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Largest collection of Nativity scenes: Michael Zahs sets world record

December 30, 2022
Largest collection of Nativity scenes: Michael Zahs sets world record

Washington, Iowa, United States--The Hills Bank in Washington is currently hosting the display of 2,539 different nativity scenes, a collection belonging to Michael Zahs; the display will run until January 2023 and sets the new world record for the Largest collection of Nativity scenes, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.


"I like to have people come and look at the details. You can look at the exhibit for the scripture part of it, you can look at it for the materials, the artwork. Much of these are handmade, some of them are very historical," Zahs told KCRG-TV.

Largest collection of Nativity scenes: Michael Zahs sets world record

"Zahs said he has been collecting the nativity scenes since the 1950s and they come from more than 100 different countries. He said it took about six weeks to set all of the scenes up at the bank," the UPI reports.


"Zahs said he has been collecting the nativity scenes since the 1950s and they come from more than 100 different countries. He said it took about six weeks to set all of the scenes up at the bank.


"The current Guinness World Record for the largest collection of nativity sets was set at 1,802 in 2009, while the record for largest display of nativity sets was set at 2,150 in 2010.Zahs' collection will remain at the bank through January."

Largest collection of Nativity scenes: Michael Zahs sets world record

"The bank’s happy to have it, it’s definitely unique and we look forward to having people in to look at it," Janelle Johnson, vice president at the bank who helped put up the display, told Fox News Digital via email.


""It's a great way to bring joy to folks in our community," she added.


"I like to have people come and look at the details," he said to KCRG. "You can look at the exhibit for the scripture part of it, you can look at it for the materials, the artwork. Some of them are very historical," he added.

Largest collection of Nativity scenes: Michael Zahs sets world record

"It took six weeks to set up the thousands of scenes. All of the scenes are owned by Michael Zahs, who started his collection in the 1950s. The displays come from more than 100 different countries, the majority of them handcrafted," the KCRG reports.

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“I like to have people come and look at the details. You can look at the exhibit for the scripture part of it, you can look at it for the materials, the artwork. Much of these are handmade, some of them are very historical,” Zahs said. The display continues until the end of January 2023."

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