| History of Glass in the Czech Republic |
| Monday, 25 July 2011 09:24 |
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The first glassworks were founded in the second half of the 13th and the first half of the 14th century in the unspoilt forests by the borders of the Krušné, Lužické, Jizerské, Krkonoše and Šumava mountains as well as in the region of Moravia. From the 1350s the oldest Czech glass factories smelted an almost clear, yellowish or greenish potassium-lime glass that was used in the production of stained church windows, goblets and glasses at that time. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, some Czech glassmakers and their products overshadowed Venetian glass, unmatched until that time. Bohemia produced small goblets, kettles and larger glasses as well as stained glass, very popular during the Renaissance period. In the town of Sázava in the 1830s František Kavalír smelted the first chemically resistant glass in the world . In the early 20th century glass products made in Harrach’s glassworks in Nový Svět or Moser’s glassworks in Karlovy Vary, for instance, were of exceptional quality as well. The first Owens’ automatic bottle-makers were installed in Bohemia and machine production of flat glass was launched at that time. |
