Oberammergau is famous for the frescoes painted on the walls of the houses. Some have Bavarian pictures, but most have religious themes. Franz Seraph Zwinck (1748-1792), the "inventor" of the Italian-influenced fresco technique known as "Lüftlmalerei" (house wall painting), lived and worked here in the 18th century. Zwinck decorated a great many beautiful facades in Oberammergau and its area. The most prominent of them would be the "Forsthaus" (Forest House), the "Mußldomahaus" and the "Pilatushaus" (Pontius Pilate House). Also there are two very nice houses located at the entrance of Oberammergau, the "Hänsel und Gretelhaus"
The Passion Play is held in Oberammergau every ten years. In 1633, in the middle of the Thirty Years War, after months of suffering and death from the plague, the surviving Oberammergauers swore an oath that they would perform the "Play of the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ" every ten years. On Pentecost Sunday in 1634, they fulfilled their pledge for the first time on a stage they erected in the cemetery above the fresh graves of the plague victims. In the year 2000, the town of Oberammergau had performed the play for the 40th time. Passion Plays were very popular in cities throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. However, they were banned in many cities in the 16th century. Oberammergau was the only place were the tradition lived on. Local people play the rolls. In the months leading up to a play, many of the villagers start growing their beards in preparation for the play. The hundreds of actors, children as well as adults, receive no pay for their time and devotion to the exhausting performances (seven hours a day, five days a week from May until October). They recently built a new 4,800 seat theater in the town with the world's largest open-air stage. Despite this, tickets for the performances are very hard to get.