obelisk of Hatshepsut at Karnak, 97 ft. 6 in. high, there is an inscription stating that it and its fellow were made within the short space of seven months. In consequence of the breaking away of the lower part of “Cleopatra’s Needles” when removed to Alexandria and re-erected, the Roman engineers supported the angles on bronze crabs, one of which with three reproductions now supports the angles of the obelisk on the Thames Embankment.
There was another form of obelisk, also tapering, but more squat than the usual type, with two of the sides narrow and terminating in a rounded top. One such of Senwosri I., covered with sculpture and inscriptions, lies at Ebgīg in the Fayum. Stelae, inscribed with the names of the kings, occurred in pairs in the royal tombs of the 1st Dynasty at Abydos, and pairs of small obelisks are said to have been found in private tombs of the IVth Dynasty. The origin of the obelisk may be sought in sacred upright stones set up in honour of gods and dead, like the menhirs, and the Semitic Massebahs and bethels.
In Abyssinia, at Axum and elsewhere, there is a marvellous series of obelisk-like monuments, probably sepulchral. They range from rude menhirs a few feet high to elaborately sculptured monoliths of 100 ft. The loftiest of those still standing at Axum is about 60 ft. high, 8 ft. 7 in. wide, and about 18 in. thick, and is terminated by a rounded apex united by a necking to the shaft. The back of the obelisk is plain, but the front and sides are subdivided into storeys by a series of bands and plates, each storey having panels sunk into it which seem to represent windows with mullions and transom. These architectural decorations are derived from a style of building found by the recent German expedition extant in an ancient church; courses of stone here alternate in the walls (both inside and out) with beams of wood held by circular clamps. In front of the best-preserved obelisk is a raised altar with holes sunk in it apparently to receive the blood of the sacrifice to the ancestors. Most of these must date before the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in the 6th century.
See G. Maspero, L’Archéologie égyptienne (new ed., Paris, 1907), p. 105; H. H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks (New York, 1882; London, 1885, &c.); F. W. von Bissing and L. Borchardt, Das Re-Heiligtum des Königs Ne-woser-Re (Berlin, 1905); on the ancient method of raising obelisks, L. Borchardt, “Zur Baugeschichte des Amonstempel von Karnak,” in Sethe’s Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Altertumskunde Aegyptens, v. 15. For the Abyssinian obelisks see especially E. Littmann and D. Krencker, Vorbericht der deutschen Aksum Expedition (Berlin, 1906). (F. Ll. G.)
OBERAMMERGAU, a village of Bavaria, Germany, district
of Upper Bavaria, situated amongst the foot-hills of the Alps
in the valley of the Ammer, 64 m. S.S.W. of Munich. Pop.
about 1400. The village folk are mainly engaged in making
toys, and carving crucifixes, rosaries and images of saints.
The place is famous for their performance of a Passion Play every tenth year (e.g. in 1910), to which thousands of visitors flock. This dramatic representation of the sufferings of Christ is not a survival of a medieval mystery or miracle-play, but took its rise from a vow made by the inhabitants in 1633, with the hope of staying a plague then raging. The original text and arrangements were probably made by the monks of Ettal, a monastery a little higher up the valley; but they were carefully remodelled by the parish priest at the beginning of the present century, when the Oberammergau play obtained exemption from the general suppression of such performances by the Bavarian government. The music was composed by Rochus Dedler, schoolmaster of the parish in 1814. The performances take place on the Sundays of summer, in a large open-air theatre holding 6000 persons, and each lasts about nine hours, with a short intermission at noon. Each scene from the history of Christ is prefaced by a tableau of typical import from the Old Testament. About 700 actors are required, all belonging to the village. The proceeds of the performances are devoted to the good of the community, after defrayal of the costs and payment of a small remuneration to the actors. The villagers regard the Passion Play as a solemn act of religious worship, and the performances are characterized by the greatest reverence. The principal parts are usually hereditary in certain families, and are assigned with regard to moral character as well as dramatic ability. It is considered a disgrace not to be allowed to take part in the play, and the part of Christ is looked upon as one of the greatest of earthly honours.
Edward Devrient (in 1850) was among the first to direct general attention to Oberammergau; and numerous accounts have since appeared. An English version of the text of the Passion Play has been published by E. Childe (1880).
OBERHAUSEN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine
province. It is situated 5 m. from the east bank of the Rhine,
20 m. N.E. of Dusseldorf, on the main line of railway to Hanover
and Berlin, and at the centre of an important network of lines
radiating hence into the extensive Westphalian coal and iron
fields. Pop. (1905) 52,096. The town possesses large iron-works,
coal-mines, rolling-mills, zinc, smelting-works, railway
workshops and manufactures of wire-rope, glass, chemicals,
porcelain and soap. The first houses of Oberhausen were built
in 1845, and it received its municipal character in 1874.
OBERLAHNSTEIN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian
province of Hesse-Nassau, on the right bank of the Rhine, at
the confluence of the Lahn 4 m. above Coblenz, on the railway
from Cologne to Frankfort-on-Main. Pop. (1905) 8472. It
still retains parts of its ancient walls and towers, and possesses
a castle, the Schloss Martinsburg, formerly the residence of the
electors of Mainz, and the chapel, Marien Kapelle, in which the
German king Wenceslaus was deposed by the electors in 1400.
Near the town is the castle of Lahneck, built about 1290, destroyed
by the French in 1689, and restored in 1854. In the neighbourhood
are lead and silver mines.
See J. Wegeler, Lahneck und Oberlahnstein (Trier, 1881).
OBERLÄNDER, ADAM ADOLF (1845–), German caricaturist,
was born at Ratisbon, but after 1847 lived in Munich.
He studied painting at the Munich Academy under Piloty, and
soon discovered that the true expression of his genius was in the
field of caricature and comic drawings. He joined the staff of
the Fliegende Blätter, to which he became a constant contributor.
Unlike Busch, whose aim was the utmost simplicity of line and
whose drawings form a running commentary to the legend,
Oberländer’s work is essentially pictorial, and expressive in
itself, without the extraneous aid of the written line. Among
his best drawings are his parodies on the style of well-known
painters, such as the “Variations on the Kissing Theme.” His
works have been collected in the Oberländer-Album, published by
Braun and Schneider in Munich.
OBERLIN, JEAN FREDERIC (1740–1826), German Protestant pastor and philanthropist, the son of a teacher, was born on the 31st of August 1740 at Strassburg, where he studied theology. In 1766 he became Protestant pastor of Waldbach, a remote and barren region in the Steinthal (Ban-de-la-Roche), a valley in the Vosges on the borders of Alsace and Lorraine. He set
himself to better the material equally with the spiritual condition of the inhabitants. He began by constructing roads through the valley and erecting bridges, inciting the peasantry to the enterprise by his personal example. He introduced an improved system of agriculture. Substantial cottages were erected, and various industrial arts were introduced. He founded an itinerant library, originated infant schools, and established an ordinary school at each of the five villages in the
parish. In the work of education he received great assistance
from his housekeeper, Louisa Scheppler (1763–1837). He died on
the 1st of June 1826, and was interred with great manifestations of honour and affection at the village of Urbach.
Among the many accounts of the labours of Oberlin, mention may be made of Thomas Sims, Brief Memorials of Oberlin (London, 1830); Memoirs of Oberlin, with a short notice of Louisa Scheppler (London, 1838, 2nd ed. 1852); H. Ware, Biography of Oberlin (Boston, 1845); L. Spach, Oberlin le pasteur (Strassburg, I865, 2nd ed. 1868); F. W. Bodemann, J. F. Oberlin (3rd ed., 1879); K. F. Riff, Drei Bilder aus dem Leben von Papa Oberlin (Strassburg, 1880); Josephine Butler, Life of J. F. Oberlin (1882); G. H. von Schubert, Züge aus dem Leben Oberlins (11th ed., 1890); Armin Stein, Johann Friedrich Oberlin, ein Lebensbild (1899). See also the article in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie. The collected writings of Oberlin were published by Burkhardt at Stuttgart in 1843 in 4 vols.
