Szopki (nativity scenes) in Krakow
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Nativity scenes created in the Kraków area owe their beauty and formal uniqueness to the local architecture, since the craftsmen who create those fantastic structures amply draw from the bottomless well of inspiration provided by Kraków monuments and edifices. Even the untrained eye will surely recognize the steeples of St Mary’s Church, or the cupola of Sigismund’s Chapel featuring in many of these cribs. Over the past few years, nativity scene makers have been prone to using elements of lay architecture, such as the Barbican, the Town Hall Tower, City Defence Walls, St Florian’s Gate, or the Cloth Hall. It is thanks to those sources of inspiration that Kraków nativity scenes – magical and fantastic as they are – seem at the same so very close and familiar to the local audience.
Every year on first Thursday of December large numbers of nativity scene makers pour into the Main Market Square in Kraków bringing along their latest creations prepared especially for that annual contest. Some of the works submitted by the competitors are enormous, their height reaching up to 3 m, while others are miniature masterpieces measuring only about a few cm. The contest is open for everyone, which means that anyone, regardless of their age, education, or place of residence can participate. Thus, along with the works of the old masters – the many times champions of the contest – each year there are many nativity scenes created by students and children. (more…)
