Oberammergau Fairytale Town

  Bavaria, Germany, especially southern Bavaria, has a tradition of painting murals on the facades of houses which is called  "Lueftlmalerei".  In a picturesque fairytale village in the Bavarian Alps is a town by the name of Oberammergau. It's no ordinary town though. Although the town is best known for its Passion play every 10 years and the wood carvings they create, their fairy-tale painted homes are magical!

The first of these houses was painted 1922-25 by the artist Throll who chose the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. He chose to decorate a children's home that was founded by a local society that cared for children orphaned from WWI. The photograph below depicts  opera singer Marie Mattfeld in the center with fairy tale scenes around her. She apparently was the most giving and generous during that time to aiding the aftermath of WWI.

  Each scene interprets a fairy-tale  in a Christian-like manner in which they teach a proverb.  The frescoes mix Christianity, teaching of God's unconditional love with fairy-tale stories which give advice to passerby's in a unique approach. Due to the popularity of the first house, in 1953, Max Strauss  decorated the house across the street in frescoes of The Little Red Riding Hood. I personally was impressed that they've weathered so well from being outside, which makes me assume every 20-30 years they are being retouched.

People sometimes seek to get out of the real world and escape to places like Disney World "where all of the magic happens." It just goes to show you that fairy-tales and magic can be a part of our every day lives. Sorry Disney, but the people of Oberammergau have taken it upon themselves to make magic happen in their own back yards.

Tips for Your Trip
​Tourism Info: HERE
Stroller Friendly: yes
​Dog Friendly: yes