Stille Nacht Kapelle

The Silent Night Chapel is located just a few meters from the German-Austrian border and can be reached on foot from Laufen via the Länderbrücke bridge.

St. Nicholas Church, the site of the first performance of Silent Night, Holy Night, fell victim to the Salzach floods several times and was so badly damaged that it finally had to be demolished in 1913. Between 1924 and 1936, a chapel was built on the same site as the old church - under difficult political and economic circumstances - to commemorate the Christmas carol's message of peace. The Silent Night Chapel is located just a few meters from the German-Austrian border and can be reached on foot from Laufen via the Länderbrücke bridge.

On the trail of the Christmas carol

The Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night is the epitome of Christmas in Germany and Austria. Over 2 billion people sing the song on Christmas Eve in more than 300 languages. UNESCO even declared the song an intangible cultural heritage. Although it was composed in Austria, traces of the world-famous Christmas carol can also be found in Bavaria. For example in Ramsau and Oberndorf, the neighboring town of Laufen in the Rupertiwinkel.

Oberndorf - where the song was first heard

The Christmas carol "Silent Night! Holy Night!" was written in 1818 during a difficult time: the suffering of the people, caused by the Napoleonic Wars and the failed harvests after the "Year Without a Summer", was terrible. But things got even worse for them: the people in the town of Laufen, to which Oberndorf also belonged, were struck by further blows of fate. The town was separated from the Great Powers and the state border suddenly ran right through the middle. Families were separated and Oberndorf had to build up a new infrastructure as a political community and a parish. Vicar Joseph Mohr came to a village that had been tested by suffering.

The affable new vicar Joseph Mohr was immediately well received. He soon became friends with the organist of St. Nikola's church, Franz Xaver Gruber, who served here and in neighboring Arnsdorf, where he was also the village schoolteacher. Then another mishap occurred at Christmas: the church organ was unplayable. The two courageous men agreed that they wanted to give the poor sailors a nice Christmas anyway. Vicar Joseph Mohr remembered that he had written a poem two years earlier while working as a parish vicar in Mariapfarr, and Franz Xaver Gruber composed the appropriate melody. And so "Silent Night! Holy Night!" was sung for the first time on Christmas Eve in the church of St. Nikola in Oberndorf. No other Christmas carol touches people as much as this one. It was born out of necessity and brings people hope and peace.

Silent Night District and Silent Night Museum

The municipality of Oberndorf is aware of its great responsibility and protects this heritage with appropriate respect. To coincide with the 200th anniversary in 2018, the Silent Night district with the memorial chapel at its center and the Silent Night Museum were redesigned. The museum provides an impressive insight into the origins of the song, how it spread around the world and the circumstances under which it was created. The focus is on the history of the creation of the Christmas carol, the meaning of the lyrics and the message of peace, the history of its dissemination, Joseph Mohr's connection to the Oberndorf boatmen, their living conditions and the importance of Salzach shipping as well as the time of the carol's creation.

Silent Night!" can be heard in various languages. And if you want to record your voice with the song, you can do so at the karaoke station and send it home. Interactive stations and a dressing-up station for children encourage active participation. A time table allows visitors to place important historical events relating to "Silent Night!" in context. A separate room is dedicated to "Silent Night!" as a world peace song. A museum store and steles providing information about the Silent Night Square round off the interesting offer. Special attention has been paid to the museum's educational design for children. The new Silent Night district in Oberndorf is a memorial that touches visitors at any time of year, especially during Advent and Christmas, just as the song itself can.