Precious stones from the Bohemian Paradise

The brothers Jan and Václav Fišers from Turnov. Their alleged voyage to Venice, five years of efforts to seize the local secret of secrecy, return to Turnov, dozens of wasted attempts and then - finally success! In 1711 they made the first glass for the production of artificial stones.

THE GLASSHOUSE IN NOVÝ SVĚT

It was in 1712, when Elias Müller built his glassworks on the estate of the Harrach Counts in Jilemnice. It continued in the traditional production of glass, which was produced on the border of the Giant Mountains and the Jizera Mountains in the middle of the 14th century. Even today, you can see not only metallurgical production and blowing glass, but also a hundred-year-old grinding shop. It is driven by a water turbine and transmissions used to distribute the driving force.

ELIAS PALME

Elias Palme, one of the most famous luminaire manufacturers, continued the tradition of chandeliers in Kamenický Šenov. Industrial production of chandeliers was started in 1724 by Josef Palme in Prácheň.

ELDORADO OF BEADS AND SEED BEADS

Surely you would not find in the whole Principle and in the broad surroundings of a person who would say a crooked word about Jan Šourek. After all, it was as if he had come to the Principle of Prosperity and Welfare. As soon as he took possession of the reeve, life in the village began to turn for the better. He was one of the first to venture into the world for business.

JOSEF RIEDEL

Josef Riedel, king of the Jizera Mountains glassmakers, was born in Hejnice in 1816. He was the representative of the sixth generation of the glass family and imprinted his footprint indelibly on the slopes of the Jizera Mountains.

FRIEDRICH EGERMANN

JOSEF PFEIFFER

Josef Pfeiffer - Jablonec entrepreneur and mayor, who was involved in the development of jewelery exports. Everything is confirmed at the imperial court and in 1866 Jablonec became a town during his reign.

BLOWN BEAD and its way to the tree

People can make sense of time and numbers, but not us, beads. However, I have heard that they have been blowing me in the mountains for more than a hundred years. As a bead would put it, that is a long time. You, who have never seen how a bead is born, you don´t know how beautiful life can be....

MELTED GLASS SCULPTURE

In 1920 the first Czech glass school was founded in Železný Brod, thanks to which the town became a center of glass art.

Mapa

Inspired by Crystal Valley

Liberec

The North Bohemian district town of Liberec, which you are most welcome to visit, is located in the valley between the Ještěd Ridge and the Jizera Mountains. Its history goes back to the times of merchant paths leading through this area. As the crossing of the Ještěd Ridge was highly demanding, it was necessary to create a resting place for travelling merchants. Therefore Liberec was gradually established as an open market settlement and it was this fact which determined the character of the town. During the 15th and early 16th centuries this small settlement, first mentioned in 1352, gradually changed into a feudal town, its rights confirmed in writing by Emperor Rudolf II in 1577. The end of the 16th century brought exceptional development to the town. The first stone edifices were built then and for a long time characterized the town.

New, more prominent changes took place in the second half of the 18th century. At this time, the centre of Liberec consisted of brick houses in the classical style. The beginning of the 19th century saw the growth of the textile industry which brought about the development of industrial architecture. This fact lead to the town acquiring independent status. At that time, many representative edifices were built and lent the town a majesty corresponding to its importance - Liberec used to be, after Prague, the second biggest town in Bohemia. There were three consulates, 50 textile factories, and 60 factories connected with the metal industry, amongst which there were also those producing RAF cars.

 

Nowadays, Liberec offers many interesting sites. In downtown there are many buildings which are the pride of the town - for example, the townhall built in neo-renaissance style and finished in 1893, a symbol of wealth and the economical as well as cultural development of the town. Behind the town hall, there is the Theatre of František Xaver Šalda dating from 1893. A museum, chamber of commers and a building society originating from 1901-02, with their grandeur and clarity of style, form the jewels in the crown of the historical part of the town. The rarest jem is the villa quarter from the turn of the 20th century which by its uniqueness attests to the wealth of Liberec at that time.


Liberec is sometimes called "the town under Ještěd," whose peak, rising to 1012m, is crowned by a modern tower which has become a dominant feature of the town. The project for this original construction in the shape of a rotating hyperboloid was designed by the architect Karel Hubáček and awarded the prestigious Perret's prize. The building, housing a communications tower and a hotel with a restaurant, was opened on 21. 9. 1973, and has become a symbol of the remarkable town which lays underneath.