The Kingdom of Crystal is a geographical area today containing a total of 15 glassworks

Glassblowing

Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...

 in the municipalities

Municipalities of Sweden

The municipalities of Sweden are the local government entities of Sweden. The current 290 municipalities are organized into 21 counties...

 of Emmaboda

Emmaboda

-Geography:Emmaboda is located in the middle of the Tri-City Region Växjö, Kalmar and Karlskrona. All three places are sixty kilometers from Emmaboda.-Culture:...

, Nybro

Nybro

Nybro is a city and the seat of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 12,598 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:The name Nybro literally means New Bridge. It was founded as a market town in the 19th century, but rapidly transformed into an industrial town. In 1865 the town became a municipality...

, Uppvidinge and Lessebo

Lessebo

Lessebo is a locality and the seat of Lessebo Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 2,623 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...

 in southern Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. Their history can be traced back to the 18th century at least. The glassworks have become part of the culture of Sweden

Culture of Sweden

Swedish culture has been described as Lutheranism, trade unionism, and self-reliance, aspects that have been associated with Swedish mentality....

; examples can be found in many Swedish homes, recognizable by a small sticker at the bottom with the name Orrefors, Kosta

Kosta Glasbruk

Kosta Glasbruk is a Swedish glassworks founded by two foreign officers in Charles XII's army, Anders Koskull and Georg Bogislaus Stael von Holstein, in 1742 . It is located in Kosta, Sweden...

, etc.

When touring the forested province

Provinces of Sweden

The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....

 of Småland

Småland

' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...

 in Sweden, it is normal to visit at least one of the glassworks. The larger ones have adjacent museums and are open for visitors to see the glass blowing hall, normally looking down from a platform. Food is available as well as shopping for all kinds of glass products such as glasses, bowls, vases and unique glass ornaments.

The more notable are Orrefors Glasbruk, with the adjacent National School of Glass

National School of Glass

The National School of Glass in Orrefors is an educational center focused on glass arts, design and entrepreneurship in the field of glass...

 and Kosta Glasbruk

Kosta Glasbruk

Kosta Glasbruk is a Swedish glassworks founded by two foreign officers in Charles XII's army, Anders Koskull and Georg Bogislaus Stael von Holstein, in 1742 . It is located in Kosta, Sweden...

, which is the basis for the Kosta Boda company. Each one of the glassworks have distinctive design traditions, character and atmosphere.

External links

• Official website in Swedish, English and German