Passion games Großenlüder: A festival for peace begins!

The passion games in Großenlüder, in the Fulda district, continue a long tradition from March 8, 2025. These performances, which have been taking place in Grossenlüder since 2014, are an annual highlight and offer an impressive spectacle in which around 60 performers are on stage.

Management of this special event is the responsibility of the game director Manfred Müller and the director Günther Hahn. In order to inspire the viewers with a new and appealing representation, a new text template is used this year based on a Spanish syndicate from Esperança, a suburb of Barcelona. There was special value when adapting extreme representations, especially in relation to Jesus on the cross.

important details about the performances

There are two actors for the role of Jesus: Frank Braun and Sebastian Schwarzstein, both of whom play in four of the eight performances. Andreas Wahler will take on the role of John, Jesus' favorite disciples, while Martin Dornberger appears as Pontius Pilatus, although he has no theater experience. The main actors expect up to 100 speaking operations during the performances.

The rehearsals for the passion games started with weekly meetings in September 2024. The actors receive support from two souffleuses and a project choir with 40 singers and an 18-member string orchestra that takes over the background music. The Passion Spielverein Grossenlüder is also a member of the “Europassion” network, which combines 80 passion venues in Europe. The premiere of the performance is visited by Bishop Michael Gerber.

In comparison, the Oberammergau Passion Play, which is performed in the Bavarian community every ten years, offers another facet of this tradition. The Oberammergau Passion Play, which has its origin in 1634, is known for its all -encompassing participation of more than 1,800 villagers that are exclusively native. Frederik Mayet and Rochus Rückel share the role of Jesus in the last performance, which was played until October 2, 2022 and attracted more than 500,000 visitors.

Both performances set different priorities. While the Großenlüder Passion Games aim for a life without war, Oberammergau attaches particular importance to the human side of Jesus, which is treated in modern issues such as illness, war and social inequality.

The actors in Oberammergau also traveled to Israel to prepare to visit the holy sites. The director Christian Stückl has removed anti -Semitic topics from the play to make it up to date and to spread a respectful message.

Read for more details about the Großenlüder Passion Games here: Euronews .