AUSTRALIA

Sydney - Nativity House - Christmas Museum, 136-146 Garfield
Road, Horsley Park NSW. Collection of ElisabethVan Mullekom-Cserep. Open October 1- December every year, by appointment (email: nativity@mindspring.com
website: www.nativityhouse.com.au

AUSTRIA

Innsbruck - Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum (Museum of Tyrolean Popular Arts) - Universitätsstrasse 2.

Vienna - Österreichisches Museum für Volkskunde (Austrian
Folklore Museum) - Palais Laudongasse 15-18.

CANADA

Montreal - Brother Andre Museum, St. Joseph's Oratory, 3800 Queen Mary Road. Collection of 600+ nativities from some 100 countries. About 250
on display every year. New exhibit every November, sometimes up for 10+ months. (514-733-8211)

France

Aix-en-Provence - Musée du Vieil Aix

Arles - Museon Arlaten, 29 rue de la République

Autun - Cathédrale Saint Lazare, place St-Louis. 4 stone capitals, sculpted in the twelfth century by master craftsman Gislebertus, tell the story of the Wise Men: before Herod, adoring the Christ Child, being warned by an Angel, and the flight to Egypt of the Holy Family. Can be seen "at eye level" in the Salle Capitulaire,
one floor up from the church.

Carpentras - Museum with crèche scenes

Cassis - Musée des Arts et Traditions populaires

Greoux les Baines, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
"La crèche de Haute-Provence" and an exhibit of antique creches at the workshop of Martine and Gerard Moine, 36 avenue del Alpes (route de Vinon) telephone: 0492-776108 fax: 0492-776459

Les-Baux-de-Provence - Musée des Santons, Ancien hôtel de ville

Marseille - Musée du Vieux Marseilles, Maison Diamantée, rue de la Prison

Museum at Marcel Carbonel Studios, 47 Rue Neuve Saint Catherine

Musée des Arts et Traditions populaires du Terroir
Marseillais - 7 miles northeast at Chateau Gombert

Martigues - Museum of Old Martigues - old santons from the
St. Julien crèche

Maussane-les-Alpilles - Musée des Santons Animés (Articulated Santon
Museum), Route de Saint-Remy D5

Paris - Musée national des Arts et Traditions, 5 Place des Heros

GERMANY

Berlin - Museum für Deutsche Volkskunde (German Folk Art Museum) in Dahlem section at Im Winkel 6-8

Dresden - Museum fr Volkskunst (Folk Art Museum), in the Jagerhof

Hergersberg - "Krippana", on the Belgian-German border in old Losheim customs building. Museum containing over 200 Nativities from around the world. (In Hergersberg: 4700 Manderfeld. 080/54.87.29. In Losheim: Prmer Strasse 54. 06557-866). Open 10-6 daily. (east of Malmedy, Belgium southeast of Monschau)

Munich - Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum)
Prinzregentenstrasse 3.

Oberammergau - Pilathaus (second floor)

Saalfelden - Ritzen Castle

Schneeburg - Museum für Bergmannische Volksart (Miners' Folk Art Museum)

Telgte - Krippenmuseum

HOLY LAND

Bethlehem Bethlehem Peace Museum (scheduled opening September/October 2000) Collection of some 80 nativities, on permanent display for a time.

ITALY

Bergamo - Museo del Presepio in Brembo di Dalmine Via XXV Aprile 179, or 52 Via Desente Telephone: 011-39-05-561-584

Bolzano - Museo dei Presepi nel Convento Muri di Gries, in the Roman Tower of Abbazia. 18th Century presepio, exhibit showing present presepi production in Alto Adige, some 40 pieces of a group of folk art figures.

Bressanone - oldest town in south Tyrol. Palazzo Vescovile (Palace of the Prince-Bishops). Nativity collection on ground floor contains works by two of the most famous crib makers, Franz Xavier Nissl and Joseph Benedikt Probst

Caserta - La Reggia, the Royal Palace 18th Century Neapolitan presepio of
Spanish Prince Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, 1734

Genova - La Madonetta Sanctuary. Baroque nativity (take Righi Funicular to St. Nicholas exit and walk up)

Greccio - Church of the Nativity, built over the spot where St. Francis organized his living nativity in 1223. Large presepio and nativity wall plaques inside. Small display of nativities on the second floor.

Macerata - Museo Tipologico del Presepio, Via Maffeo Pantaleoni, 4.17th Century Neapolitan presepio, regional Italian and foreign nativities, as well as another 4000 pieces of statues, animals, accessories, bibliographical and
and philatelic materials, movies, slides, etc.

Naples - Museo Nazionale di San Martino (St. Martin National Museum),
on the grounds of the Castel Sant'Elmo, Largo San Martino 5, in the V¢mero district - Presepio of Cuciniello and others

Convent of St. Clare, Santa Chiara, near Via San Gregorio Armeno - 17th Century theatrical crib with many figures

Via San Gregorio Armeno - presepio workshops and stores line both sides of this street

Rome - Basilica del Santi Cosma e Damiano near Coliseum presepio from 1750 45 ft. long, 21ft. wide, 27 ft. high

Museo Tipologico Internazionale del Presepio at headquarters of the Associazione Italiana Amici del Presepio, Via Tor de Conti 31A.

Catacombs many have representations of the nativity story on crypts or walls

Sumirago - Museo Internazionale del Presepio di Albusciago, northwest of Milano, direction Varese, near parish church. Italian and inter-national collection.
Open daily 2:30-5:30; call for holiday hours. (0331-909.145 / 909.720 / 908.033)

MONACO

Monte Carlo - Musée National, Principauté de Monte Carlo. Santons
from late 18th Century-early 20th; 18th Century Neapolitan crèche

POLAND

Krakow - Basilica Mariacki on Rynek Glowny, the main square - nativity scene on altar doors

Muzeum Etnograficznego (Ethnographic Museum), old town hall, plac Wolnical, Kazimierz District. Antique szopki.

PORTUGAL

Beja - Regional Museum on Largo da Concei‡ao

SPAIN

Alicante - Museo de Belenes - Calle de San Agust”n, Casco Viejo

Barcelona - Church of the Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaud”.
Stone carvings of the Nativity.

Madrid - Museo de Artes Decorativos (Museum of Decorative Arts), corner Montalban and Alfonso XII.

Murcia - Museo Salzillo - display of 900+-piece carved wood nativity by sculptor Francisco Salzillo (1707-1781)

Toledo - Cathedral. Transparente Altar has nativity scene

SWITZERLAND

Einsiedeln - Diorama of Bethlehem - "the largest crib in the world" - (470 figures carved by Ferd Pottmesser of South Tyrol in the 1930s, in a permanent building)

California

Carmel - Mission San Carlos Borromeo. Nativity on display made up of pieces from several different Italian Baroque sets. Located in a room to the left of the altar (831-624-3600)

San Francisco - Grace Cathedral, Episcopal, 1051 Taylor. Figures carved by Antonio Juan Villalba of Valencia, Spain, in 1956. Made from Swedish birchwood and lightly polychromed. Located in the north transept (415-749-6338)

Michigan

Frankenmuth - Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland. Museum with Bronner

Family personal nativity collection + nativities on display both inside and out. "Silent Night" Chapel replica on grounds. (512-652-9931)

Zeesenagle Italian Alpine Village, 780 Mill Street. (517-652-2591). Fee.

Minnesota

Minneapolis - Nativity Lutheran Church, St. Anthony Village, 3312 Silver Lake Road. View when church open. (612-781-2766)

New Mexico

Santa Fe - Museum of International Folk Art. 706 Camino Lejo, off
Old Santa Fe Trail. (505-827-6350)

New York

Corning - Christmas Forever Shoppe and Museum. 61 E. Market Street
(607-937-3715)

New York City - Lladro. 43 W. 57th Street. Permanent display of special
pieces, including several nativities, in Museum on second floor. Tu-Sat, 10-5:30. (212-838-9771)

St. Francis of Assisi Church, 135 W. 3lst Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues). Perpetual Christmas Crib in lower church dioramas show birth, early life of Jesus.
Relic from cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem set into rail in front of crib. (212-736-8500).

Ohio

Dayton - Marian Library, University of Dayton. Year-round and seasonal displays. (937-229-4214 / www.udayton.edu/mary/)

Pennsylvania

Paradise - National Christmas Center, 3427 Lincoln Highway. Walk-through life-size re-creation of Mary and Joseph's journey. (717-442-7950)

Philadelphia - St. Mary's at the Cathedral, Chapel of St. Michael and All Angels, corner of Ridge Avenue and Cathedral Road. Chinese creche brought from China in 1943 by missionary, Deacon Katherine Putnam. Located in side chapel year round; moved into church during the Christmas season (215-482-6300)

Washington, DC - Franciscan Monastery. "The Holy Land of America".
Grotto of Bethlehem. Replica of the Holy Manger. 14th & Quincy Streets NW.

  The Crèche - A Selected Bibiliography

Return to Gallery

Return to The Mary Page

This page, created by Kris Sommers, is maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, was last modified Friday, 04-Jun-2004 16:22:03 EDTon August 26, 2002 by Meena Katadi. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.

You are visitor #
URL for this page is http://www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/crechesinter.html/mary/gallery/creches/permnatives.html