Oberammergau Museum

The Oberammergaumuseum was commissioned in 1905 by the Oberammergau carving publisher Guido Lang from the Munich architect Franz Zell, who designed and built it. In 1910 it was opened as the "Publisher Lang´sches art- and cultural-historical Oberammergauer Museum".

The important crib room of the museum

Today there are several exhibitions in the Oberammergaumuseum. In the crib room the visitor gets entrance into the world of the "frozen theatre". Here large historical church cribs, but also a small selection of other cribs from Oberammergau are exhibited. Some of them were already part of the collection when the museum opened in 1910, others were added later. Especially striking is the large Oberammergau church crib with the wedding of Cana, the royal procession and the Christmas crib. The figures come from Oberammergau carvers and publishers and were collected over a period of 100 years, since the crib was not a commissioned work, but an expression of the piety of the craftsmen. The last major extension was in 1860 the scene of the wedding of Cana, the crib now had around 200 figures. Already in the 19th century it was a sight and King Ludwig II came to visit it.

The history of wood carving

Nine exhibition rooms deal with the time of the 18th and 19th centuries and show wood carvings, but also toys, for which Oberammergau was once famous, arranged according to epochs. The gallery area of the Kappelenraum is dedicated entirely to the carving and sculpture of the 20th century in Oberammergau. In addition, there is a media column with information about the life and work of special carvers, sculptors and artists of the last 250 years.

The Oberammergaumuseum is located directly in the centre of Oberammergau.