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The history of the Oberammergau Passion Play begins in 1633. In the middle of the Thirty Years' War, after months of suffering and dying from the plague, the Oberammergau people vowed to perform every ten years the "Play of suffering, dying and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ". At Pentecost 1634 they fulfilled this promise for the first time. In 2020, the congregation will perform the Passion Play for the 42nd time in a unique continuity through the centuries. Almost half of the inhabitants of Oberammergau, more than 2000 performers, perform the story of Jesus of Nazareth on the imposing open-air stage of the Upper Bavarian Passion Play Theatre in a five-hour performance. With more than a hundred performances and half a million spectators, it is the most successful amateur play in the world and is a UNESCO "Intangible Cultural Heritage".
The official illustrated book documents Christian Stückl's new production of the Passion Play with the stage sets, costumes and Living Pictures by Stefan Hageneier. It is the third joint Passion Play production of the two Oberammergau-born artists with whom they want to build a bridge to the present day, to the pressing questions of flight and integration. The Icelandic camerawoman Birgit Guðjónsdóttir accompanies the rehearsals for weeks and shows the tremendous energy and emotional power of this unique event in moving and detailed photographs.
