STEYR. A week before the first weekend in Advent and two days before the start of the soccer World Cup in Qatar, the City Museum in Steyr will reopen the doors of the former house of palm trees in the castle park on Friday, November 18. The highlights of the exhibition, which is accessible free of charge, are two large cots.
The wagon nativity scene by nativity creator Josef Seidl, which was completely renovated in 2017, was created especially for the “Licht ins Dunkel” campaign in the 1990s. It was originally installed on an ÖBB railway wagon and used in many places. More than 1,100 figures, the so-called Loahmmandln, populate the cradle landscape. Among others, the Steyrer Ennskai, the Christkindl pilgrimage church with Engelsstiege, the stable of the birth of Jesus and the parental and birth house of the cradle maker are installed, as well as the places where Jesus worked are shown in the oriental area.
Make a crib together
The baroque nativity scene from Schloss Lamberg comes, along with its precious collection of figures, from the family estate of Josef Graf Lamberg. It was given to the city museum in 1914 by his wife Anna, daughter of the founder of the arms factory Josef Werndl. The valuable collection includes more than 200 dressed figurine dolls, mostly from various church cribs. Steyr’s baroque nativity scene replica was created by Paul Pfaffenbichler (1940-2013) in the 1990s and also featured figures of Lamberg’s nativity. The crib represents the events of Christ’s birth on three levels.
To make a visit to the crib exhibit an experience for children, cultural broker Sarah Schobesberger has come up with a number of ideas. Visitors can choose tasks and mini-games as they wish. Parents and grandparents can also help their children make a small crib together. “We have a free offer for families in Advent that gets them in the Christmas mood,” says city councilor for culture Katrin Auer.