In a walk through the ten rooms of the Brezje Nativity Scene Museum, you will learn about the history of nativity scene making, the meaning of individual nativity figures and scenes, and admire the different methods and materials used to make nativity scenes. The Brezje Crib Museum is housed in a former monastery barn and the original purpose of the rooms is still visible in the Museum.
Nativity scenes reflect many factors, including the artist who made them, the material used, the time and place in which they were made. Thus, we have divided the crib museum into different sections: from the introductory part, where we learn about the history of the crib, the tools used to make cribs, the different crib groups and the different types of cribs.
Alongside the Christmas nativity scenes, which are the most well-known in our country, in another area we meet the Passion Nativity, the Pentecost Nativity and the Resurrection Nativity. The most authentic and perhaps the deepest memories of the Christmas holidays for Slovenian people go back to the setting up of the nativity scene in Bogko’s corner of the house, where the corner nativity scenes were set up, which are also presented in the museum.
The museum also features a number of Slovenian creators of nativity scenes, as well as nativity scenes from other European countries and further afield. The light of the star that brought the Wise Men to Bethlehem guides us through foreign lands and into a new part of the museum, where we follow the nativity scenes of the war and today through a film story. In the new part of the museum, the design is a little different, with rooms dedicated to stand-alone installations of larger nativity scenes. The darkness of the space is transformed into a bright space where the visitor moves from being an observer into the world of the crib.
The exhibition ends with a reproduction of the fresco from Greccio, the first nativity scene of St Francis of Assisi, illuminated through brick lace, letting in light and capturing the play of light and shadow.
The Brezje Nativity Scene Museum is open:
Saturday – Sunday, 9 am – 4 pm
Admission:
Adults: €4.50
Adults in a group (minimum 15 persons): €4
Seniors, disabled: €3.50
Pupils, students: €3.50
Families (minimum 3 family members): €9
Preschool children: free
Guided tours in Slovenian:
Groups of up to 10 people: €23.00
Over 10 people: €2 per person
Guided tours in foreign language:
Groups of up to 10 people: €43.00
Over 10 people: €3.50 per person
(Guided tours require a group booking. Guiding by other guides is not allowed at the Brezje Nativity Scene Museum.)
