Scenes from Oberammergau!

Scenes from Oberammergau!

The quaint village of Oberammergau is nestled up against a glorious backdrop of snow encrusted mountains in the alps. Every 10 years Oberamm... 11 years ago

The quaint village of Oberammergau is nestled up against a glorious backdrop of snow encrusted mountains in the alps.

Every 10 years Oberammergau is home to the famous Passion Play ---and the town is crowded with people who come in from all over the world for this event which has gone on since the middle ages. 

On this day – we had the town mostly to ourselves.  It was cold, and crisp with a bright blue sky and delightful sunshine.  This was one of the days you WANTED to be on the sunny side of the street because it felt so good!

All over Oberammergau you will find traditional buildings decorated with fresco paintings depicting scenes ranging from biblical times to fairy tales.

Frescoed houses are a charming characteristic of the Bavarian Alps (Oberbayern).
 

 

The frescoes of this region are known as Lüftlmalerei, or "Lüftl frescoes." The name is believed to derive from the house of the most renowned facade painter in Oberammergau, Franz Seraph Zwinck (1748-1792), which is called Zum Lüftl.
 

 

The finest painting contributed by Zwinck is the "Pilatushaus" on Ludwig-Thoma-Strasse, which depicts Christ before Pilate. Today the Pilatushaus is home to the village's respected woodcarvers, painters, potters and sculptors. The house is open to the public and visitors can watch the artists at work.

I absolutely loved the stars we saw hanging all over -- see the one above the balcony?  Here in Winston Salem, NC we call them "Moravian" stars because this area was first settled by Moravians of German decent who purchased land here in 1753.  There is a very strong German tradition when it comes to holidays in this area, thanks to the Moravians.  Read more about the Moravians HERE.

Now every time I see a Moravian star hanging -- it's going to remind me of my trip to Germany!
 

 

Other Oberammergau houses depict scenes from the Crucifixion and other biblical scenes, as well as fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.
 

 

Look at the detail on this window!

 

 

Most of the frescoes I saw were religious in nature.

 

 

Close up.

 

 

Some even kind of frightening – check out the grim reaper!

 

We did quite a bit of shopping here.  The shops were filled with lovely Christmas ornaments and gifts –and oh, the cuckoo clocks!

 

 

Sorry, guy – you are too big to fit in my carry on!

 

I’ve uploaded a slide show of my photos to keep them in one place.  Click the image below to view the slide show if you can’t view the slide show on your mobile device.  You’ll be taken directly to the photo album for viewing!

We saw ONE sewing machine in this town...can you find it in the slide show? :)

Oberammergau, Germany 2013

I'm happy to say that I slept a FULL NIGHT last night ---it's about time!  I've got a quilt to lay out today and start sewing in rows.  I can't wait!
I'll be working on that for Quilt-Cam tonight at 9pm Eastern!  I hope you'll be joining me!
Click Here to like our Quiltville Friends Page on Facebook for more fun!You do not need a Facebook account to read the Facebook posts - They are viewable to all! Feel free to read & quilt along with us!