Oberammergau Passion Play and the Bavarian Alps: A look into the 375 year old play and its region,19 April 2009 at 2:00 p.m. at the German American Heritage Center, 712 W 2nd Street, Davenport, IA.
On Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. the German American Heritage Center will host a program on the Oberammergau Passion Play and the Bavarian Alps, with guest speaker Werner Schafer-Junger.
The history of the Oberammergau Passion Play began when the people of Oberammergau, a village located in Bavaria, Germany, made an oath in 1633 to perform the play every ten years. The oath came about after months of suffering and death in the middle of the Thirty Years War, one of the most destructive conflicts in European history, while the worst pandemic in human history, the "Black Death" plague, was running its course. In 1633, the village of Oberammergau, swore that they would perform the "Play of the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ" every ten years if they were spared from the plague. At Pentecost 1634, the villagers kept their promise for the first time on a stage built over the fresh graves of the plague victims. In the year 2010 the Oberammergau Passion Play will once more be performed by more than 2,000 Oberammergauers, lasting six hours.
Do not miss the chance to learn about the extraordinary Oberammergau Passion Play and its regional history at the German American Heritage Center, April 19 at 2:00 p.m.
