The "Croatian Christmas" nativity scene spreads over three and a half square metres and it features 150 wax figurines of people in national costumes on their way to Bethlehem, including tamburitza musicians, women, children, the Three Wise Men and the nativity stable with barn animals.
Croatian sculptor Vojta Branisa (Bzenec, Czech Republic 1893 - Zagreb 1983) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb and his first major work was in fact this nativity scene, which he created in 1916, immediately after graduating.
The nativity scene has been exhibited around Croatia and the world but due to its fragile material it has been decided not to move it anymore and the only place where it will be possible to see it is Zagreb's St. Blaise Church. During the year the scene is enclosed in a wooden cupboard which is opened during the Christmas season, custodian Vesna Mazuran-Subotic explained.
Director of Zagreb's tourism board, Martina Bienenfeld, explained that the nativity scene had been incorporated in the Advent in Zagreb events and that cultural programmes accounted for about 40% of visits to the city.