Franconian Passion Play Sommersdorf
The Franconian Passion Play is performed every five years in Sömmersdorf near Schweinfurt in Lower Franconia . The passion plays in Sommersdorf have the longest tradition of the Franconian passion play venues. They are part of Europassion , an association of most of the European Passion Play venues.
history
The holy year 1933 commemorating the suffering and death of Jesus 1,900 years ago gave the impetus for the first performance of the Franconian Passion Play in Sömmersdorf on May 21, 1933. The initiative to perform the Passion Play went back to the activities of the local men's choir under the direction of elementary school teachers Guido Halbig. For the first two years of performance in 1933 and 1934, 14,000 visitors were counted. The performances could not be continued from 1935 onwards because the Reichstheaterkammer did not issue a permit for the next season.
After the Second World War, local club activities began again in 1950, so that in 1957 and 1958 Passion performances could again take place with a total of 40,000 visitors. Further Passion Plays were performed in 1961, 1967 and 1968. From then on, the regular five-year rhythm that still applies today was adopted.
Village teacher Halbig directed the games until 1983. After that, Paul Sonnendrücker from Strasbourg and Barbara Zorn from Bad Schwalbach directed the Sommersdorfer Passion. From 1998 to 2008 the direction was in the hands of Barbara Zorn. With the complete new production in 2013, the theater pedagogue Marion Beyer and the culture and theater pedagogue BuT Hermann J. Vief from Coburg were introduced as new directors.
The content of the game is constantly being developed, so that the number of players also increased. In 1933 and 1934 there were 70 and 75 players, respectively. In 1958 there were 120 and by 2003 the number rose to 320 players. In addition, there are a number of helpers in the area who take on the briefing of visitor traffic, the cash register and visitor care. The other local associations organize catering for visitors. Around 400 of the approx. 640 local residents participated in the performances in 2013. Most recently, around 32,000 spectators attended the performances. In its 80-year history, more than 330,000 people have found their way to Sommersdorf.
Bishop Friedhelm Hofmann from Würzburg has been the patron of the games since 2008 .
Passion Garden, Spiritual Path and Passion Museum
In the center of the village, on the Passionsweg between the open-air stage and the parish church, the passion garden was laid out in 2008 . The result is a quiet zone in which a permanent open-air exhibition illuminates the history of the sacred play and the Sommersdorf Passion Play. Information boards give the visitor an insight into the tradition of Christian representation and Christian drama. Plants with a biblical reference frame the area.
Anyone who has experienced the local Passion Play as a visitor and who wants to process the events of the Passion story while running can do so as a walker or hiker on the Spiritual Loop . On two marked routes, stimuli for reflection are given at different stations. a. on the subject of the passion today.
The Passion Museum is currently being set up in the middle of the village in the former school . The building was refurbished with a great deal of personal contribution by the village population, and the outbuilding was provided with a modern exhibition room. There, and in the medium term in two rooms of the school, there will be an exhibition on the Passion Play of the 20th century. The permanent exhibition is to be equipped with films from the Sommersdorfer Passion Play, with historical documents, posters and drafts of stage sets. Old costumes and the wooden cross from the first performance in 1933 have also been preserved.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Passion Play Community Scheinfeld (accessed April 23, 2012)
- ↑ Dammbach Passion Play ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed April 23, 2012)
- ↑ a b euerbach.de (accessed June 24, 2012)
