Pöttmesser nativity scene
The Pöttmesser crib is a Christmas crib in Christkindl near Steyr in Upper Austria . The 778 carved figures up to 30 centimeters high are shown in four scenarios on a 58 square meter nativity scene. Since 1999 it has been on permanent display together with a mechanical crib by Karl Klauda in a farm building in the Christkindl parish. The Pöttmesser nativity scene is one of the largest nativity scenes in the world.
History and crib building
The South Tyrolean carver Ferdinand Pöttmesser (1895–1977) began working on the large crib in 1954. He designed his first self-taught nativity scene at Neuhaus Castle from 1930 to 1937 . He integrated this nativity scene into the Bethlehem diorama that was set up in Einsiedeln in 1952 . The associated crib mountain was not allowed to be set up in Einsiedeln for fire protection reasons and Pöttmesser got his landscape back, which was made of paper mache and plaster .
On a pilgrimage in 1954, Pöttmesser met pastor Alois Hartl from Christkindl and offered him the Krippenberg for exhibition. For this oriental nativity scene, in the following five years Pöttmesser carved a new set of figures of a total of 778.15 to 30 centimeters high from limewood, which were equipped with ball joints. The oriental robes of the figures are made of high-quality materials such as silk and brocade , which are decorated with numerous embroidery , borders and ribbons.
In 1972, shortly before Pöttmesser's death, Alois Hartl bought the crib for private use. The figures were packed in boxes and shown only sporadically and - due to the size of the nativity scene - in individual scenes. In 1988 Pastor Alois Dinböck suggested purchasing the Pöttmesser nativity scene for the Christkindl parish. The figures have been extensively restored and supplemented. Nativity scene builder Josef Seidl created a new and larger landscape. The figures are shown in thematic groups in a nativity scene 18 meters long and 58 square meters in size. This landscape is divided into four scenes:
- The shepherd's field with the Annunciation
- The depiction of the birth of Jesus in a rock grotto
- Women at the fountain and Bedouin market
- The three kings with their entourage in front of an oriental city
The Pöttmesser nativity scene has been on permanent display since 1999 in a specially redesigned farm building in the Christkindl parish.
reception
As part of the Upper Austrian State Exhibition 1998, Land of Hammers - Heimat Eisenwurzen , the Pöttmesser crib was the central exhibit in Garsten Abbey as part of the exhibition Krippenland on Eisenstrasse .
In 2007, Austrian Post issued the personalized Steyr miniature stamp - Christkindl large crib by Ferdinand Pöttmesser with 20 motifs of the crib at 55 cents each.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Julius Stieber (Ed.): Land of Hammers: Homeland Eisenwurzen . 1st edition. Residenz, Salzburg 1998, ISBN 3-7017-1114-3 , p. 386 .
- ↑ diorama Einsiedeln - Ferdinand Pöttmesser. Retrieved November 27, 2019 .
- ^ Dietmar Assmann: Christmas cribs in Upper Austria: history and regional development from the beginnings to the present; [on the occasion of the exhibition, "Come to the crib -" in the Castle Museum of the Upper Austrian Provincial Museums from November 30, 2003 to February 1, 2004] . Provincial Library, Weitra 2003, ISBN 3-85252-545-4 , p. 92 .
- ↑ Cribs and Christkindl post office. In: Bayerische Staatszeitung. Retrieved November 28, 2019 .
- ↑ Large cribs and crib showrooms in Upper Austria that can be visited all year round. Retrieved November 28, 2019 (German).
- ^ Karl Mayer: Garsten: Krippenland on Eisenstrasse . In: Julius Stieber (Ed.): Land of Hammers - Home Eisenwurzen . 1st edition. Residenz, Salzburg 1998, ISBN 3-7017-1114-3 , p. 384-386 .
- ↑ MM-ÖSD Pöttmesser nativity scene. In: Post. Philately - customer newspaper of Post.at. Post.at, 2007, accessed on November 27, 2019 .