Silent Night Crib

It was a simple performance, presented before ordinary people, with organist Franz Xaver Gruber and assistant priest Joseph Mohr enriching the Christmas Mass on December 24, 1818, at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf an der Salzach. Gruber had set Mohr's poem "Stille Nacht" to music just a few hours earlier. Together, they premiered the song "Stille Nacht!, Heilige Nacht!": Joseph Mohr sang the tenor part and played the guitar, while Franz Xaver Gruber took the bass part, with the final line of each verse repeated by the choir of the mass attendees. Today, the song is sung in over 350 languages and dialects around the world.

The Journey of the Silent Night Nativity to Ried
When the dilapidated St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf was demolished in 1906 due to the constant risk of flooding, the Silent Night nativity scene was gifted to the school sisters of Oberndorf, who kept it in their attic for a long time. When they faced financial difficulties, they sold the nativity scene to a second-hand dealer in Salzburg. There, the watchmaker Georg Muckenhammer from Ostermiething acquired the nativity scene and passed it on to his school friend, Pastor Johann Veichtlbauer from St. Pantaleon (District of Braunau). The clergyman enthusiastically collected folk art and bequeathed his treasures to the city of Ried in 1933, thereby founding the Museum Innviertler Volkskundehaus.

Restored for the Silent Night Anniversary
In the anniversary year of 2018, the nativity scene created around 1800 was carefully restored and newly displayed. The approximately 100 figures with their wax heads and magnificent garments can now be found in an atmospheric landscape with a view from Oberndorf of the Alpine panorama.

Opening Hours
Tuesday to Friday: 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00
Saturday: 14:00 to 17:00

Guided tours are offered upon request: +43 7752 901 301, kultur@ried.gv.at
Group tours can also be arranged outside of opening hours by prior arrangement.

Audio Guide City Tour
📌 Audio Guide City Tour German
📌 Audio Guide City Tour English
Audio Guide Museum Tour
📌 Audio Guide Museum Tour German
📌 Audio Guide Museum Tour English
3D Tour of the Museum
📌 https://tour.3d-innviertel.at/tour/museum-innviertler-volkskundehaus