Austria's Oldest Nativity Scenes Open Their Doors This Christmas
Hall-Wattens – October 29, 2026 -- Visitors to Tyrol's Hall-Wattens region can see the three oldest nativity scenes in Austria this Christmas season, and from about December 22, 2026, locals will guide them through private crib displays.
Tulfes shepherds wear Lederhosen
The village crib in Tulfes features carved wooden jointed figures with movable arms and feet. Its shepherds wear traditional Tyrolean dress, including Lederhosen, instead of Middle Eastern clothing.
The display goes up before the third Sunday of Advent and stays until shortly before Sebastian's Day on January 20. The Christ child in Tulfes parish church can be seen from December 24.
Hall and Thaur hold 17th-century cribs
The crib in Hall's Jesuit church dates to 1609 and counts among the oldest in Central Europe. The Maxnhof in Thaur holds the oldest surviving private crib, dated to the first half of the 17th century.