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Krakow’s ‘Szopka’
Christmas Cribs
Krakow’s famous ‘szopka’–pronounced
‘shopka’–Christmas cribs are portable
theaters for traditional puppet Nativity plays.
The ornate structures can be two meters high and
three meters wide. Those colorful, ingenious,
richly decorated and brightly illuminated
extravaganzas take fantastic shapes inspired by
Krakow’s architectural marvels, the bizarre spires of the church of Virgin Mary’s in the first place.
In the past the Christmas cribs were mostly works
of Krakow masons in their idle weeks of the
Polish rainy late autumn. Nowadays it is a
pastime of many Krakow dwellers of all walks of
life. And the city boasts several dynasties of
Christmas-crib makers where two or three
generations construct brand-new creches every
year. The City of Krakow
Historical Museum at 35 Grand Square has collected
the best examples of traditional Christmas cribs
for decades. And every year the museum’s
contest gathers crib builders with their latest
works round the monument to Adam Mickiewicz at
the Grand Square where a plethora of
newly built ‘szopka’ cribs of various size
can be seen before noon on the first Thursday of
December. Then the successful entries are
displayed in the City of Krakow Historical Museum
throughout the holiday season.
At the same
time every Krakow church takes pride in its
own Christmas crib–the Nativity scene that is
usually lavish and elaborate, often in motion,
and sometimes centuries old. Those most popular
can be found in the historical city
center–in the late-17th-century church
of Annunciation at the Loretanska street, in the
17th-century church of Annunciation at the
Karmelicka street, in the early-17th-century
church of St. Peter and St. Paul’s and in the
adjacent 13th-century church of St. Andrew’s
(both at the Grodzka street).
Other Krakow Curios:
Prettiest
Leonardo da Vinci
World's greatest
medieval sculpture
Window
of awe
Subterranean
wonder world
Renaissance
pearl
Giant
bell
Miraculous
images
8-foot
golden crown
Signal
trump
Krakow
mummies
Ice-age
rhino
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Christmas
in Krakow
Why the ancient capital of Poland
deserves a title of the world capital of
Christmas.
Krakow
Festivals
Hardly a month passes in Krakow without some
time-honored occasion for common festivities or
colorful celebration.
Krakow
Folk Traditions
Krakow region has always been rich in colorful
folk traditions, handed down from generation to
generation.
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