Oberammergau: This small medieval town in the Bavaria region of Germany is located very close to Füssen, the last stop of the Romantic Road. I still wonder why this little town isn't one of the stops on the Romantic Road. Maybe it's because Oberammergau doesn't have a romantic spirit but the air of a fairy tale thanks to the many Grimm heroes you come across all over its streets.
The closest major city to Oberammergau is Munich. Located about an hour and a half away from Munich's Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Oberammergau will make you forget the industrial smell of Germany, its disciplined, serious-looking people and its icy air.
From the moment you enter the borders of Oberammergau, you will find yourself in one of the tales of the Brothers Grimm. You will meet a fairy tale hero at every step in Oberammergau, where the tales of the Brothers Grimm, the fairy tale heroes of our childhood, are depicted on the local houses.
On the walls of the houses, you will find not only fairy tale heroes and sections from stories but also religious motifs. In fact, it is no coincidence that the houses in Oberammergau are so ornate. It is said that it was a tradition to decorate the facades of houses with wall frescoes called "Luftlmalerei" in Oberammergau in the eighth century. This tradition started with coloring window frames to decorate the facades of houses. These decorations later turned into religious motifs and fairy tale scenes.
At that time, these decorations were also an indicator of the welfare level of the people living in the house. There are two different assumptions about the name given to these ornaments. It is said that the name Luftlmalerei was given to the decorations because a local artist Franz Seraph Zwinck – who made the first decoration in the town – lived in a house called Zum Luftl. In another assumption, it is said that the name is used because the decorations are made in the open air on the exteriors of the houses, and the word Luft means open air. I don't know why this name was chosen, but with these decorations, this town takes on a completely different beauty.
There is another detail that will make you visit this town. At the end of every decade, a theater production called the "Passion Play" is performed in the town. In this play, in which approximately 2,000 people participate, the life of Jesus is narrated. What's really interesting about this play though is the reason behind it. The fact that this takes place every 10 years is based on an oath that the townspeople took from the time of the Thirty Years' War back in the 17th century.
The story is as follows: Due to a plague that occurred at that time, 80 people died in Oberammergau. So, the people in the town prayed for God's help and promised that they would narrate the life of Jesus every 10 years if the plague ended. When the plague ended in 1634, they performed a small-scale production for the first time.
The people of Oberammergau perform this play every 10 years since then, keeping the promise they made. The play was interrupted only once in 1940 during World War II, which also affected Oberammergau.
The "Passion Play" has been performed in today's Passions Theater since 1830. The theater stage has been rebuilt many times and took its current form in 1930. You have a good view of the stage from every seat in the theater, which is designed as floors that rise toward the back. It is said that about 4,800 seats were occupied during the performance in 1900. Preserving this tradition and carrying it to the present, the people of Oberammergau believe that this play, which has been performed for nearly 400 years, provides hope and salvation for the world every 10 years.
Since the people of Oberammergau have a great talent for wood carving and dealing with colors and shapes, they also make the decorations, costumes and stage designs for the play themselves.
If you are going to Oberammergau to experience the tradition of the "Passion Play," I would like to mention that the tickets can be reserved 10 years in advance and sell out quickly.
I should also mention the Benedictine monastery that you can visit en route to Oberammergau: Ettal Abbey.
Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery located in the village of Ettal, near Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. One of the largest Benedictine houses, the abbey is a major attraction in the region. I don't know if we would have come to Ettal personally if it wasn't on our way, but sometimes the places along the way that you didn't plan to visit can really have a profound impact. That's how it was for us. This is a very impressive place with its mystical atmosphere and structure that surrounds you as soon as you step out of its garden. Besides being a church, it is a monastery where religious education is given.
There's a reason behind it being on the road, of course. The monastery was built in 1330 to ensure the safety of the roads and provide shelter for the knights. Surviving a great fire in the 1700s, it was later reborn in the hands of an Italian architect. Due to our admiration for Baroque-style architecture, after hearing this it became clear why this site became a fast favorite after the Siena Cathedral and San Marco in Venice. We did not want to leave the white garden of the abbey after learning it was the largest Benedictine monastery in Europe.
Due to the fact that the building is higher than the surrounding structures, when we tilted our heads up in the garden, we saw nothing but the snow-covered Alps and deep blue clouds. Breathing the mystical air while taking in the dazzling white snow was really an experience worth having.
Ettal Benedictine Abbey and Oberammergau hosted us twice in winter. Since I did not have the chance to visit Oberammergau in the spring or in a year ending with a zero, I could not watch the "Passion Play." If you can't make it either, don't be too upset because each of the streets of Oberammergau is like a theater stage or a page of a fairy tale book in itself.
Looking up and seeing the white Alps, this small town where you come face to face with fairy tale heroes offers wonderful views, especially in the winter.
While wandering the streets, you come across wonderful scenes adorning houses including depictions of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel being abandoned in the forest and falling into the hands of a witch, Cinderella's chariot turning into a pumpkin, the Town Musicians of Bremen and much more.
Every time I come here, I dream of the answer to the question: "What would it be like if I lived here?"
Imagine passing houses featuring fairy tale heroes on your way to work every day. A little further on, you salute the Steadfast Tin Soldier in front of the house with a painting of Cinderella and go on about your business. I imagine even routine tasks would be a pleasure in this town surrounded by fairy tales.
Oberammergau is a wonderful town that is ready to erase an image of Germany you may have conjured in your head that associates the country with industrial cities, factories, sullen faces, walls and war ruins.
Frankly, this preconceived image that I had is fading every day as we experience the fairy tale towns of Germany such as Oberammergau and continue our travels, especially in winter.
There are many beautiful towns in Bavaria that you should see other than the ones on the Romantic Road. To tell you a secret, most of these trails through the Alps will take you to a fairy tale. I can't promise you will see the Smurfs if you behave yourself, however, you can find yourself surrounded by many Grimm fairy tale heroes, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, Cinderella and the Town Musicians of Bremen.
Walking the streets of Oberammergau is like navigating the pages of the tales of the Brothers Grimm. The town is a fairy tale we would love to read again.
