The nativity scene set up in the parish of Sopronhorpác invites you on a spiritual journey. Almost 50 of the more than 150 figures of the 10-square-meter field table move. The detailed installation can help you understand: Jesus Christ came to this world among us. - starts his writing on the website of the Diocese of Győr, which is published in its entirety by parish priest Pál Kovács.
The idea of building a nativity scene came up more seriously in 2019, when the head of the Nativity Museum in Vösendorf, Austria, Franz Wostalek, helped in the construction of the field table and Styrofoam buildings.
The 10 square meter field table has two levels and consists of four elements. First, sand was poured onto the field tables, and later the desired color and spatial effect was created with several layers of modeling spray. Made of clay and dressed by hand, the sculptures come from Italy. Electricity drives the nearly half a hundred moving sculptures.
Two locations are revealed to the visitor. The first is the field of the shepherds. In the starry night, the angel announces the Good News to the shepherds guarding their flock. A shepherd looks at the angel.
In the middle of the desert part, another shepherd sleeps in an oasis, at whose feet not only is the fire burning and the lamb moving, but the attentive observer can also notice the panting of this sleeping man. To the right, in a Bedouin tent, a third shepherd is shearing the sheep's fur. The shepherds set off for the town of Bethlehem.
We can see a figure playing a flute, a shepherd herding sheep, a figure setting off on a donkey across a bridge over a gurgling river, and several other shepherds. On the road, we can observe several sheep moving their heads, as well as a tree in the crown of which birds are also moving. We can count more than 90 sheep.
This is how we arrive at the second location, the city of Bethlehem. At the city gate, torches are lit and a beggar is barking, and a little to the left, at a city well, a woman washes her clothes while a child soaks his feet. In the paved Bethlehem square, we can see the shepherds coming to the manger and falling on their knees, and the wise men of the east opening their treasures and paying obeisance. The Holy Family is placed in a cave where a blue light indicates the mood of the night. Saint Joseph holds a burning lantern, the donkey looks at the visitors again and again, and the cow eats grass. Baby Jesus is covered and covered by his Mother, thus showing the shepherds and wise men the Savior of the world.
In the city of Bethlehem, we can notice a woman looking out of her window, as well as a baker, as we well know that the city of Bethlehem was the last place where the caravans leaving Jerusalem were able to buy bread. At the baker's feet, a mouse runs in and out of one of the sacks of flour.
The more time we spend next to the Nativity scene in Sopronhorpác, the more its small, lovely, true-to-life details are revealed to us. The moving nativity scene with more than 150 dolls can be viewed in the Sopronhorpác parish building every day between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. until February 2.
Text and photo: parish priest Pál Kovács
Győr Diocese Press Office (hmg)
