Oberammergau 2010

Oberammergau is a town located approximately 60 miles from Munich. The town is beautiful, surrounded by majestic mountains and picturesque meadows. The village is known for woodcarving. There are dozens of woodcarver shops. The town is also famous for its Bavarian themes painted along side many of the homes and buildings.

What made the town famous, was its performance of the Passion of Christ every decade. It is believed that the Passion Play has been held every 10 years since 1634. During that time, the Black Plague was sweeping through Europe. The villagers of Oberammergau vowed that is their town was spared, they would perform the Passion of Christ every 10 years. The town was spared, and  it is amazing that they have been honoring this pledge from generation to generation, with the 31st Passion Play performances being held May 15th through October 3rd, 2010.

To be in the play, you must be a resident of Oberammergau. Over 2,000 citizens are involved including acting, singing, musicians and technical support.  There are 124 speaking roles, a 65-member orchestra, 48 person chorus and hundreds of people involved in the back end including stagehands, seamstresses, firemen, auditorium attendants and more. Men grow out their hair and beards to make the look authentic to the time. Costumes are hand made.  During these months, the play is performed 5 days per week in an open-air theater which seats about 5,000 people. The performance begins at 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. There is then a dinner break, and the play resumes from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The play is performed in German, but it doesn’t seem to stop people from all over the world, including those that are not of religious backgrounds that are intrigued by the way the town comes together to perform this play. It is anticipated over 500,000 will attend in 2010.

You can can combine the Passion Play with a stay in Munich for as short as 3 nights, or you can take a river cruise, escorted tours or even a Princess Med cruise combined with the Passion Play. Packages are selling out, so book early to avoid disappointment. Visit our Passion Play website to view the available trips and dates.

Oberammergau Passion Play Tickets 2010

With every performance of the Passion Play selling out, the package inclusions can be confusing, particularly the type of accommodations & tickets
that are included.

The Passion Play Theatre has 4,720 total seats. All offer a good view of the stage from all seating categories, and the acoustics in the theatre are excellent, however many clients want to be closer to the stage.

The Tickets:

Tickets for the Passion Play 2010 are only available as part of an official package. The tickets are allocated together with the accommodation by the the tour companies, and Atlas has no control over the exact location of the seats, although we are pleased to announce that our approved tickets are all linked to excellent accommodation in Oberammergau & surrounding villages. 

The better quality hotels come with the better seats for the performance. The plan of the theatre below shows the seating layout & the corresponding ticket categories, so if you want the best tickets, make sure that you are booking a tour that offers Category 1A seating.

Please note, tickets are not given in advance. Your tickets will be issued to you upon arrival in Europe by your tour guide.

Ticket Categories:

 

Categories for accommodations are chosen after a thorough inspection of all rooms. They are based solely on the degree of space & furnishings provided & not by the stars assigned to it by the German Hotel Classifications. In some locations rooms may be assigned in different categories.

HC 2 – Superior First Class 4+-star Hotel with Category 1A Tickets
Superior Hotels with cozy furnishings and spacious rooms. Each room has its own private bathroom and a corner seating area. They are also outfitted with a minibar or wide variety of drinks, color T.V., radio, direct-dial telephone, Internet access, hair dryer, toiletries, and bathrobes on request.

HC 3 – First Class 4-star Hotel with Category 1 Tickets
Middle Class Hotels with a private bathroom in each room. They are also outfitted with a minibar or wide variety of drinks, color T.V., radio, direct-dial telephone, hair dryer, and toiletries.

HC 4 – Tourist Class 3-star Hotel with Category 2 Tickets
Middle Class Hotels with a private bathroom in each room. They are also outfitted with a T.V.

Please note: The accommodation categories for the Oberammergau Passion Play 2010 have been graded by the Passion Play Committee and are based on the size and furnishings of the rooms; they do not, however, comply with the star ratings allocated to the establishments by the official German hotel classification. Some accommodation establishments may also offer rooms of different categories.

For more on the Passion Play visit www.passionplaytours.com

Princess Cruises Oberammergau Passion Play

Posted:         July 17th, 2009
Author:         Princess Cruise Line
Category:     Cruise News | Oberammergau

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (July 17, 2009) — Princess has added a rare opportunity to its 2010 cruisetour lineup in Europe — a unique cruisetour designed to include the famed Oberammergau Passion Play, which is performed only once each decade in this small Bavarian village in Germany.

The new 18-day “Oberammergau & Highlights of Germany” tour features two nights in the southern German town of Oberammergau, and includes tickets to the event. Passengers will also visit a variety of other top German destinations during the eight-day land tour, including Frankfurt, the Black Forest, Munich Nuremberg and Berlin. In addition, the tour will connect seamlessly with a 10-day Scandinavia/Russia cruise aboard Star Princess. Two departures are offered on August 2 and August 12, 2010.

“This is such a unique opportunity, one that literally only comes around once every 10 years,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “This new cruisetour makes it easy to enjoy this famous event, plus take in many of the other attractions for which Germany is famous, coupled with one of our wonderful cruises through the Baltic region. This is yet another example of our commitment to provide our passengers with fascinating experiences around the world.”

The Oberammergau Passion Play has been held every ten years since 1634 in thanksgiving for deliverance from the Black Death in 1633. The play is now performed in years ending with a zero (except 1984 which was the 350th anniversary), and involves more than 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all of whom are residents of the village. All cast members have lived in the village at least 20 years and must be amateurs of high moral and ethical principles. Villagers also make all the costumes for the production and, as no wigs are used, participants must grow their hair and beards for several months prior to the performances.

The “Oberammergau & Highlights of Germany” cruisetour is one of Princess’ four Europe cruisetour options available next season. Travelers can also opt for the 18-day “Europe’s Imperial Treasures,” which features the cathedrals and castles of four capitals that have figured prominently in history — Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Berlin — and includes a Star Princess Scandinavia and Russia sailing. The 17-day “Classic Italy” tour offers the charms of Florence and Rome, and can connect to a number of Princess’ Mediterranean sailings. The 16-day “Ring of Kerry” tour offers some of the Emerald Isle’s most inspiring landscapes with visits to Shannon, Killarney and Cork, plus a Crown Princess British Isles cruise.

Fares for the 18-day Oberammergau cruisetour begin at $5,319 per person, based on double occupancy. Capacity is limited on these special tours, and could fill quickly. Call for details.

Oberammergau Passion Play

Witness this once in a lifetime event.

Ok so the single biggest question we are getting is WHEN WILL WE BE ABLE TO BOOK? That’s a good question. You can book now, but the rates for airfare are not included at this time, just the land only. We have a dedicated website for all the tours available for the Oberammergau Passion Play including packages as short as 4 days, to multi-country tours and river cruises that include the performance.