Photo: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International
The making of glass and jewellery by hand, a tradition which has survived for hundreds of years in the Liberec Region, draws thousands of tourists to the area each year. Radio Prague paid a visit to the oldest still-functioning glassworks in Bohemia, the Novosad Glass Factory, nestled in the Giant Mountains in the small town of Harrachov. The nowadays privately-owned Novosad & Son was founded in the 18th century, or possibly even earlier, on the former estate of the aristocratic Harrach family and remains fully functional, with everything preserved almost exactly as it was originally.
The furnaces in Novosad have not stopped roaring in at least 312 years – not even the First or Second World Wars halted production in the factory. The first mention of the glassworks in the historical archives is from 1712, but it is clear from the records that they were founded even earlier.
The factory sprang up on the Jilemnice estate of the aristocratic Harrach family, which operated it until 1943, when they were forced to sell to Nazi Germany. After the communist coup of 1948, the glass manufacturer was nationalised and became one of the manufacturing plants belonging to the company Crystalex, which brought most formerly independent small Czech glassworks under one umbrella organisation.
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Author: Klára Stejskalová