Oberammergau Passion Play (A History lesson & Travel hopes)

Video about Oberammergau Passion Play by Seagull Tours and Travel

Video source - Seagull Tours and Travel

History about Oberammergau

Image Source: Airport Hotel Saltzburg

After Thirty years of war, in 1633, soldiers returned home, BUT they brought the black death with them. Without realizing that they carried the "bacillus Yersinia pestis" with them. The pestis where spread by fleas which where carried by die black rats that accompanied the soldiers.

The little village of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps, in southern Germany, where free from the plague and they tried to keep it that way. They tried to manage those entering the village from outside, by keeping them out permanently.

One of the villagers where newly married and went out of town in a search for work. Since being one of the villagers he knew how to slip past the guards and the watch-fires.

Image Source: Wikimedia

But...

He brought one present with him - The Bubonic Plague

Within the next few months, within a population of 600 people, 84 died from the plague.

The Villagers then made a pledge:

They all gathered in front of the large crucifix, which still hangs in the parish church. They pledge that if God would stop the plague they will perform the story of Jesus' life every 10 years. From that day, nobody else died of the plague in Oberammergau. The next year, 1634, the first Oberammergau Passion Play was performed in a meadow in front of the church. From 1680 they decided to hold it at the beginning of each decade.

These villagers still keep their promise until today and will be holding the next passion play in 2020. They still feel obliged to their ancestors to keep this promise, since the lord has been faithful and no has has ever had the plague, in their village again.

Image Source: Alamy

The so-called "mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria protected Oberammergau from those who wanted to close down the "harmful" passion plays - some of the early plays were quite crude, with demons using strings of black sausages for the disembowelling of Judas Iscariot. Thomas Cook, a Baptist from Leicester, organised a "Cook's Tour" by train and coach to the village in 1871, and in the same year the future King Edward VII of England attempted, unsuccessfully, to remain incognito when he visited the Passion Play.

The text at Oberammergau is ancient but continually evolving, with a chorus commenting on the devotional meaning of the action in the style of the Pietists, and tableaux vivants when the actors freeze for several minutes in the gestures of scenes from the Old Testament.

A video about the Oberammergau Passion Play

Video Courtesy of Youtube

Our dream

My husband and I have always dreamed to tour the world and expand our knowledge. But their was always something that stopped our plans. We are both teachers with stacked programs so expanding our knowledge via touring just never happens. You always put someone else's kid and plans ahead of yours.

We have three kids, so our main priority was always providing for them. BUT sometimes you must do something for yourself, to expand your knowledge and to invest in YOURSELF!

So we have finally decided to go to Europe in 2020. This allows us to save up enough money between kids and school fees etc to help us realize this dream. We have book the Oberammergau 2020 tour by Seagull tours and travels. Here is die youtube link to their promo video:

We will be able to see the passion play that only occurs every ten years. How amazing can it be. We will be able to go and expand our knowledge about a culture that is lost to us, and bring back all the knowledge to show it to our kids and the learners at our school where we teach. We live in a small farming community where most kids in our school has never been out of Namibia.

With my husband having his Masters degree in Theology the Oberammergau Passion Play will be something that truly means a lot.

Link to our gogetfunding page

https://gogetfunding.com/travel-the-world-expand-our-knowledge-history/

Link to our fundmytravel page

https://www.fundmytravel.com/campaign/YxRYOB4mOG

Sources

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