Glass works and Museums in Crystal Valley-Czech Republic

The crystal valley in the Liberec region is famous for the traditional glass works and manufacturing of glass and costume jewellery. I spent 2 days visiting the Glassworks and museums in Crystal Valley during my recent trip to the Czech Republic. My visit to the glassworks and museums in the crystal valley provided a fascinating insight glass .

Visit Pačinek Glass

My visit to the Pacinek glassworks, included an opportunity to meet Jiri Pacinek, the owner and key glassmaker and six other glass masters at Kunratice by Cvikov Glass works . The glass masters are all are experts in the crystal valley Czech glass-blowing techniques using traditional tools such as pipes, shears, and tweezers.

I was able to view the glass blowers working and demonstrating their techniques whilst visiting the glassworks workshop. Because of these incredibly skilled craftspeople in the Crystal Valley, the glass-making is still alive and thriving. I gained a lot of knowledge about glass making from this engaging and fascinating experience.

Cvikov Glass works exibition

I had the chance to visit the exhibition of all the beautiful glassworks created at Cvikov Glass after taking a tour of the glassworks and talking to Jiri Pacinek. The beautiful glassware, wine glasses, sculptures of birds, animals, chandeliers, and musical instruments displayed on show are magnificent. It is astonishing to see how skilful these works of art are. The artistry involved is outstanding.

Jiri Pacinik’s open air crystal garden

A beautiful open-air crystal garden surrounds the glassworks created by Jiri Pachinek. It is one of the finest places to visit in the crystal valley. As the weather was gorgeous, I enjoyed strolling around the gardens and checking out all the creations.

In the crystal garden there are sculptures of Flowers, creatures, arches, animals, and wildlife. They are truly amazing. The walk around the gardens is a wonderful experience to see the creativity and vision that has gone into creating such stunning artwork.

19th Century Holy Cross Exaltation church.

On the grounds of the crystal glass works, there is a 19th Century Holy Cross Exaltation church. Jiri Pacinek has created a glass exhibitions throughout the church.

You can view the exhibits through guided tours offered to the public. The Holly Grave Light sculpture, discovered in 2020, captivated me. Conservators stored it for safekeeping, and experts believe it is 130 years old. This discovery was the most valuable find in Crystal Valley.

The sculpture remains extremely well preserved, and restorers have returned it to its original glory.

This was the most valuable find in the crystal valley.

Above, the balconies feature additional glass sculptures. Notably, artists crafted four Coronavirus-themed pieces, representing Helping Hands, Hope and New Life, Love and Kisses, and Smiles. In fact, during this period, they produced these works in Crystal Valley as a meaningful reminder of the COVID era

Visit to Lasvit Ajeto Glass works

Ajeto Glass Works were one of the stops on my excursion. They blown glass they produce is unique and world-renowned. Ajeto Glass make the Tour de France trophies. You can see complete range of the trophies displayed in their showroom.

The trophy designs follow the same form year after year; nevertheless, changes are added to the engravings and illustrations to ensure each year’s design is unique. In addition, Ajeto produces the Czech trophy for theatre artists, which, as a result, has also become an award-winning trophy.

Ajeto Glassworks in Nový Bor

I enjoyed visiting Ajeto Glassworks in Nový Bor. The glassworks provide visitors with demonstrations of glass blowing and making and they offer the possibility to blow your own glass.

The process of glass making:

• To begin with, glassmakers use sand, soda ash, potassium, and calcium to make the glass.
• Next, they mix the ingredients and heat them to 1004 degrees to create molten glass.
• Then, to give the glass different colours, artisans add substances such as cobalt for blue, iron oxide for green, and gold to achieve red glass.
• After that, they pour the molten glass into wooden moulds made from pear wood; in some cases, they also use stone moulds.
• Meanwhile, experienced craftsmen create the moulds using lathes and hand tools.
• Finally, they polish the finished objects with Pemza and water to complete the process.

At the Ajeto Tavern, you can experience a typical Czech menu and sample the special glass-makers beer while watching the glass-making demonstration.

Lasvit Company Headquarters

My next visit was to the Lasvit Glass Works Headquarters. The head office is located in a luxurious house from the end of the 18th century. It took 5 years to plan the renovations. It was interesting to discover that whilst planning the project, the designers gave lots of thought and care to keep in mind historic techniques and methods. Lasvit has made a significant effort to preserve the original well and numerous other old artefacts. The house has a glass front that is supported by concrete pillars to maintain it.

The company has built a reputation as a design hub in the crystal valley, where young and talented artists meet and under the company’s guidance create new and extravagant products.

Lasvit Projects

The Glassworks and MuseumLasvit Glass creates bespoke installations on a large scale for hotels, opera houses, offices, hospitals, cruise ships, opera houses, and stations. The company offers a wide variety of eye-catching structures, chandeliers, lights, and glass sculptures for worldwide distribution. By combining craftsmanship, modern technology, and inspirational design, they are enabling the Czech economy to flourish.

Křišťálový ráj -Crystal Paradise.

Křišťálový ráj -Crystal Paradise in Jablonec nad Nisou is a haven for jewellery lovers. The Union of Glass and Jewellery Production and the Association of Small Jewellery Makers run a workshop and showroom at Crystal Palace that features custom-tailored jewellery from 30 local companies

Visitors can participate in jewellery-making classes and workshops. The showroom regularly hosts fashion shows and events for the community. The showroom displays costumes from the fashion show Made in Yablonis.

Křišťálový ráj -Crystal Paradise showroom

The showroom sells a wide range of jewellery. Specifically, visitors can purchase pieces made from different types of beads. For example, the enormous selection includes hollow beads, glass beads, and imitation pearls. Moreover, a striking feature of some pieces is the use of lamp beads, which artisans carefully manufacture using needles and heat. In addition, the showroom offers press beads that artisans have painted and then coloured.

I found it interesting to know that there are over 2000 different types of beads. Among the products on display are Crystal bohemia and Crystal Noviboy, along with amazing Glass Christmas tree decorations.

Muzeum skla a bižuterie v Jablonci nad Nisou

The Muzeum skla a bižuterie v Jablonci nad Nisou is a facinating place to visit. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Czech Republic has set it up.

At the museum, you can view the largest permanent jewellery exhibition in the world. On display there are the best exhibits from large collection sets of glass, costume jewellery, coins, medals, and plaques.

In the museum, the exhibition dedicated to Christmas tree ornaments is very fascinating. On display there are colourful and intricately designed tree decorations. Here you can see the timeline of the history of Christmas tree decorations too.

North Bohemian Museum in Liberec

The North Bohemian museum, is a must-visit for any history lovers. The museum exhibits arts and crafts and the industry of decorative arts. In addition, the museum offers a wide range of displays on regional natural history, archaeology, and history, which means that you could easily spend a couple of hours exploring the incredible exhibits and learning about Czech culture.

Worlds longest glass 26 meter ladder

One of the most stunning exhibits on display in the museum is the world’s longest 26-meter glass ladder, which stretches from the bottom right up to the museum’s tower.

Seeing the iconic views of Liberec and the Jizera mountains from the top of the crystal tower was the highlight of the day for me. I was able to capture a time laspe on my camera of the views which you can see on my Instagram account here.

My trip in the Liberec Region to the Crystal Valley has been fantastic experience. I would highly recommend visiting these places if you visit the Czech Republic.

Below are some more posts about my trip to the Crystal Valley that you may enjoy:

Hotels and Restaurants in and around Liberec the the Crystal Valley

Liberec Region

Traverse Events organised my post-trip visit to the Crystal after attending the Traverse 2022 Conference in Brno. Visit Czech Republic, Liberec Region and Crystal Valley sponsored the trip. ing Traverse 2022 Conference in Brno. The Glassworks and Museums in Crystal Valley trip was sponsored by Visit Czech Republic, Liberec Region and Crystal Valley. All content shared in this post is of my personal experience and all opinions shared are honest and true.

If you love travelling, then you may like the following posts about my three days in Stockholm:

Stockholm in three days Part 1

• Stockholm in three days Part 2 Stockholm old town and Gamla Stan
• Stockholm in three days Part 3 Stockholm City Library

Explore the world through the eyes of a vegetarian traveller.

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