Schwanthaler crib

This splendid crib in the Parish Church of Altmünster ist also called the „mother-crib“ of he Salzkammergut region.

This extraordinary, seven-part nativity scene was created by Johann
Georg Schwanthaler (1740–1810), great-grandson of the great master Thomas Schwanthaler.
Many of the details served as models for later woodcarvers in their own works and are
still feature in every Salzkammergut nativity scene today, such as the ‘Lampotraga’ (*), the group
‘Vada, let me come along’ (*) and the Gloria Angel.
They reflect the once humble, everyday life within the sacred narrative. The Schwanthaler
nativity scene depicts seven scenes from the childhood of Jesus with the utmost artistic skill
and with an inimitable colour scheme. The painted background (c. 1770), ‘the
‘prospekt’, as can be admired in the Schwanthal Nativity scene, has since been regarded as typical of the
Salzkammergut nativity scenes, just as the juxtaposition of ‘Heavenly Jerusalem’
and the Alpine landscape with its inhabitants. Admission is free; a voluntary donation towards
the preservation of the nativity scene.