Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany Home of The Passion Play

the fairytale of “Little Red Riding Hood” painted fresco on a home in Oberramergau, Bavaria
You’d think that nothing could top the Neuschwanstein Castle or Wieskirche Church of The Scourged Savior (The Church of The Meadow) from the previous two days of our trip in Bavaria. But, seriously, the beauty just kept on coming.
It’s not that the beauty was any better, it is was just a different kind of beauty in each place. For our third day in Bavaria, my husband and I strolled lazily about the small, unique, quaint and darling Alpine village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany and the home of the Passion Play of Christ that occurs every ten years.
This little town just takes your breath away. Every corner that you turn while walking through town reveals more buildings and homes with incredibly painted murals! Sometimes the murals depict a fairytale such as “Hansel and Gretl” or “Little Red Riding Hood”, or some of them visually indicate something about the life in medieval times or a family’s history . . . but most of them depict something related to the Christian faith. The people of this community are very spiritual and faithful people to the Catholic Church and scenes of devotion are painted and sculpted everywhere. Even if one is not Catholic, the village is still an inspiration to see how important faith is to the people who live in Oberammergau.
The first building (above) that I’m showing you is someone’s actual home. Wrapped around the front of the house and it’s two sides are painted illustrations of the fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood”.
You’ll love this! Here are some closer shots:

closer view of “Little Red Riding Hood” painted mural

closer look at the “Little Red Riding Hood” wall mural on this home

the mural of “Little Red Riding Hood” wraps around to the sides of the home
When I took the photos of this home, I was in the shade while the sun was rising from the back of the house. So just a note that there is a slight ‘blue-ish’ shadow tint to any photos that were taken in the shadows of the towering Alps.
Very close to this house and across the street (in the full sunshine), is a home for children, known as the “Hansel and Gretl” house that is painted entirely of scenes from the fairytale! You can see part of this very large children’s home in the photo below:

the fairytale of “Hansel and Gretl” painted murals
And below is a closer shot at the mural of “Hansel and Gretl”:

a closer look at the murals of “Hansel and Gretl”
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even closer look at Hansel and Gretl home’s mural
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The sky was perfectly blue without any clouds or fog, that normally are present in winter. Here is another example of a beautifully painted mural along the main street of town as we walked around, gawking, literally amazed at the workmanship of whomever painted these buildings.

another beautiful mural
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Moving closer towards the center of the town of Oberammergau, the painted murals continue on and on and on. It was very quiet while we were there due to many tourists canceling their travel plans after the attack on Paris that took place 3 weeks earlier. Normally at Christmastime, this town would be crawling with tourists. Sadly, because of the lack of tourists, we literally could walk anywhere in town to take photos without any crowding.
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This mural below simply reflected scenes of everyday life in town:

beautiful painted murals everywhere, this from 1775
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more illustrations of everyday life in this Alpine village
A closer shot of the details of this mural:

a mural depicting life in the village
Below painted above a woodcarving shop, was my favorite mural of all, the crucifixion and intense color of blue was stunning!
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this was my favorite mural of all; my husband took this photo while I was in front of him also snapping a shot with my phone camera
This mural below is a wonderful example of the famous painting technique of “trompe l’oeil” . . . a perfected manner in painting that creates a visual illusion, and used as a way to trick one’s eyes into perceiving an illusion that the painting is a three-dimensional object.

this beautiful mural looks like actual architecture!
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visual images for teaching the Christian faith to once illiterate villagers
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an outdoor biergarten asleep after a busy night
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all is quiet in the morning at a typical German tavern
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More visual and textural beauty that just catches a small ‘glimpse’ of Oberammergau, Bavaria:

ancient stone paved streets

an old carved wooden plaque on a wall of a building
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simple, old, rustic shutters with beautiful texture
Well, there’s more to share about this amazing little Bavarian town of Oberammergau! But one can almost overdose in all of this visual stimulation, so stay tuned for a second post another style of artistic beauty found in this small town tucked away in the Bavarian Alps of Germany!
Thanks for coming along with me and for all of your comments that you’ve been leaving about this amazing trip to Germany! If I can, I’ll help answer any questions that you might have about traveling to any of the destinations that we visited in Bavaria.
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Thanks for sharing lovely photos, it is well written .
Is it helpful to go for paid tours or one can explore on your own ?
Would there be a post on Fussen as well ,heard the town is equally beautiful . Was Linderhof castels visited as well ?
YOUR photos remind us of Prague! So magnificent! Now we are intrigued to come to Bavaria. Have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Travels!
xoxo Anna and LIz
We’ve never been to Prague Liz and Anna, but that is certainly on our bucket list in Europe! Traveling is so much fun, isn’t it?
Roz
A very beautiful village! Thanks for sharing, Roz.
My pleasure to share this trip with you Angie!
Roz
This village seems out of a fairy tale, happy 2016 Roz, un bacione !
It certainly felt like a fairy tale on this trip to Germany, Chiara!
Hugs,
Roz
This is such a pretty town. It is fun seeing the villages through your eyes…I think I know what you will be posting next. Keep on having a great time. 🙂
It was a great trip Karen and I haven’t even posted all of the places that we visited. Thinking of saving them for next fall before the Christmas season.
Thanks for stopping by!
Roz
Even though I’ve been to Bavaria three times, along with Tuscany and Provence, they are the three places I’d really like to spend a couple of months. Glad you are enjoying your trip.
It was a great trip, Larry. One that we’re hopeful to take again. I’ve never been to Provence (as you said is one of your faves) and since my husband doesn’t want to visit France, Provence is a highly doubtful destination for us. If I get him to see Paris at least once, that would be a travel victory for me.
Roz