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.

Crystalex outlet Background of creation To the light between worlds REBORN CHANDELIERS WILL CONNECT CHURCHES Jewellery and glass exhibition Fragile Beauty 2025 in Jablonec nad Nisou A copy of the St. Stephen's Crown of the Kings of Hungary Touches of Glass The best of IGS 2024 Lustrfest in Kamenický Šenov, 13.-15. 6. 2025 Even Bridget Jones drinks from a glass of KLIMCHI Save the Date: Crystal Valley Week 2025 CRYSTAL VALLEY in 2025 XV. Stanislav Libenský Award 2024 - Tribute to Oldřichu Palatovi Expositions of the Botanical Garden Prague will be enlivened by glass installations by Jiří Pačinek Clothing and bead applications in the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec Live broadcast from the approval meeting for the inscription of handmade glass production on the UNESCO list! GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY CRYSTAL HELMET OF ST. WENCESLAS Trophies for the World Superbike Championship in the spirit of Czech glass art Traditional glassmaking regions on both sides of the border are connecting Palme Glass Trail World of Wonders - WOW Crystal Paradise "Handmade glass" awarded Preciosa Lighting installation at Changi Airport Czech Christmas decorations enchant the Netherlands Crystal reliquary of St. Zdislava for the Pope Preciosa Lighting at Designblok
Crystalex outlet
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Background of creation
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To the light between worlds
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REBORN CHANDELIERS WILL CONNECT CHURCHES
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Jewellery and glass exhibition Fragile Beauty 2025 in Jablonec nad Nisou
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A copy of the St. Stephen's Crown of the Kings of Hungary
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Touches of Glass
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The best of IGS 2024
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Lustrfest in Kamenický Šenov, 13.-15. 6. 2025
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Even Bridget Jones drinks from a glass of KLIMCHI
more
Save the Date: Crystal Valley Week 2025
more
CRYSTAL VALLEY in 2025
more
XV. Stanislav Libenský Award 2024 - Tribute to Oldřichu Palatovi
more
Expositions of the Botanical Garden Prague will be enlivened by glass installations by Jiří Pačinek
more
Clothing and bead applications in the North Bohemian Museum in Liberec
more
Manual glass production is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
more
Live broadcast from the approval meeting for the inscription of handmade glass production on the UNESCO list!
more
Stations of the Cross at the Church of St. Anne
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GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
more
CRYSTAL HELMET OF ST. WENCESLAS
more
Trophies for the World Superbike Championship in the spirit of Czech glass art
more
Traditional glassmaking regions on both sides of the border are connecting
more
Palme Glass Trail
more
World of Wonders - WOW
more
Crystal Paradise
more
"Handmade glass" awarded
more
Preciosa Lighting installation at Changi Airport
more
Czech Christmas decorations enchant the Netherlands
more
Crystal reliquary of St. Zdislava for the Pope
more
Preciosa Lighting at Designblok
more
Mapa

Inspired by Crystal Valley

Železný Brod: Secondary School of Glassmaking

Address

Smetanovo zátiší 470, 468 22, Železný Brod
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Phone

+420 483 346 162

E-mail

sekretariat@supss.cz

The Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Železný Brod celebrates its 105th anniversary in 2025. This first purely Czech glass school operating in our territory and the largest glass school in Europe, founded by the Liberec Region, offers a wide range of studies in one place, including accommodation in its own Youth Home.

First of all, it was consciously founded as the first vocational glass school in the newly established Czechoslovak Republic in 1920 with the task “to prepare pupils for independent work in the art glass industry and to give them at the same time a basic business education for independent entrepreneurship”.

Under one roof, the school offers two four-year diploma courses, a glass-design course and a chemical-technological course. The two art and two technical courses with a total of ten vocational fields form a unique combination of theory and practice, and technical background and artistic background.

The school has its own glassworks and covers almost all hot and cold techniques of artistic glass processing.

Pupils in the oldest Glass Design course study in six glass specialisations, Cutting and Fused Sculpture, Metallurgical Glass Forming, Painting and Decor, Engraved and Relief Glass, Technically Decorative Glass and Glass Figure Design and Jewellery, Jewellery and Fashion Accessories Design, from the very first year. The school's domain is primarily the two traditional glassmaking disciplines taught, which originated in Železný Brod from the artists and teachers of the school, Brycht's Železný Brod glass figurines and the maintained legacy of fused glass sculptures by Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský.

Students of the youngest branch of Product Design work with all materials, thanks to this they have set up a wide cooperation in professional companies of the region with the latest technologies. The topics related to product, packaging, graphic, as well as interior and exterior design that students encounter during their studies evolve in parallel with the overall direction of contemporary design.

Thus, the students of Applied Chemistry with its four specializations, Analytical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Substances, Environmental Protection and now Nanotechnology and Polymers, and the students of Glass and Silicate Technology, have, under one roof, not only their modern laboratories but also the practical processes of glass processing at their disposal, which is why, in our glass school, we apply the theory to practice and practice to theory. Our school is the only one in the Liberec region where it is possible to study both these specific disciplines. By combining all four disciplines and the professional teachers working in one school, a unique environment for the upcoming field of Glass and Silicate Restoration is created.

The school is responding to the increased need for the use of digital technology in teaching, particularly computer graphics, 2D and 3D visualization. Every year, students participate in professional practices in companies, glass workshops and present their school work at prestigious exhibitions, fairs and design competitions in the Czech Republic and abroad. In this area, the school has long achieved considerable success (Student Design, Master of Crystal, Made in Jablonec, Craft and Art in Glass Nový Bor, Design-S Brno, Talente Munich, Frauenau Summer School, Student Design Award, EDUCA EXPO 2024, T-PROFI, MOBITEX 2025 Brno). It boasts many distinguished alumni, teachers and school directors. It has a high employability rate of graduates on the labour market and in the continuation at universities (VŠCHT, VŠUP, TUL, UP, UK, UJEP). The school has facultative cooperation or memoranda with many partners (Preciosa, Elmarco, Detesk, Crytur, Banasglass, Steinel, Trevos, Dias, Polpur, Temperatior, Desko, Moser, GDS Technology, ACL Holding, Sklo Suchánek, TopTec, Sklopísek Střeleč, INTERIER-O, P 46, RIA REALITY and others).

The school and the town of Železný Brod annually co-organize the traditional Glass Town Fair and the Summer Glass Workshop Symposium with international participation of glass artists. On the third weekend in September, the school building belongs to a student demonstration of crafts with workshops for children and adults. Of course, the school is also involved in the Crystal Valley events and participation in Made in Jablonec shows.

The glass school is a traditional supplier of a number of important awards designed by students (Golden Crown, Monument of the Year, Karel Hubáček Award for Architecture, Czech Academy of Visual Arts Prague, EDUCA, POKOS).

The school traditionally marks its anniversary by publishing a printed publication about its activities after five years, in the school year 2025/26, entitled SKLANDA 105. The publication is accompanied by several student exhibitions. The celebration starts with an autumn exhibition of the best works in the Regional Gallery Liberec. At the beginning of 2026, a thematic exhibition at the Roztoky u Prahy Museum will follow with the pupils' artistic reactions in a single assignment to the work of the important painter Zdenka Braunerová.

The annual exhibition of pupils' work in the school building during the main summer holidays and also as part of the Glass Town Festival, makes new additions of student art artefacts available to visitors. Selected works are available for purchase in the school shop.