Facts and Figures
Foundation
In the early 1930's Ferdinand Pöttmesser, a crib maker from South Tyrol, built a giant Christmas crib with hundreds of figures which he exhibited in South Tyrol, Tyrol and Upper Italy with great success. In 1953 he sold the figures to Einsiedeln.
Taking the Pöttmesser figures as the starting point Dr. William Döderlein, curator of the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, created the concept of the Christmas crib for the Diorama Bethlehem. The plastic landscape was created by the sculptor Reinhold Zellner of Munich. The background which measures more than 30 m was painted by Bartholomew Wappmannsberger of Prien/Chiemsee.
Great stress was put on creating an exact copy of the environs of Bethlehem and to represent the birth of Christ according to biblical tradition. Thanks to the professional skills of the artist involved and their excellent co-operation this goal was achieved in a impressive way. The inauguration of the Diorama Bethlehem took place in 1954.
The map of Judaea on the front of the building was painted in 1958 by Bartholomew Wappmannsberger.
Ownership
The Diorama Bethlehem was founded as a commercial business in 1953 by Karl Eberle together with his brothers Adelrich and Joseph and his brother-in-law Albert Birchler under the name of "Neues Diorama Bethlehem Ltd".
In 2005 Dr. Adelrich Eberle incorporated the "Diorama Bethlehem Foundation" to which he donated all the shares of the Ltd. company.
>The Diorama Bethlehem is financially independent and receives no public funds.
Media Coverage
It comes as no surprise that the largest Christmas crib in the world gets the attention of the media. The most notable reports are listed below:
| Media | Issue | Date | Form of publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turicum | - | December 1973 / February 1974 | pictorial report |
| Neue Zürcher Zeitung | 253 | 21. / 22. December 1974 | pictorial report |
| Schweizer Familie | 52 | December 1974 | pictorial report |
| Schweizer Illustrierte | 52 | 24. December 1979 | pictorial report |
| Coop-Zeitung | 51 | 22. December 1988 | pictorial report |
| Swiss Television DRS | - | Weihnachtsmosaik 24. Dec. 1992 | film report |
Technical Information
Figures
| Number | approx. 470 | |
| Size | 5 cm - 40 cm | |
| Material | wood, textile clothing |
Background
| Length | 35 m | |
| Depth | 5.5 m in the middle, 2.5 m lateral | |
| Ground | rough-cast |
Plastic Landscape
| Area | approx. 80 m² | |
| Material | sacking, plaster | |
| Substructure | wood, wire-netting |
Illumination
| Type | spotlight PAR 38, daylight lamps | |
| Filters | various yellow filters, red and blue filters for visual effects | |
| Power | 2800 Watt |
Interesting websites about christmas cribs
Christmas cribs in the Internet has some background information about cribs and a link list.
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Diorama Bethlehem
CH-8840 Einsiedeln