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The Passion Play is performed every 10 years in the city of Oberammergau, Germany. The Oberammergau Passion Play is a play of life and death, promised in a moment of mortal threat, and so began the history of the play in 1633.The year 2010 marks the 41st time the story will be presented in Oberammergau.In 1633, after months of suffering from the Bubonic Plague, the people of Oberammergau took a vow to perform the "Play of the Suffering, Dying and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ" every ten years if they were spared.Miraculously from that point on they all survived and true to their promise, the first performance was in 1634.The only time it was not performed, was during World War II. This time the play will open on May 15, 2010 and ends on October 3, 2010. The entire cast consists of villagers who have lived in Oberammergau for at least 20 years. They must also be amateurs and people of high moral and ethical principles. [] Passion Plays recount the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from the four gospels in a dramatic form. This tradition began in the Middle Ages and are often performed in churches during Easter week. By watching a Passion Play we have a chance to reflect on the events most central to our faith, that Jesus died, was buried and rose again from the dead.The play depicts the story of Christ's Passion beginning with entry to Jerusalem and ending with the resurrection and transfiguration. Each performance starts at 2:00pm and ends at approximately 10:30PM with a long dinner and shopping break. [] [|http://www.oberammergau.org] []

Lying at the foothills of the Ammergau Alps is the tiny Bavarian village of Oberammergau, where you will witness one of the world’s most remarkable events, the Passion of Christ, as portrayed by the citizens of Oberammergau.

The origin of the Passion Play dates back to 1633, when the Black Plague was ravaging Europe and had already killed two-thirds of the population of the German-speaking countries. In an effort to protect its citizens, the Council of Oberammergau imposed a strict quarantine on the village.

Tragedy struck in November, when a home sick villager, Kaspar Schisler, slipped past the guards into the village, brining the Plague with him. Within days, Schisler, his family and over eighty villagers lay dead.

The terrified populace gathered in the church to pray, making a solemn vow to God that if He would spare them from the horrors of the Plague, they would reenact the life and suffering of Christ every decade, “from now until the end of time”.

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