A circular route worth seeing

Kripperl-Roas: Holy Family in a beer barrel

Artist Manuela Eibensteiner, Chairwoman of Krippenfreunde Mühlviertel(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

Freistadt is currently a town of nativity scenes: 40 exhibits can be seen in the town center until 6 January. A tour is worthwhile, as there are many depictions that tell of the Christmas miracle in a modern and imaginative way. A new nativity scene even floats on the city pond.

"The child is the light, and the light stands for hope," says Manuela Eibensteiner, who runs an art studio in Freistadt. "Especially in troubled times, you should set up this miracle in the form of a nativity scene at home!" She lights tea lights and places them behind an artistically painted pane of glass, a reverse glass nativity scene whose colors light up beautifully.

Eibensteiner's reverse-glass depictions of the Holy Family and the Christmas message are known throughout the region: "I use designs by the famous Upper Austrian reverse-glass painter Emil Vierhauser, which he left me."

"Kripperl-Roas" in the city center
As a crib fan, Eibensteiner is also the chairwoman of the Mühlviertel Crib Friends, who have set up a Christmas trail (until January 6) through the city center of Freistadt with 40 stations.

There are 24 nativity scenes on display in stores, including one made from corn straw and a snow nativity scene in a beer barrel: "Freistadt is a brewing town!" A two-meter-high nativity scene made of thin metal floats on a raft in the Frauenteich. The nativity scene friends want to remind us of a historical topic that is important for Freistadt near the Czech border: 35 years ago, the Iron Curtain fell, dividing Europe into East and West for decades.