Crystal Valley Week 2025: Liberec celebrates North Bohemia’s glass-making tradition
The end of August will once again turn northern Bohemia into a showcase of Czech glassmaking. In the coming week the town of Liberec will host the fourth edition of Crystal Valley Week, a five-day festival dedicated to glass and glass jewellery, underlining the region’s historic role as the heart of Czech glass and jewellery production.
You won't find it on the map, but it exists: Crystal Valley, a place where the Czech glassmaking tradition was born and has lived for centuries. The first glassmaking kilns in the region were lit in the second half of the 13th century and today it is home to famous brands such as Lasvit, Preciosa or the Novosad Glassworks whose products you can find the world over.
Crystal Valley Week is an annual celebration of this tradition that brings glass craft masters from all over Crystal Valley to the town of Liberec, north of Prague and this year also to neighboring Jablonec nad Nisou, a mecca for glass jewellery fans and an exporter of glass Christmas decorations.
The scale of the festival is impressive. Nearly 80 events are planned at 34 venues ranging from traditional exhibition halls to unexpected locations such as tram depots, underground shelters and even the local Naive Theatre.
Festival director Lukáš Zmatlík says that with every year the festival gets bigger and better.
“The fourth edition of Crystal Valley will be spectacular. We will be hosting visitors from at home and abroad there will be exhibitions, guided tours, fashion shows, and presentations. Among the new spaces this year is the Naive Theatre, where Mr. Pačinek will present his Naive Garden, and also the three mobile show boxes located in the center of Liberec which showcase three major glasswork. There is every reason to come to Liberec in the last week of August and witness it with your own eyes.”
Among the highlights is Flowers of Fire, an exhibition that opened earlier in August at the Liberec Botanical Garden, and Olives in Glass at Liebieg Palace, the first show to unite three generations of glassmakers from Železný Brod. Master glassmaker Ladislav Oliva called it a once-in-a-lifetime project: “Never before have we staged an exhibition of this scale. I will always be grateful to the organizers for the idea of creating a true family exhibition”, he said.
The festival is not just about viewing glass, but also about seeing the glassworks created. A mobile glass furnace on the square in front of Liberec’s town hall will give visitors the chance to try glassmaking techniques for themselves.
The Technical Museum will host an exhibition called Glass in Form, curated by Adéla Mende, exploring the technical processes behind the finished product. The exhibition will feature molds lent by glass master Jan Pesničák of Josefův Důl, offering insight into the craft’s history.
Jewellery and glass jewellery also have a prominent place at the festival. Pavel Tvrzník is the CEO of the renowned company Granát Turnov which specializes in jewellery with Bohemian garnets.
“We will showcase a unique set created especially for Expo 2025 in Osaka. The set is made of gold and features the largest Bohemian garnets combined with cut moldavites and diamonds."
The set, which will be displayed for the first time in the Czech Republic, will be on show at Grandhotel Zlatý Lev in Liberec.
International artists will also add flair to the event. Belgian designer Ilse van Roy, French glass artist Andréu Berthet and a group of Polish glassmakers will join Czech firms and artisans, underscoring the festival’s growing international profile.
Throughout the week, a “Crystal Tram” will run free of charge in Liberec, and on 22–23 August will extend its route to Jablonec as part of the Jablonec Pearl program. Most events will be open to the public free of charge, continuing the festival’s tradition of accessibility. Last year, more than 30,000 people attended.
