Thiersee offers three distinct interests to consider when choosing where to stay: the Passion Play tradition, a hike through the unspoilt Glemmbach Gorge, and a cross-country skiing connection to Bavaria via the Ursprung Pass. These themes also call for different kinds of planning: a recurring performance schedule, a trail with stream crossings, and access to a cross-border network of cross-country ski trails each have their own considerations.
Passion Play Theatre and the history of the Passion Plays
The present-day Thiersee Passion Play Theatre was built near Lake Thiersee in 1926 and has room for 1,000 visitors. The Passion Plays take place in Thiersee every six years; their origins are dated to around 1695. The tradition of the plays thus predates the present-day theatre: 1926 is the year it was built, while around 1695 marks the approximate beginnings of the plays. Its capacity of 1,000 visitors adds a concrete measure of the building’s size to this historical context.
If you are planning to travel to Thiersee for the performances, factor in the six-year cycle when choosing your dates and check the performance schedule before your trip. This is especially relevant if the Passion Plays themselves are the reason for your stay. If your focus is on the town’s cultural history, the year the Passion Play Theatre was built also offers a distinct point of reference.
The archive of the Passion Play community is also part of this subject and is considered the largest and most important of its kind in Tyrol. The history of the Passion Plays can therefore be described in more than just terms of the performance schedule: the local tradition also has an archival dimension. For those interested in cultural history, the recurring plays, the present-day theatre, and the importance of the archive in Tyrol are distinct aspects of the same subject.
Glemmbach Gorge: a hike with stream crossings
The hike through the Glemmbach Gorge follows a natural gorge without boardwalks or bridges. Along the way, you must wade across the Glemmbach several times. The stream crossings are therefore part of the route; this is not a trail where the stream is crossed via bridges. These specific trail conditions can help you compare the hike with your expectations and consider it as a focus for your stay.
This calls for a different kind of planning than the Passion Plays: what matters is not a recurring date, but the described route through the gorge. If you choose your trip based on hiking opportunities, you can take these features into account.
Cross-country skiing via the Ursprung Pass
The Thiersee–Bayrischzell cross-country skiing connection leads to Bavaria via the Ursprung Pass and provides access to a 62 km network of cross-country ski trails around Bayrischzell. The cross-border route makes its connection to Bavaria a key feature of this winter option. The 62 km refers to the connected network of trails, not the length of the Thiersee–Bayrischzell connection.
To understand how it works, it helps to distinguish between the connection and the network of trails: the route leads to Bavaria via the Ursprung Pass, where it joins the network around Bayrischzell. This makes cross-country skiing a different kind of focus from a single hike in the gorge or a stay planned around a Passion Play performance.
Which focus suits your trip?
You can compare the three themes by their respective planning considerations: the Passion Plays follow a six-year cycle, the Glemmbach Gorge hike involves a route with repeated stream crossings, and cross-country skiing offers a connection to Bavaria and access to the network of trails. First decide which of these features you want to shape your stay; then plan your trip accordingly.
Discover more destinations: Vorderthiersee, Riedenberg, Oberau Wildschönau, Söll, Mariastein, Kramsach, Wörgl, Ellmau
Go to the overview of destinations: Kufstein.
