Looking for a hostel, Jesus' birth and the visit of the Three Kings: On the crib path in Holzkirchen, young and old get on the trail of the Christmas miracle.
16 stations invite you to take a stroll before Christmas.
Holzkirchen
- “We're making a tradition out of it,” said Mayor Christoph Schmid with a wink: For the second time, a nativity trail in Holzkirchen invites you to explore. At 16 stations in the market town, nativity scenes get in the mood for Christmas and the winter lighting creates an Advent mood after the Christmas markets have to be canceled again this year due to corona. 13 of the 16 stations - 15 in Holzkirchen, one in Roggersdorf Church - were made by the Langl family from Sollach.
Oskar Langl jun.
(54) heard the building of the crib from his father, Oskar Sr., who is also still active.
“He once built a crib for the family.
Then there were inquiries from relatives, and at some point there were more and more, ”recalls the junior.
“We opened the store 26 years ago.” Until last year, the Langls were out and about at Christmas markets with a mobile sales stand.
Completely independent of Corona, explains Langl jun., But it was over after 25 years.
"That is very time-consuming, and our car is no longer the youngest," says Langl.
The family only sells their cribs in the shop at the workshop in Sollach, which they open by making an appointment.
The Langl family's cribs are handcrafted
The family sources Jesus, Maria and Joseph, ox, donkey, shepherd & Co. from a few selected manufacturers.
The scenes in which the figures come to life are created in local handicraft at Langls: Alpine mountain huts or oriental-looking houses, rich in detail and as if from life.
In real small landscapes with trees and bushes, meadows and deserts, rocks and paths.
Christoph Gonschorek, owner of the Marien-Apotheke, is a new addition this year as a station on the Krippenweg.
Langl made a nativity scene especially for this, which takes up the Marian theme.
It does not show the classic scene after the birth of Jesus, but the search for a hostel.
Maria and Joseph strive for a hostel with yellow ocher walls, the landlord approaches them, the donkey looks out of the stable.
Sometimes chance helps with the technology
The winding building has roofs made of red tiles.
"Each one is handmade," explains Langl.
And like so many other things, they are the end of a long process, because building cribs is an art that you learn in practice.
“In the past we always made bricks out of clay,” Langl jun. Reports, “we gouged them out, wrapped each one around a pin for the arch and then dried it.” The result was beautiful, but also sensitive, the bricks broke easy.
At some point the Langls preferred to use modeling clay than clay.
And lo and behold: "It is indestructible."
Chance also often helps.
For windows, for example: “Once the glue leaked and dried overnight,” Langl recalls.
The mishap brought a convincing look to light: "Looks like hand-blown glass."
Also stops in Tölzer Straße and in Roggersdorf
The window of a private house on Tölzer Straße is also new as a station on the nativity scene.
The Herl family shows the crib that was built by the family around 100 years ago.
It even gets experts in raptures: "With Marolin figures", explains Langl jun., From a kind of paper mache.
“This was how the first nativity figurines were mass-produced.” A piece of jewelery - just like the nativity scene at the most remote station on the nativity trail, but which is worth a visit, as Langl assures: 32 large, clothed nativity figures can be seen in the Roggersdorf Church of St. Margareth that the sculptor Olga Herl-Röder bequeathed to the community.
With the order to show them.
Langl hopes that the cribs will accompany passers-by atmospherically through Advent and Christmas time and, above all, make children's eyes light up: “Just take the grandchildren or child by the hand and go for a walk again.” On the trail of the Christmas miracle.
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