Rivers, valleys, mountains... This year, the traditional nativity scene installed once again in the City Council becomes a window onto Catalonia’s geography, recreating its mountain landscapes. Made with moss, soil, sand and vegetation, these scenes may transport you to a little village in the Pyrenees or the Pre-Pyrenees, with its slate roofs. Within these familiar landscapes unfold scenes depicting the Annunciation to the shepherds, the Nativity, the journey of the Three Wise Men from the East and the Flight into Egypt, the latter set among pharaonic ruins unlike the rest. 

Among the figures you will find characters who populated distant Bethlehem but also others that will seem more familiar, as they are well-known figures from the traditional Catalan nativity scene: shepherds with their sheep, the shepherdess with a flock of geese, the fisherman, the hunter, the stonemason, the mushroom gatherer and, of course, the caganer.

The creators of the nativity scene are members of the Associació de Pessebristes de Barcelona, an active organisation with roots in mid-19th-century Barcelona that was re-established under its current name in 1921. The aim is to encourage and promote the creation of nativity scenes, starting with the traditional one you can see this year at the City Hall. 

Nativity scene design and production: Barcelona Association of Nativity Scene Builders.

Discover all the Nativity scenes in Barcelona.