#szopki krakowskie

[smimon]

Hello let me show you the photos I took at the most recent annual exhibition of Szopki Krakowskie (this will be a long post)

For introduction, szopka krakowska or Kraków nativity scene is a very specific form of nativity, originally it was a prop accompanying carolers who wandered from house to house singing and celebrating the birth of Christ like in many parts of Poland, but in Kraków over time they became very decorative and started incorporating elements of architecture of significant buildings of the city, figures symbolizing citizens, famous people tied to Kraków and legendary characters, and references to events of the ending year. Every December a competition is held where the prettiest szopki are selected in categories such as big/medium/small/miniature size, group projects, "off" projects etc. Here are some of my favourites :)

The "big size" category is maybe the most impressive, these constructions require a few people to carry:

But my favourites are the miniature category, they were so small that the museum prepared magnifying glasses so the visitors won't miss any details

More szopki

Some details

More moving elements, and also the white szopka, I believe its author prepares a white szopka for every year's competition, usually together with another, more traditionally colored construction. Imagine building two of these marvels every year wow

The "off" category is for szopki that differ too much from the traditional shape, form or material to be allowed in the main competition, and some of them end up very interesting. You can see for example the legendary Wawel Dragon taking up the role of the shed for the Holy Family, or a szopka that's embroidered on a folk vest (look in the mirror - it's on the back side), or a szopka made of toy bricks etc.

Speaking of embroidery, there were more of them

This szopka referenced the tragic flood of 2024 that affected southwestern Poland

This one here proves that szopki are more of a cultural than religious tradition, as it incorporates the architecture of the Old Synagogue

What else. Pigeons and an army of other birds

And Moomins are here, too!

If you enjoyed, you can buy a szopka for your home at the museum shop ^^ (prices in PLN)

I made another post about appearances of Stańczyk in this year's szopki

Also no photo but among the "off" category they showed one exhibit that consisted of a few dozen of tiny pictures of AI-generated szopki. I think that regardless of our opinions on this kind of media we can agree that it rose in significance over the year 2024 so it makes sense that the museum wanted to showcase this, but I hope next year there will be no need for that. (they were as ugly as you may imagine)

That would be all. Thank you!

[beautyofpoland]

[geekabilly088]

a bunch of nativity scene models I got lucky to witness

📍Wystawa szopek krakowskich, Kraków, PL

[weirdpolis]

The Kraków Nativity Scene Contest

from the Muzeum Historii Krakowa, fot. Tomasz Kalarus.

https://pl.aleteia.org/2017/12/07/szopki-krakowskie-tradycja-ktora-wciaga/

[emzeciorrr]

Liked on YouTube: 2019 12 11 Szopki krakowskie https://youtu.be/0R2679ibz70

[galeriakrakow]

Krakowska szopka  | The Christmas Crèche

(via Krakowskie szopki #christmasdecorations #christmas2017 #december #decoration #szopka #krakowskaszopka #krakow_gram #krakowskieszopki #cracow #krakow #visitkrakow #christmas #malopolska #photokraków #igerspoland #igerskrakow #bozenarodzenie #bozenarodzenie2017 #december2017 #weekend #sunday #photokrakow #cracow360 #krakowgram - Daria Klesyk (@modestvagabond) - Ligaviewer is the best instagram web-viewer)

[mateusztorbus]

W listopadzie 2018 roku szopkarstwo krakowskie zostało wpisane na Listę reprezentatywną niematerialnego dziedzictwa kulturowego ludzkości UNESCO! To dla mnie wyjątkowo miła wiadomość, bo kilkukrotnie obserwowałem tworzenie szopek w domu państwa Malików.

O tym jak szopki krakowskie powstają panie Anna i Rozalia Malik opowiedziały Beacie Bialik, a wywiad właśnie ukazał się na stronie Przekroju.  Jako ilustracja posłużyło to  zdjęcie, które zrobionym jeszcze w grudniu 2009 roku, kilka chwil przed prezentacją szopek Malików na krakowskim Rynku.

Wywiad do przeczytania pod linkiem TUTAJ.

[zwiedzaniekrakowa]

Szopki krakowskie – siła i piękno tradycji

Jak pisaliśmy już w naszym poprzednim poście, tradycję aranżowania szopek ukazujących tajemnicę Narodzenia Chrystusa wprowadził św. Franciszek z Asyżu w 1223 roku. Przygotował on żłobek, który postawił w grocie obok żywych zwierząt. Kolejne wieki przyniosły sukcesywny rozkwit zwyczaju budowania szopek – obok figur statycznych, pojawiły się również ruchome. Dziś przyjrzymy się bliżej jednej z…

[lamus-dworski]

73rd Kraków Nativity Scenes Contest, 3 Dec 2015.

The tradition dates back at least to 19th century, when the custom and style (with buildings inspired by local architecture) was formalized by the Cracovian bricklayers and contractors who were looking for some extra income during the winter season. The official contest is organized by the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków since 1945. Each year the cribs are brought to the Main Square for an official ceremonial opening, and then moved to the Fontana's Room of the Krzysztofory Palace where a temporary exhibition is organized by the Museum (held until the day before Ash Wednesday). Each year the Museum is purchasing few Cribs for its own collection.

This year 187 entries were registered for the contest: around 120-130 made by children and youth, and the rest by professional artists and Cracovian crib makers.

Images via Szopka Krakowska and Kraków - Nasze Miasto.

[smimon]

Went to see Szopki Krakowskie and halfway through the exhibition I returned to the beginning and started documenting all instances of Stańczyk I could find