Nativity scenes at the City Museum
Traditionally, the City Museum fulfils Henryk Tomaszewski's wish by showcasing historic Lower Silesia nativity scenes from his collection.
Traditionally, the City Museum fulfils Henryk Tomaszewski's wish by showcasing historic Lower Silesia nativity scenes from his collection. The nativity scene tradition in Silesia dates back to the latter part of the 16th century. Nativity scenes first appeared in churches and aristocratic manors, and were later adopted by the burghers. Crate nativity scenes were particularly popular. Apart from the Holy Family and the Magi, the crate scenes also featured the burghers represented in the outfits of the time. Other figures representing various social groups and professions were also featured. They were often accompanied by the figures characteristic of Lower Silesia, Cistercian monks and even the spirit of the Karkonosze Mountains Liczyrzepa and the panorama of the Karkonosze Mountains and the towns and villages of Lower Silesia.
Henryk Tomaszewski, who originated the tradition of the Wrocław pantomime theatre, was simply fascinated by nativity scenes from Lower Silesia. Tomaszewski bequeathed his collection to the Wrocław City Museum with a request to showcase the collection every year to the residents of Lower Silesia.
