Bavaria’s spiritual spectacular
If you happen to visit the small Bavarian town of Oberammergau in 2020, you will soon notice that the local men are unusually hirsute. Wandering through the streets, beards and long hair will be everywhere you look. But this town-wide grooming regime isn’t the result of any fashion trend – it’s all in the name of tradition, God and theatre.
Once a decade, on Ash Wednesday, Oberammergauers stop shaving as part of the preparations for the town’s Passion Play, a theatrical tradition that has been an integral part of life here for almost 400 years.
Ever since the play telling the story of Christ’s trial, death and resurrection was
