Avisen Danmark published a travel feature on August 11 about the Czech glass region in northern Bohemia, from a garden made entirely of glass to the Ještěd tower above Liberec.
Avisen Danmark describes a journey through northern Bohemia, in the border area between Czechia, Poland and Germany. The route took in glassworks, workshops and museums, ending in the city of Liberec. The outlet states that the reporter was invited by Czech Tourism, which paid for transport, accommodation and meals.
In Kunratice near Cvikov, glass artist Jiri Pacinek keeps a garden where every flower and tree is blown in glass, open year-round. His gallery holds a rearing horse made for Ferrari and a large vase ordered by the Queen of Bhutan. Per the article, a giant bee blown in a single piece of glass sells for about 40,000 euros.
In the mountain town of Harrachov, the family firm Novosad & Son dates from 1712 and is described as the country’s oldest glassworks. According to the report, the plant receives 60,000 visitors a year and produces 500 glasses a day using gas and a water turbine. Its largest customer is the Italian fashion house Prada.
In Poniklá, the bead producer Rautis is presented as the only place in the world preserving the traditional method of making blown glass beads. Over 150 years the company has produced 21,000 different decorations, and ten women now make beads from home. The craft is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
The glass museum in Jablonec displays the world’s largest collection of handmade Christmas ornaments, alongside more than 400 years of glass art. Its exhibits include three large glass trophies lifted by winners of the Tour de France.
On costs and access, Avisen Danmark reports that price levels in Bohemia are 30 to 50 percent below Danish levels, with a cup of coffee at 15 to 20 kroner. Trains run from Copenhagen to Prague twice daily, with three departures in the summer months. SAS, Norwegian and Ryanair fly the route several times a day, and it is 760 kilometers from the Danish border to Liberec.
Liberec, with just over 105,000 inhabitants, is Czechia’s fifth largest city and the center of the glass region. Its town hall dates from 1893. A strip of tank tracks set into the town hall wall commemorates civilians shot during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968.
The Ještěd tower
The feature ends at the Ještěd tower above the city, which combines a television transmitter, a hotel and a restaurant. Archiweb notes that the building was designed by architect Karel Hubáček and completed in stages between 1966 and 1973.
VisitCzechia calls the structure a symbol of the region and lists the address as Horní Hanychov 153, 46008 Liberec 8. The official Ještěd website presents the site as accommodation and a restaurant on Mount Ještěd.
