ZAGREB, December 2, 2018 – An exhibition of photos about the Krakow Nativity Scene tradition was staged in Zagreb’s Zrinjevac Square on Saturday within the Advent programme in the Croatian capital city, the Polish embassy said in a press release.
The Nativity Scene tradition (or szopka in Polish) in Krakow has been recently added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Nativity Scene tradition in the second biggest Polish city “is a social practice originating from Christmas celebration customs, centred around constructing cribs. Born in the nineteenth century, the tradition is indissolubly connected to the City of Krakow and based on skills and knowledge passed down for generations. The szopka is a lightweight construction featuring the nativity scene surrounded by representations of houses and monuments of Krakow, all transformed by the individual maker,” according to the description of this cultural heritage on the UNESCO website.
“Other scenes are also represented through figurines and artificial lighting, depicting historical, cultural and contemporary social events relating to life in the City of Krakow, Poland and the world.”
Apart from the event in Zagreb, also one more exhibition on this subject matter will be staged at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in the eastern city of Osijek in the period from 5 December to 7 January.
Zagreb and Krakow have had partnership arrangements since 1975.
For more on the relations between Croatia and Poland, click here.
