Beginning in 1634, the residents of Oberammergau, a small village in Bavaria, have presented a play memorializing the passion of Christ with their production of the Oberammergau Passion Play. According to legend, the village was mostly spared from the ravages of the Bubonic Plague that swept Europe during the Thirty Years’ War.

There is quite a bit of disagreement about the historical accuracy of this story, but the reality is that the play has occurred nearly every decade since 1634. Some years have been missed due to war, while other years have featured off-cycle plays to commemorate particular anniversaries. Most recently, the 2020 play was postponed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of this delay, we’re excited to offer “The Swiss Reformation, Oberammergau, and Oktoberfest” an eight-day journey that introduces Protestant Reformers such as Calvin and Zwingli, then moves to the Oberammergau Passion Play, before traveling to Munich for Oktoberfest.

Because of the pandemic delay, tickets are quite in demand. As of this post, we have only 11 tickets remaining and expect them to sell out before the end of the year.

If you are interested in attending the 2022 Oberammergau Passion Play, Heather and I would love to have you join us. Our pilgrimage starts in Geneva where we learn about John Calvin and the city where he centered his ministry. Leaving Geneva, we take the train to Zurich where we worship with a local church and learn about Zwingli’s ministry.

The next few days include visits to Neuschwanstein Castle, the Pilgrim Church of Wies, and our time in Oberammergau. After taking in the Passion Play, we’ll spend the night in Oberammergau before departing for Munich. In Munich, we’ll visit Dachau before having free time in the afternoon. The next day our group has a reservation at one of the many tents erected for Oktoberfest.

We’d love you to join us for this full itinerary that covers the Reformation, the Passion Play, and Oktoberfest. If you have questions, I’d love to chat and hope to answer them personally. Feel free to send me a note at eric@progressivepilgrimage.com. I’ll look forward to our conversation.