The picturesque village of Oberammergau in Bavaria. Oberammergau - open-air art gallery Village in Bavaria with painted houses

Some sources claim that this is a small city, but by Russian standards it is still a village with only about 5,000 inhabitants.

This pretty Bavarian village became famous for its theatrical production“The Passion of Christ”, which takes place every 10 years, and amazing painted houses. This painting technique has the scientific name “Luftlmalerei”; it was invented by a local artist, Franz Zwink, back in the 18th century.

The colors do not lose their brightness for a long time and do not fall off the walls of houses, despite the Bavarian dampness, which we had the misfortune of personally seeing. By the time we started our walk, the pouring rain had not stopped for more than a day and the temperature was only +12 degrees. It was 07/08/2014.

Performance of “The Passion of the Christ” or the “Passionspiel” festival

The Passion of the Christ was staged for the first time in 1633. At this time, an epidemic of plague or black death, as the disease was also called, was raging in Obberammengau. And the surviving villagers prayed in the church for salvation from the terrible disease and promised that if they remained alive, they would stage the play “The Passion of Christ” every 10 years, and if they broke the oath, then may the Lord send the plague on them again. And the residents carefully stage the performance for more than 380 years in a row. It is better not to tempt the Lord and not break promises.

Only those born in Oberammengau or who have lived for at least 20 years have the right to participate in the performance. The performance made its own adjustments to the appearance of the village. For example, many houses are painted with religious themes.

House opposite the Old Post Office - facade

House opposite the Old Post Office - side view

The inscription on the house “ANNO DOMINI 1633” means from the Nativity of Christ, and the year 1633 is exactly the year in which the inhabitants acted out the scene of the Passion of Christ for the first time.

Old Post (Alte Post)

Nowadays, the tradition of staging performances has been put on a broad commercial footing. Up to half a million tourists come to the performance and tickets are sold out a year before the performance, up to 800 people are involved in the extras, naturally all the local hotels, of which there are many, are occupied at this moment.

All hotels in the village are also designed in traditional Bavarian style.

A special theater for performances was built in the town. The theater is not idle even between performances; Oberammengau is simply covered with posters inviting people to the theater. We were unable to find out what the next performance would be about, since we don’t know German. The theater has an exhibition of props and costumes used in the play.

Some houses were named after the role the owner played in the production of The Passion of the Christ. There is the house of Pilate and the house of Judas. Roles were often passed down from father to son and so on.

Pilate's House (Pilatushaus)

The mountain in the background is Mount Kofel, 1342 meters high; there is a cross at the very top, but it didn’t work out in the photographs, it was too small. There is a hiking trail leading up the mountain, but unfortunately due to the incessant rain there was no point in even thinking about such a walk.

Church of St. Peter and Paul

Church of Saints Peter and Paul, in the foreground is the forestry house

Externally, the very modest Church of St. Peter and Paul impresses with the splendor of its interior decoration. In Bavaria, many churches probably look very modest on the outside and simply magnificent on the inside; the day before we had already seen a church in , which made the same impression.

A lot of church decor is made using wood carving, a traditional craft in Oberammengau. In every souvenir shop in the village you can buy many figurines carved from wood; religious and fairy tale motifs are popular. The workmanship on the details of small wooden figurines is impressive; the accuracy and pedantry of the Germans is immediately visible in this craft.

Church of Saints Peter and Paul

Next to the church there is a forestry house. There is also a water park and a large children's playground in Oberammengau, but again, due to weather conditions, these entertainments passed us by.

Forestry house, front facade

Cafe Hochenleitner Martin

Pretty cold and damp, we wandered into a very nice pastry shop.

Cafe Hochenleitner Martin - a very tasty confectionery

Coffee with Amaretto contributed to the discovery of a second wind. The cakes were simply incredible. It turns out that this cafe has existed as a family business for 25 years and everything they serve to guests is made in their own confectionery shop.

Cafe Hochenleitner Martin

The assortment includes several types of cakes and pastries, many different types of coffee, home-made ice cream and sweets.

Cafe Hochenleitner Martin - cakes

In 2012, the young owner of the establishment won second place in the international competition of young confectioners of the world, but it’s just a village cafe, but it turns out it’s so famous.

Cafe Hochenleitner Martin - sweets

For lovers of sweets, a very pleasant establishment, cozy interior and courteous service, what more could damp tourists wish for. There is a menu in English.

Street altar - Oberammengau

Bavarians are very religious. Right on the street you can see an altar in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary. Driving along rural roads, we saw crucifixes at crossroads; such crucifixes were installed to give travelers the opportunity to pray and ask for God’s blessing on the long journey.

IN local history museum Old German nativity scenes are on display on Dorfstrasse.

House “At the best butcher (Dedlerhaus)”

Oberammergau is a masterpiece village where else you can find something like this. Magnificent frescoes in the open air, unbreakable traditions that are more than 380 years old and ancient history, the village stands on the ancient route from Augsburg to Rome, the same one as the one we examined the day before.

Archaeological research has shown that the oldest traces of civilization on the site of the village of Oberammergau date back to 100 BC. Modern houses are also decorated with traditional paintings.

Just a painted house in Oberammengau

We spent 3 hours exploring the village along with visiting the pastry shop, but we went into numerous shops and souvenir shops many times to warm up a little and take a break from the rain. In Oberammengau there is a store of national Bavarian costumes, the prices there are high 200-300 euros per costume, they also sell artistic rubber boots, it seems that rain is not uncommon there.

Olga Born
(Germany, Munich)

Autumn everyday life in a Bavarian village

Olga Born's previous story about Germany:

Late autumn in southern Bavaria is not only the time of leaf fall, but also the mandatory change of summer tires to winter ones. The weather in the mountains is changeable - today a warm wind (Fön) came to visit from the southern side of the Alps, tomorrow snow and rain will suddenly arrive, and the day after tomorrow frosts will insistently request a visit and it is impossible to refuse them.

Bavarians, accustomed to the vagaries of the Alps, will not be caught by surprise - here everything is done in advance. Including registration at a car repair shop. The workshop whose services I use is located in a rural area, so while they were taking off summer sandals and putting on winter boots for my faithful friend, I had to somehow while away half an hour. I didn’t want to sit in a cafe at all, especially when it was a dry and warm autumn day outside, and I had a camera in my purse. And so I decided to just take a walk, besides, there is something to see in the Bavarian village.

A village in Bavaria has nothing in common with the picture that appears when mentioning a Russian village. Here, the social boundaries between the city and the countryside are erased, living outside the city, closer to nature, with a view of the Alps, not far from a lake or mountain river, is very prestigious, and having a plot of land near the water is downright expensive.

Each village often has an area of expensive villas, there is always a church, at least one restaurant, cafe, post office, Primary School, bank branch, bakery, butcher shop, doctors, some shops. What may not be there is a train station. Moreover, local residents are most often not upset by its absence, since this circumstance limits access to the countryside for curious tourists, and therefore life in the village goes on calmly and measuredly.

However, we will not delve into the degree of prestige of housing outside the city and the social opportunities of rural areas, but will focus on the mandatory attributes of any Bavarian village and the life of Bavarian peasants.

If theater begins with a coat rack, then any Bavarian settlement begins with Maibaum, which means “Maypole.” This building always stands in a central place in the village. If you happen to find yourself in a Bavarian village, know that next to the maypole you will find a restaurant serving national cuisine.

The trunk of the maypole is wrapped with ribbon or painted with a spiral stripe. In this case, the direction of the spiral is established quite clearly: from bottom to top, from left to right. In Bavarian villages, the maypole is blue and white, corresponding to the national colors of Bavaria. Attached to the sides of the maypole are images of everyday scenes telling about the activities of the inhabitants of this village (crafts, fishing, hunting, inn, dancing, etc.) Many legends and Bavarian traditions are associated with the maypole and its installation, so this structure deserves a separate story.

In Bavarian villages, local beer festivals are held from early May to mid-August. Moreover, these events will take place in a special area with benches, a dance stage and space for an orchestra. In late autumn, when no Bavarian celebrations are in sight, the foliage-covered area awaits its springtime, when southern Bavaria will once again begin a series of festivities with folk dancing and music, beer and sausages.

The people in these villages are conservative, friendly, polite and it is customary to say hello even to strangers. In Bavaria, when greeting you say “Grüß Gott!”, when greeting and farewell – “Servus!” Village men most often greet each other and address the ladies “Habe die Ehre!” - “I have the honor!”, slightly raising their hats.

In the part of the village where the peasants' houses are located, the architecture is special. The widespread use of natural wood is striking - carved balconies, roofs, sometimes the upper floor is entirely made of wood. In this case, the lower floor is white or light in color. Although there are also peasant houses built entirely of gray stone - a local alpine breed. Regardless of the type of building material, peasant houses are characterized by shutters painted in a folkloric manner and wooden benches standing on both sides of the main entrance to the house.

The house of a Bavarian peasant always consists of two parts - a living space and an adjacent cowshed, the entrance to which is also from the house itself. The top floor of the barn is built entirely of wood and provides hay storage.

Large garden plots with many apple, pear and plum trees, agricultural machinery in the yard, roosters strutting around the yard, manure - what a village without this! - and supplies of firewood, reliably sheltered from the vicissitudes of the weather - a typical picture that can be observed near a peasant house.

As a rule, peasants own quite large plots of land and entire meadows on which livestock graze. As soon as I approached the grazing cows and addressed one of them, her curious friends immediately came running and began to actively moo, as if telling me the latest village news and gossip. And then the coquette cows kindly agreed to pose.

A photo session with curly-haired and horned fashion models was interrupted by a call on a cell phone. I was informed that the car was ready for winter and could be picked up from the auto repair shop. The half-hour walk through the Bavarian village is over.

Olga Born
(Germany, Munich)

Lana Harrell. Dear readers!
If you have any questions for the author after the publication of this report, please send them, Olga Born will be happy to answer them.

Olga Born's previous story about Germany.

This place had all the prerequisites to become another ghost town, which appeared en masse in North America at the beginning of the 20th century. The abandonment of the city was not considered a major tragedy, most of which appeared in addition to the local mine, lumberjack or railroad. With the closure of the mines, the surrounding towns also disappeared, losing their economic meaning. No one wrote letters of complaint to the government or asked for help in arranging a place that no one needed - people simply moved to a new one.

In neighboring British Columbia, according to some estimates, there are about 1.5 thousand abandoned or semi-abandoned cities, some of which have become tourist attractions and now attract tourists. In some of these towns, a couple of people still live, and a local landmark may be, for example, a felled tree (or the stump of a tree) on which criminals used to be hanged.

The lumber town of Leavenworth, by all accounts, faced a similar fate, however, after the loss railway and the cessation of timber rafting, the town continued to exist. Existence, however, was depressive, without any work around. After suffering for several decades, local residents decided to make one last attempt to change the situation - to turn into a Bavarian village. And they succeeded.

Today, about 50 million descendants of Germans or who consider themselves Germans live in the United States (this is the largest ethnic group in the United States). So, this probably somehow influenced the choice of topic.

All houses in the city were rebuilt in the appropriate style.

German music plays throughout the city, and for some reason, Mister Tro-lo-lo. Now, thinking about Bavaria, I remember exactly this song :)

Restaurants and cafes offer German cuisine, sausages, beer, etc. are everywhere.

There are many flags around the city different countries.

However, there are more American flags.

All signs and lampposts are also consistent in style.

Half an hour's drive from the city there is the Stevens Pass ski resort. In the summer, people go mountain biking, canoe down mountain rivers, etc. From Seattle to the village it takes about 2 hours.

Seattle receives about 20 million tourists a year, so the Bavarian village gets plenty of it. Leavenworth is periodically included in ratings of the best tourist destinations and during road trips, those passing by will certainly stop by.

The park next to the village smacks of German diligence (the photos were taken at the very beginning of April, so there was still little greenery).

Not a single speck, benches everywhere.

Clean public toilets.

The signs tell the story of the lumberjacks.

You can raft on this river higher up.

The houses are most likely for rent.

The request not to bring weapons into the park, of course, betrays America.

However, in Washington there is also the opposite example, when the town failed to take advantage of the situation, despite incredible luck and coincidence of circumstances. On the other side of Seattle, on the Olympic Peninsula (), there is another lumber town - Forks (translated as forks), which has gained incredible popularity thanks to books and films about vampires. An unsightly, rainy and previously unknown place, thanks to Hollywood, suddenly turned into a vampire mecca for teenage girls. But despite the influx of tourists, Forks was still a forgotten hole.

Oberammergau... For some reason I can’t learn to correctly pronounce and write the name of this either tiny town or large village in Bavaria.
Oberammergau is a very picturesque settlement in the foothills of the Alps, famous primarily for its painted houses.

But there is one more feature unique to this village...

The history of the village of Oberammergau is dark, but with a happy ending.

Once in the Middle Ages it was a very prosperous city. But in 1633 the plague came to Oberammergau.

Residents of the town approached their problem creatively. They began to mourn the dead with a theatrical performance depicting the suffering and death of Christ. It’s like you’re distracted and not so scary and sad.

Then the plague receded, then a vaccine was invented and the plague was completely eradicated, and the residents of Oberammergau continue to stage their productions.

These productions are not simple. These are not even performances, but mysteries, a phenomenon in itself very rare.

Firstly, these productions do not happen often, but only once every ten (!!!) years.

Secondly, only those who were born in Oberammergau or have lived here for at least 20 years can participate.

Third, the theatrical performance lasts five and a half hours and consists of 16 acts.

Fourth, 1400 “actors” are involved in the mystery play.

Fifthly, all these “actors” begin to grow hair and facial hair appropriate for the role a year before the performance.

Here it is unique phenomenon which only happens here. The next performance will take place in 2020, so hurry up to see it!

The frescoes on the houses in Oberammergau are also not any different; they are called Luftlmalerei here.

In 1748, the artist Franz Zwink was born here, who later became famous for his unusually beautiful paintings of the facades of houses. In Oberammergau many houses have their own names. The house in which Frank Zwink lived was called "Zum Luftl", hence the name Luftlmalerei, which is now famous throughout the world.

Plaster paintings can be found on various subjects, but mainly on religious, fairy tales or from the life of Bavarian peasants. There are many paintings on the themes of the mystery productions mentioned above.