Gemeinde Oberammergau

Welcome to Ober-amm-er-gow, a gem of a town nestled in the quiet Bavarian mountains along the banks of the Ammer River. As you look around, you'll see a landscape that seems almost too perfect to be real—a place where the…

To understand Ober-amm-er-gow, one must understand the year sixteen-thirty-four. This was a time of unimaginable hardship, as the Thirty Years' War ravaged Europe and the Black Death swept through Bavarian villages. …

As we stroll through the town center, your eyes will inevitably be drawn upward to the facades of the buildings. Ober-amm-er-gow is renowned for its Looftel-maler-eye, a traditional form of fresco painting found throughout Upper…

Ober-amm-er-gow is often called the village of the 'Herr-gott-shnitt-zer,' or the 'Carvers of Our Lord.' For over five hundred years, woodcarving has been the primary economic and artistic engine of this community. This tradition…

For a change of pace, let us head toward the outskirts of town to explore a fascinating piece of industrial and natural history: the Shlyfe-mule-klamm, or Whetstone Gorge. While Ober-amm-er-gow is famous for art and theater, the…

Returning to the heart of Ober-amm-er-gow, we must visit the local museum, which houses one of the town's most extraordinary—and perhaps slightly eccentric—artifacts. As we discussed earlier, the participants in the Passion Play…

No scholarly exploration of a Bavarian village is complete without an examination of its culinary and brewing traditions. To experience the modern taste of Ober-amm-er-gow, we visit Max-bröy, a microbrewery and restaurant that…

As we conclude our journey through Ober-amm-er-gow, we reflect on a community that has achieved a rare feat: it has become a global phenomenon while remaining a deeply rooted, authentic village. From the solemnity of the Passion…