An adult is not very different from a child. Just growing up, we carefully hide our emotions, put on a mask of an adult, wise person's life. We live without noticing sometimes what kind of world is really around us. But if we don’t like something, everything can be changed. An example of this is the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria. Sights in it open to the traveler from the first step along its colorful streets. Let us plunge into this fabulous atmosphere, at least virtually .....
Village History
The most beautiful village in Europe has deep roots. The surroundings of Oberammergau were inhabited by the Celts throughout the valley of the Ammer River five centuries BC. And on the territory of the village traces of settlements dating back 3,000 years ago were found. The life of the now unique fairy-tale corner, lost among the alpine mountains, did not always flow as measuredly and calmly. In these parts battles were in full swing, as evidenced by the huge amount of weapons found in the ground. Peace in these places could be called the time of the end of the Great Migration of Peoples.
Remark:
... according to the Gothic historian Jordan, in the second century the Goths living in Scandinavia were faced with the problem of overpopulation. According to legend, the Gothic king Filimer decided to move to another region with his families: “When a great number of people grew up there, and only fifth after King Berig ruled Filimir, he decided that the army was ready to move along with their families from there. In search of the most convenient areas and suitable places for settlement, he came to the lands of Scythia, which in their language were called Oyum. ”
Source: The Great Migration: The Greatest Mystery of History
Village of Masters
In the XIV century, quite by accident, as it sometimes happens in history, the village of Oberammergau (Germany) became a tourist attraction, turning into a "village of masters." Thanks, one might say, to a horse that tripped on a stone, and Louis IV, returning from a campaign in 1327, accepted this as a sign of God. It was ordered by the emperor at this place to lay a stone in the foundation of the future Ettal monastery. This happened near the very village of Oberammergau.
The emperor promised those residents of the village liberation from serfdom, who will help in the construction of the temple. Woodcarvers were found among the residents, and after a while, carvings of wooden utensils for decorating the temple began to be brought to the temple. They began to come to the village to learn craft, and becoming specialists, continued the work of their teachers to decorate the temple.
Religion and Plague War
However, the current fame connects the village of Oberammergau with sights from another no less interesting history. And it began in the XVII century during the ruthless and senseless thirty-year war of two branches of religion. Church savages robbed monasteries, killed monks, destroyed shrines. They blew up the ancient church, rebuilt and decorated by the inhabitants of Oberammergau (subsequently restored). The only right decision at that time that the villagers made was to shut themselves off from the outside world by blocking the entrances to the valley. They were closed from the war, but not from the plague! Any war brings disasters to the people, and not a third of the villagers carried away by the plague died here.
The survivors held a collective prayer, calling for divine intervention in the name of saving their families. They vowed to God that if the deaths from the plague ceased, every 10 years on Easter the villagers would give a biblical theatrical performance entitled "The Passion of Christ." Legend has it that the plague receded, but this vow is also fulfilled by the inhabitants of the village, which in turn is a peculiar attraction of Oberammergau (photo).
Keeping his promise, the people of Oberammergau performed the first play in 1634 and continue to perform it for centuries in the rebuilt and roomy Passion Theater. In 2010, the play was played 41 times.
About the performance
The first performance was at Pentecost 1634. Residents played their sixth performance in 1680, instead of 1684, thereby switching to zero endings in dates. Only those who were born in this village or, at least, lived in it for 20 years can play a performance. During the year before the performance, artists who play the main roles: Jesus, high priests, apostles do not shave and do not cut their hair. What is called a game without wigs.
According to Anton Burkhart, who portrayed Christ in 1990 and 2000, it’s physically tiring to hang on the cross for 20 minutes. Naturally, the actor is not crucified, in the performance in Oberammergau, under his loincloth, the harness that holds him on the cross. The crown of thorns on the head is real, but the ends are trimmed. The nails are bent so that the impression of hammered hands and feet. Theatrical blood drips from the body, and under the heels there are small protrusions on which he can relax.
2000 years after Golgotha, the world is not completely redeemed from suffering. On the stage of the crucifixion, the audience has the strongest emotions - people cry. Those tourists who come to Oberammergau for the performance do not remain indifferent to what is happening not only on the stage. They become involved participants in the performance, experiencing some unresolved problems. According to them, what is happening passes through the soul ...
About performance details
Behind the scenes is the oldest piece of furniture made by the craftsmen of the village - this is a 200-year-old communion table - one of the attractions of Oberammergau (pictured above). Roman shields hang on the wall, spears in the gutter, they are surprisingly heavy. The costume of the High Priest Herod is decorated with feathers, the attire of the representatives of the high council looks great. Twelve seamstresses work on costumes, shoe makers sew shoes for the entire population of Oberammergau (all young and old are involved in the play). You can see three massive crosses seven meters long and weighing 70 kilograms. Jesus had to raise his cross in Jerusalem, and carry it to Gollflu. The same applies to performers of the role of Christ in Oberammergau.
Painting on the houses of the village
In the theatrical off-season, lasting nine years, the village lives its measured life, still taking tourists. But she always looks smart, as if every day preparing for the holiday. Her painted houses are pleasing to the eye. And after all, the colors on the frescoes of her houses in the open do not spread and fade. For example, the judge’s house in Oberammergau looks very beautiful (pictured below), which at one time housed the post office and the newspaper’s publishing house.
The founder of this mural lived in the 18th century. He was a talented young man, the son of a set designer for the Passion of Christ. Helping his father with the scenery, he decided to try to paint his father’s house. The villagers really liked the drawings of Franz Zwink and soon the artist was inundated with orders. So, he devoted his whole life to painting houses. The rumor about a unique artist spread throughout Bavaria, and orders rained down not only from fellow villagers. The painting technique is called Luftlmalerei, which translates from German as "air painting". In his first mural, Franz painted Zum Luftl - "to the sky (air)"
Frescoed houses
Walking through the streets, you can say the real city of Oberammergau (pictured), there is a feeling that you are in a fairy tale or in an art gallery. Each house is painted with scenes from biblical stories, or illustrations for the tales of famous German storytellers, the brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault.
In addition to the house of the judge, the village has a forestry house, the house of the best butcher is beautifully painted. But in the house of Judah, a whole generation of artists has grown up, whose representative plays this role every decade. You can walk around the village all day, looking at each fresco. The uniqueness of the frescoes is that not a single drawing, not a single plot from a fairy tale is repeated. Every house in Oberammergau is a tourist attraction. That is why professional photo artists often come here and do numerous photo sessions.
Revived tales
Ten minutes from the center of Oberammergau is the area of houses located on the Ettalerstrasse. Frescoes appeared on them in the XX century. These are mainly stories from different fairy tales. Looking at these frescoes, you understand that the Oberammergau landmark (pictured) with a description of the fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood and her adventures in the forest is a real masterpiece of painting. Looking at the fresco where Little Red Riding Hood is holding a basket, you understand that there are no pies ... All the children in Germany know well what they need to carry to their grandmother so that she can recover! On the frescoes, a bottle of wine and a cake baked by mom are clearly visible in the basket.
Approaching the house with the plot of the fairy tale "Seven Little Kids and the Wolf", we are surprised to notice the discrepancy again. It turns out that initially in the fairy tale the goat had only five kids. There is a house with a painting for the fairy tale "Bremen Town Musicians" and for the fairy tale "About Hansel and Gretel."
Modern Oberammergau
Today's Oberammergau village is the most comfortable and convenient tourist center of Bavaria. It is literally located in the center of the surrounding attractions, such as the Garmisch-Partenkirchen ski resort and the popular Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles. This is the center of cultural life. The traditions of a unique craft, such as wood carvings, murals, and other folk crafts, continue to develop in the village. Tourists coming to Oberammergau never go home empty-handed. They take with them a piece of the heat invested by the craftsmen in unique wooden souvenirs, utensils and toys. Many wood crafts are located in the house of Pilate painted with beautiful frescoes - a museum-workshop of woodcarving.
Along with this, modern life flows with supermarkets, water parks, ski tracks, rock groups. The villagers are able to combine the reality of the new century with their rich and interesting centuries-old history.