It is the oldest functioning glass school in the world. The predecessor of the Glass School in Kamenický Šenov was the Sunday School of Drawing for local pupils, glassmakers and masters founded in 1839. The Glass School was established in 1856 at the request of local manufactures to provide training for local glass painters and engravers. Jan Dvořáček was the founder and the first director of the school.

The school developed mostly after the Second World War and then in the 60s of the 20th century. It had traditional glass painting and grinding departments and a new department of construction and production of light fittings. In 1969 they added the department of Glass Engraving. Since the 90s new technologies have been used as well – glass blowing at microwave kiln, casting, modelling of flat glass in an electric kiln, the printing of graphic sheets using glass sheets (vitrography), computer graphic and 3D modelling.

In the past decades, numerous artists studied at The Glass School in Kamenický Šenov, who have contributed substantially to the modern artistic development of Czech glassmaking. Some of these artists taught at our school, and others were graduates. Among the graduates were, for example, Jiří šuhájek, René Roubíček, Ivo Rozsypal, Vladimír Kopecký and many others. The main partner of the school is the biggest producer of light fittings the company Preciosa-Lighting in Kamenický Šenov. The school has cooperated with the glassworks owned by brothers Jílek, glass atelier of Peter Rath in Kamenický Šenov, glassworks Moser in Carlsbad and other companies, such as Crystalex in Nový Bor, Ajeto in Lindava and Nový Bor. The school also participate in The International Symposium of Engraved Glass in Kamenický Šenov, and local and foreign glass exhibitions. Absolvents usually continue with their studies at art colleges in The Czech Republic and abroad.

The school has been a part of ASPnet Unesco since 2005.

Visitors can also see the school gallery with student´s works dating from 1856 till now. On the ground floor of the historic building from 1887, there is a shop where you can buy some of the student´s art pieces.
Upon agreement, it is possible to visit school workshops, where you can see students working in cutting, engraving, painting and chandelier workshops. Visitors can also see the atelier of applied painting.