Oberammergau : A Decade of Experiences in a Bavarian Village

This is a story of an American family's love affair with the quaint Bavarian village of Oberammergau, Germany. Oberammergau is located approximately 50 miles south of Munich, at the very foot of the magnificent Alps.

Every ten years, Oberammergau hosts the Passion Plays. In 1632, during the Thirty Years' War, the plague caused 80 deaths in this tiny village. The villagers pledged to perform the Passion of Christ every ten years if no further deaths occurred. The deaths stopped. The villagers have fulfilled their pledge, performing the Passion Play every ten years, beginning in 1634.

Through the eyes of this American family, meet the people of Oberammergau. Learn about their customs and special events, their cuisine, and the incredible beauty of their valley and the surrounding mountains. Visit sites in the immediate vicinity of Oberammergau: King Ludwig's Schloss Neuschwanstein (which inspired Disney) and Schloss Linderhof (inspired by Louis XIV of France), the Ettal Monastery, Wies Kirche (Church of the Meadows), the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany.