First day of the Christmas commemorative stamp – organ nativity scene, Wagrain parish church, and Christmas coil stamp – Christmas tree

The Holy Family

The Christmas stamp, enhanced with hot foil embossing, features the organ nativity scene in the parish church of Wagrain in Salzburg, depicting a sculpture of the Holy Family.

The Catholic parish church of Wagrain is dedicated to Saint Rupert. The Gothic church was first mentioned in records in 1359. In 1486, it became a vicarage church and was eventually elevated to a parish church in 1857. The parish church of Wagrain has a special connection to Christmas: Joseph Mohr, who wrote the text for the most famous Christmas carol, "Silent Night! Holy Night!", served as vicar there from 1837 until his death in 1848. His honorary grave is located in the church cemetery.

In front of the gallery, which houses the Joseph Mohr Memorial Organ, the so-called organ nativity scene can be found on the church’s central pillar. This nativity scene was created in 1952 by the Salzburg sculptor Jakob Adlhart.

Jakob Adlhart the Younger was born in Munich in 1898 and passed away in Hallein in 1985. After spending five years in St. Ulrich in Gröden Valley, the family moved to Hallein in 1909. Adlhart studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts from 1921 to 1923. In 1925, he created the crucifix that has been located in the Kolleg St. Benedikt at St. Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg since 1926. Adolf Hahnl, Adlhart's biographer, considers this first major ecclesiastical commission “one of the most striking sculptural works of Expressionism in Austria.” In 1926, Adlhart created the Four Masks Block, which has stood in front of the main portal of the Salzburg Festival Hall since 1927 and has become its emblem.

When? 
29 November 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Presentation at 2:30 p.m.

Where? Holy Night Museum at Pflegerschlössl, Museumsgasse 3, 5602 Wagrain

Group pictures: Picture 1
Picture of presentation: © Karl-Heinz Kreuzsaler / Ö. Post AG
Group picture, left to right: 

Ulf Adlhart (grandson of Jakob Adlhart), Karl-Heinz Kreuzsaler (managing director, Blaues Fenster cultural association), Michael Neureiter (Holy Night Society), Susanna Hiegesberger (stamp archive curator, Austrian Post), Wilhelm Remes (president, St. Gabriel philately club), Norbert Philippi (Gabriel State Guild Salzburg), Maria Walchhofer (president, Blaues Fenster cultural association), Josef Gehwolf (vice-mayor of Wagrain)