Kraków szopka or nativity scene

Nativity scene

A nativity scene, manger scene, krippe, crèche, or crib, is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke...

 (crib, crèche) is a Christmas tradition

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 originating from Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, and dating back to the 19th century. An unusual and characteristic feature of the szopka is the use of historical buildings of Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 as backdrop for the Nativity of Jesus

Nativity of Jesus

The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....

.

History

Nativity scenes, common in Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 cultures, originated with St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century and quickly spread to Poland. During the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 a specific type of nativity-based play, or a Jasełka, developed in Poland.

Some performers displayed their szopkas together with puppets in a form of a street theatre

Street theatre

Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...

. In some, movable puppets were replaced by immobile wooden figurines. At times subject-specific puppets or figurines were and are being added to illustrate elements of Polish culture, ranging from historical figures like winged hussars and Tadeusz Kościuszko

Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko was a Polish–Lithuanian and American general and military leader during the Kościuszko Uprising. He is a national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus...

, through the legendary sorcerer Pan Twardowski

Pan Twardowski

Pan Twardowski , in Polish folklore and literature, is a sorcerer who entered a pact with the devil, similar to the figure of Faust in German literature. Like Faust, Pan Twardowski sold his soul in exchange for special powers – such as summoning up the spirit of Polish King Sigismund...

 and Dragon of the Wawel Hill

Smok Wawelski

The Wawel Dragon , also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish folklore. He laired in a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill on the bank of the Vistula River. Wawel Hill is in Kraków, which was then the capital of Poland...

, to contemporary politicians or artists. In the 18th century the spread of such non-religious content led to a ban on more extravagant nativity scenes in some Polish churches; following the ban the performances evolved into a true expression of folk art

Folk art

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....

.

The szopka tradition dates back to the 19th century, when Kraków's craftsmen – masons, woodworkers – begun to make them as a seasonal decoration in order to earn extra income during Christmas. The custom grew in popularity, with people willing to pay to watch szopka collections – often carried by door-to-door carolers

Christmas carol

A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

 – or to own them. Among the notable early patrons of the custom was the magnate

Magnate

Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...

 family of Potoccy.

After Poland regained independence in 1918, szopkas started to be made and sold as souvenirs of Kraków. The city's municipal authorities decided to support this tradition by announcing the first competition in December 1937. Since then, with the exception of the Second World War years, a szopka presentation and tournament takes place on first Thursday of each December, at the Main Market Square, Kraków

Main Market Square, Kraków

The Main Market Square in Kraków is the most important market square of the Old Town in Kraków, Poland and a principal urban space located at the center of the city...

, next to the Adam Mickiewicz Monument

Adam Mickiewicz Monument, Kraków

Adam Mickiewicz Monument in Kraków, , is one of the best known bronze monuments in Poland, and a favourite meeting place at the Main Market Square in the Old Town district of Kraków....

. The best szopkas are displayed in the Historical Museum of Kraków

Historical Museum of Kraków

Historical Museum of Kraków a.k.a. Historical Museum of the City of Kraków at the Krzysztofory Palace in Kraków, Poland, was granted the status of an independent institution in 1945...

 in Krzysztofory palace.
...

Design

The ornate structures can be up to two meters high and three meters wide. The edifice most often used as an inspiration for szopka models is the St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków

St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków

St. Mary's Basilica , is a Brick Gothic church re-built in the 14th century , adjacent to the Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland...

 with its easily recognizable spire

Spire

A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

s. Other popular choices include Wawel Castle

Wawel Castle

The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...

, Sukiennice

Sukiennice

The Renaissance Sukiennice in Kraków, Poland, is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the Main Market Square in the Kraków Old Town . It was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter...

 trade hall and the Barbican of Kraków

Barbican of Kraków

The Kraków barbican is a barbican – a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town of Kraków, Poland. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of fortifications and defensive barriers that once encircled the...

.

The Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

is often shown on the second floor, as the first one is used for a display of historical figurines.

External links

• "Szopkas" at krakow-info.com
• Szopkas at krakow.zaprasza.net
• Kraków Christmas Cribs
• Shiny, Shipshape Szopkas