According to Polish Culture: "Creche-makers often incorporate characters from Krakow legends in their creations, including the likes of Queen Wanda, the Dragon of Wawel, and the famed Lajkonik. Each creche is a miniature version of Krakow, rendered in fairy-tale colors, joyous, often imbued with humor."
The actual competition for the most beautiful Krakow Nativity Crib was started in 1937, stopped during the war years and returned in 1946.
These small nativities are richly ornamented, multi-layered and constructed of papers, silver and gold foils, cardboard, bits of plastic and faux jewels. Actual sizes of the competition nativities will range in size from small enough to fit inside a matchbox to several meters high.
Shown above is the Holy family at St. Mary Church, a miniature version of these nativities available from DaPolonia.com.
