If you're looking for a unique experience that transcends standard sightseeing, be sure to include Oberammergau Passion Play in the heart of the bewitching Bavarian Alps in your 2010 travel plans.

The play is the story of Christ, but even those of you who aren’t religious will enjoy this admirable rarity. The play attracts a worldwide audience when it is put on every ten years by the inhabitants of the tiny, picturesque village of Oberammergau, who vowed to re-enact the story when they survived the plague in 1633. Read on for more information on the play, and lists of our tours which include this extraordinary event in their unbeatable itineraries.

List of 2010 Tours to Oberammergau

Best of Germany:13 days from C$2,399*
Sound of Music: 10 days from C$1,925*
Best of Germany & Austria: 15 days from C$2,875*

* Plus Passion Play ticket price C$1,190
 

History of the Play

 The Passion Play depicts the tragic and moving chronicle of Christ's final passion. Its history stems from 1632 when Oberammergau was gripped by a deadly plague which killed almost half of the town's population. In a final, desperate act of faith, the village elders pledged that if the village was spared, it would re-enact the passion of Christ every 10 years - for all eternity. Miraculously no more inhabitants were infected and so the villagers set about planning the very first Passion Play, which was performed in 1634.

Tradition dictates that the play's cast of thousands is drawn from all walks of life from within the village. The coveted role of Christ could be the village postman, butcher or school teacher; this year, true to modern times, Christ is played by a Psychologist, and Mary by a flight attendant! The cast spend almost two years painstakingly rehearsing every detail of the story for a once only performance of a lifetime, and hopefully you'll be lucky enough to witness it in 2010.

Official Passion Play video