects of the bubonic plague ravaging the region they would perform a play depicting the life and death of Jesus Christ every ten years. They were spared, and the play was first performed in 1634.

The play, now performed during the first year of each decade, involves over 2000 performers, all of whom are residents of the village. The play has a running time of approximately five hours, and audiences come from all over the world. The most recent performance was in 2000.

See also Anti-Semitism

External Links

see review by Ingrid H. Shafer, Ph.D. of Ecumene