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Summary for: Czech glass museum unwraps a new display of 6,000 Christmas ornamentsThousands of Christmas ornaments usually kept behind the scenes will go on public display at the Museum of Glass and Jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou, offering a closer look at one of Czechia’s best-known decorative traditions.
The new visitor-accessible storage area opens Friday, Oct. 23, as part of the museum’s regular tour. Presented as a permanent exhibition called World of Fantasy, it will feature nearly 6,000 ornaments, from historic glass decorations to a princess’s carriage made from blown-glass beads.
The museum holds approximately 25,000 Christmas ornaments, which it describes as the world’s largest public collection. The opening will substantially expand the number visitors can see, alongside around 3,300 pieces already exhibited in its existing World of Wonders display.
Small details reveal a much bigger collection
While World of Wonders introduces the different forms Christmas ornaments can take, the new exhibition explores the variations within a single type.
Chief curator Petr Nový told the Czech News Agency that visitors might encounter versions of the same Santa Claus figure distinguished by green, blue or red trim on his hat.
Displaying these closely related pieces together reveals details that a smaller selection cannot: changes in color, decoration and size, as well as the range manufacturers could produce from a common design.
The exhibition will include ornaments made from blown-glass beads and small glass beads in the Jablonec region in the late 1920s, alongside historic German blown-glass decorations.
A separate showcase will trace characteristic ornament styles across the decades of the past century. Labels will also explain the names used for particular shapes and the different sizes in which decorations were produced.
Among the unusual pieces is a princess’s carriage created from blown-glass beads by Rautis in Poniklá, based on a historical model.
Exhibition curator Dagmar Havlíčková described the company as the world’s only remaining producer of this type of ornament.
A living craft alongside historical decorations
The new display also connects the museum’s collection with efforts to preserve the skills behind the objects.
The museum highlights the UNESCO-recognized traditions associated with producing glass Christmas ornaments, including decorations assembled from hollow glass beads.
Museum Director Milada Valečková said the institution helped prepare a subsequent UNESCO nomination concerning blown-glass ornament production and now serves as a national guarantor of safeguarding measures.
Its work includes bringing contemporary designers together with manufacturers. International symposiums held in 2023 and 2026 encouraged those collaborations, with the resulting designs displayed in World of Wonders.
An illustrated scholarly publication accompanies the new permanent exhibition, with editions in Czech and English. Alongside the ornaments themselves, it examines the development of modern Christmas celebrations and familiar seasonal symbols, including Santa Claus.
For visitors, the expanded displays offer both a historical overview and a chance to examine the small differences between individual decorations—objects made to hang on a tree, but also records of changing tastes, manufacturing techniques and local craftsmanship.
