Julia Crystal Glassworks, Piechowice

At the Julia glassworks in Piechowice, crystal is still made by hand: glassmakers blow and shape molten glass at the furnaces, and cutters decorate the finished pieces. Visitors walk through the production hall with a guide and watch the whole process, from the design on paper to packing. The glassworks traces its history back to 1866 and is one of the few working makers of crystal glass in Poland.

History: from Josephine to Julia

In 1866 Fritz Heckert founded a glass refinery in Piechowice that worked parts for chandeliers, made crystal mirrors and painted glassware; it bought its raw glass from the famous Josephine works in Szklarska Poręba, set up in 1842 on the orders of the Schaffgotsch family. In 1923 Heckert's firm merged with the Josephine works and the Neumann & Staebe company from Sobieszów, creating a business trading under the Josephine brand that employed some 1,400 people.

After the Second World War the glassworks passed into Polish hands, and German master craftsmen trained their Polish successors. The Josephine name was used until 1958. When the Schaffgotsch family bought a glassworks in Schwäbisch Gmünd in West Germany and gave it the same name, they sued over its use – and the Polish works was renamed "Julia". The Szklarska Poręba plant closed in 1992, while the Piechowice works carries on in the buildings of Heckert's former refinery. In 2006 it was bought from the receiver by the company Kolglass, which saved production.

What to see

• The furnace hall – melting furnaces and workstations where glassmakers blow, press and shape glass in front of visitors.
• Decorating and cutting – the later stages of finishing the crystal.
• Krystalium – an interactive centre included in the combined ticket.
• Creative workshops – according to the glassworks' website, held daily, on weekdays at 9:30, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:30.
• Factory shops selling the works' own glass.

Interesting facts

The Josephine works won international fame at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, where its coloured glass and millefiori paperweights won a medal. Heckert's refinery in Piechowice was known for its decorative "Jodhpur" glass, inspired by enamelled vessels from India. A large collection of the works' historic glass is now held by the Karkonosze Museum in Jelenia Góra. In 2014 the glassworks received the Polish Tourism Organisation's certificate for the best tourism product in Lower Silesia.

Tripto tip

Guided tours run daily from 9:30 to 16:00, starting every half hour, and last about 40 minutes. According to the price list on the glassworks' website, a standard ticket costs PLN 39, reduced (children under 15) PLN 35, and children under 3 go free; the combined ticket with Krystalium is PLN 60. Tours at 9:30, 10:00 and 10:30 carry a 30% discount on a limited number of tickets. The glassworks cannot guarantee your preferred time, so in high season buy tickets online in advance. Address: Piechowice, ul. Kryształowa 73 – on the way from Jelenia Góra to Szklarska Poręba.