Nativity scenes at the feet of Mickiewicz. The “all-time record” was broken

Every year on the first Thursday of December in the morning, nativity scene makers bring their works to the Main Square and place them on the steps of the Adam Mickiewicz Monument to present them to the public. From there, their works are transferred to the branch of the Krakow Museum in the Krzysztofory Palace.

As the director of the Krakow Museum, Dr. Michał Niezabitowski, informed journalists, this year a record number of nativity scenes were registered for the competition – in all categories by noon there were 245 works. So far, the most – 240 structures – were submitted last year, and 229 were finally assessed by the jury.

– We have an all-time record, 245 nativity scenes are something that has never happened before – said Niezabitowski in an interview with TVN24. He added that he was particularly pleased with the 20 youth nativity scenes reported. – Those people who are still young and not yet adults may become professional nativity scene makers. This is the best hope for the development of nativity scenes.

Among the entries, Niezabitowski said, there are 73 nativity scenes in the adult category, 29 in the family category, 34 in the school category, 20 in the youth category, 52 in the children's category, as well as 37 in the latest Off category, which includes modern structures that loosely refer to tradition.

According to the director of the Krakow Museum, the tradition of Krakow nativity scenes is of fundamental importance to the city's inhabitants. – This is our identity, there is nothing like Krakow nativity scenes anywhere. This is something that defines us and makes us people of Krakow, he noted.

Niezabitowski added that on this one December day, the city's inhabitants meet at nativity scenes across divisions and differences. – The nativity scene connects us, the nativity scene is what builds us, the inhabitants of Krakow, it is a magical, enchanted world of dreams from our childhood to which we want to return. And this world of our childhood is called Kraków – he pointed out.

The Krakow nativity scene is distinguished by the scenery of the birth of Christ, referring not to a modest stable, but transferred to the background of Krakow's historic architecture, often fancifully transformed in the creators' imagination.

Museum experts point out that for years, the creators of nativity scenes have been referring in their works not only to Krakow's monuments, but also to contemporary architecture and events. Therefore – explained the MK director – the jury decided to create the Off category for structures loosely related to tradition.

– We can see that this nativity scene is changing, it must certainly be Krakow, that is, it must refer to Krakow elements and it must be inspired by Krakow and also related to the Christmas scene, there is a certain canon that functions, and since there is such a will to express their admiration for Krakow in a non-traditional way, the jury created a separate category for this – explained Niezabitowski.

– The museum decided on the Off category. You can create from any materials, not typical gold, silver and skeleton structures – says Wiesław Grzeszczak, author of the nativity scene made of stone. The raw material comes from Baczyn near Krakow.

Mr. Wiesław's nativity scene includes, among other things, roof tiles from a hundred-year-old house. But that's not all. – There is also an interesting fact that this base, this board, comes from the movie Schindler's List – added the nativity scene maker. As he explained, one of the scenes was shot in Piekary near Krakow, where Mr. Wiesław lives. The man was hired to create the set and the board is a souvenir of this event.

On Thursday, just after the noon bugle call, the procession moved from the Mickiewicz monument to the stage at the Town Hall, where nativity scenes were presented, and then moved to the Krzysztofory Palace. There they will be assessed by a jury consisting of, among others: from historians, ethnographers, art historians, architects, artists. The competition results will be announced next Sunday.

The Krakow nativity scene is significantly different from the stables in Bethlehem. It must be a tower structure and contain details typical of Krakow's architecture. Most often, nativity scenes are built following the example of Krakow churches. Nativity scene creators like to recreate the front of St. Mary's Basilica and the towers and domes of the Wawel Cathedral. In addition to the Holy Family, the traditional heroes of Krakow nativity scenes are: the Lajkonik, the Wawel Dragon, the bugler, and the people of Krakow.

The tradition of the Krakow nativity scene comes from nativity plays organized during Christmas in churches. The oldest nativity figures stored in Krakow date back to the 14th century and are located in the church of St. Andrzej. Until the end of the 19th century, masons from Krakow's suburbs made nativity scenes. During the holidays, they walked around the houses with nativity scenes.

The Most Beautiful Nativity Scenes Competition has been organized since 1937. 86 people took part in the competition. After a break caused by the outbreak of war, the competition was resumed in 1945 – nativity scene makers appeared again on the site of the demolished Adam Mickiewicz monument. Since then, competitions have been organized every year on the first Thursday of December. The results are announced on the Sunday following Thursday. The competition is organized by the Krakow Museum. The museum purchases some of the nativity scenes for its collection.

The tradition of Krakow nativity scenes was confirmed in 2018 by the first Polish entry on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.