The History: 17th Century
1633 |
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It started with a vow. In the midst of the Thirty Years' War came the plague. After an outbreak in Oberammergau, one in two families mourned dead relatives. At the cemetery, plague victims made a vow, promising to put on a play portraying the suffering and death of the Lord. And, they would re-enact this ‘passion play' every ten years. They erected a symbol of Christ on poles and crossbars. 1634At Whitsun, the Oberammergauers first performed the ‘Play of the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ' on a stage constructed in the cemetery, right above the graves of recent plague victims. Encouraged by the Catholic Counter-Reformation, similar expressions of piety flourished elsewhere. Between 1600 and 1650, some 40 passion plays were performed in this region of Bavaria and neighbouring Austria. |
Etching by Oberammergau artist Hans Schwaighofer
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1662 |
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On the right is a copy of the oldest existing Oberammergau Passion Play script. A large number of the 4,502 verses came from older plays, written before 1634. A manuscript of a medieval passion play dating from the second half of the 15th century was found in the Augsburg monastery of St Ulrich and Alra. In 1586, Augsburg meistersinger and poet Sebastian Wild wrote and printed a passion ‘Tragedie' that was widely distributed. 1680The community voted to change the Passion Play performances to the first year of each decade. 1680 marked the sixth Oberammergau Passion Play. . |
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