From August 24 to 29, 2026, Crystal Valley Week—the largest exhibition of glass, jewelry, and costume jewelry in the Czech Republic—will transform Liberec into a vibrant hub of glass art. Beauty crafted down to the finest detail will illuminate the entire city. A mosaic created specifically for this event will adorn the zoo. The Botanical Garden will become a place where the power of nature blends with the fragility of glass in the works of masters such as Miluše and René Roubíček, Jiří Pačinek, and Lukáš Jabůrek. A new exhibition by Maxim Velčovský, titled A JE TO!, will be presented to the public. The successful “Lasvit Splash” exhibition will also be on display. The phenomenon of Czech glass beads, which have captivated the world, will be highlighted by exhibitions and representatives of a Brazilian indigenous tribe that has used this gem for generations to make jewelry. The festival’s atmosphere will be enhanced by Crystal Boxes in the streets, where the Crystal Tram will once again run this year.

The fifth annual Crystal Valley Week, an exceptional glass exhibition held under the auspices of UNESCO, bears the subtitle “Connecting Cultures.” Art glassmakers Emil Kováč, Ondřej Novotný, Marek Effmert, and Marek Bartko are living examples of how glass connects worlds and human destinies. At the BohemiAfrika 4.0 exhibition, they will use their works to trace their journey from the classroom, through the glassworks in Leerdam, all the way to Nairobi.

They will also present a collaborative piece created for the festival at the family-run Novotný Glass glassworks. If you’d like to be there, visit the glassworks on Friday, June 12, at 3:30 p.m. You’ll see with your own eyes how this unique piece comes to life—four master craftsmen will work together, blowing into their pipes and shaping the molten glass right by the furnace. You can watch this fascinating creative process either from the adjacent restaurant or from the museum’s balcony. Admission is free, and no reservation is required.

Ondřej Novotný also embodies another dimension of the festival: the continuity of the craft. At the exhibition “Novotný Glass: Craft Heritage,” which is part of the Crystal Valley Week program, you’ll see both his work—including a new limited-edition collection of vases—and the works of his father, the legendary glassmaker Petr Novotný.

An admiration for a distant culture—specifically Japanese culture—and a fascination with its architecture, gardens, scents, and tea will also come through in Pavlína Čambalová and Vladimir Klein’s project 展覧会へようこそ / Welcome to the Exhibition. It is stylishly hosted at the Kafe Kytka café.

In keeping with the theme “Connecting Cultures,” the exhibition The Element That Connects explores the idea of transcending the boundaries of languages and traditions. It presents Lasvit’s art project Splash as a visual metaphor for water—an element that, like art, has connected places, people, and cultures since time immemorial. It invites visitors to pause, appreciate the beauty of detail, and realize that it is shared experiences that unite us.

The exhibition A JE TO! showcases the current work of leading Czech designer Maxim Velčovský, created at the AJETO art glass studio in Lindava near Nový Bor. The exhibition reinterprets the trophy as an artifact that, over time, transforms from a prestigious award into an object with an unexpected, ironic story. The installation is dominated by glass objects, some of which are made of uranium glass, known for its distinctive fluorescence that creates fascinating visual effects.

From the Czech Republic to the Whole World

A key theme of Crystal Valley Week 2026 is the phenomenon of the Czech glass bead. The exhibition “Preciosa Perlička for the Whole World” pays tribute to this little miracle, which embodies the story of Czech glass, tradition, and human craftsmanship. It showcases the use of glass beads in faraway India, as well as in Africa and Brazil. And it is precisely from Brazil that representatives of the Panará indigenous tribe will be coming to the festival. In the tent village on Dr. E. Beneš Square in front of the Liberec City Hall, they will demonstrate how they use Czech glass beads in jewelry making. Visitors will also have the opportunity to try out their techniques during workshops. Guests from Brazil will also showcase their traditions—including unique patterns and dances—at a fashion show during the festival’s closing ceremony.

An exhibition titled “Czech Garnet in the Heart… and Far from Home,” focusing on another world-renowned Czech treasure—the dark red stone—will serve as a testament to the fact that home is not just a place, but above all a feeling we carry within us.

A Symbiosis of Glass and Nature

The Botanical Garden in Liberec, the oldest garden of its kind in the country, is the ideal setting for the harmony of nature and the art of glassmaking. The exhibition “Nature in Glass, Glass in Nature” will showcase this diversity in its full spectrum. The exhibition will feature various techniques and works by renowned artists, including the husband-and-wife team of Miluše and René Roubíček, Jiří Pačinek, Lukáš Jabůrek, and artists from Kolektiv Ateliers.

A striking fusion of fresh flowers and glass will take over the renovated Lidové sady grounds, which are participating in Crystal Valley Week for the first time. Florists Karolína Žáčková and Klára Franc Vavříková—winners of numerous awards at Czech and international competitions—will enchant visitors with their creations. The international guest will be florist Juan Carlos Semidey.

Liberec in All Its Splendor

Crystal Valley Week, organized by the Regional Development Agency in cooperation with the Liberec Region, showcases the work of dozens of North Bohemian glassmaking companies and art schools. An example of the collaboration between three schools—and, above all, the emerging generation of artists—is the mosaic installation Šelmárium, which will beautify the facade of the carnivore pavilion at the Liberec Zoo and become a striking artistic feature of the entire structure. It is being created under the auspices of the Secondary School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Kamenický Šenov, whose student, Ella May Jelínek, designed the piece.

“We see Crystal Valley Week as an opportunity to show that glass isn’t just something to be displayed in a showcase, but a part of our lives. We drink from it, put flowers in it, and use it to decorate ourselves. As part of the festival, we want to bring it as close to people as possible, which is why the program extends throughout the entire city. In addition to galleries, museums, Lidové sady Park, and the botanical and zoological gardens, I’d also mention, for example, City Hall, the church, theaters, cafés, and the castle park,” says Jan Šmíd, director of Crystal Valley, speaking on behalf of the organizers.

The exhibits will even be displayed right on the streets—brought to life by three large Crystal Boxes, which will be installed in early August. During Crystal Valley Week, a crystal tram called the Crystal Valley Express will also take to the streets. The Jílek Glassworks was responsible for its decoration. In the spirit of bringing cultures together, they drew inspiration from the legendary Orient Express.

Touch the Glass

In addition to exhibitions and art installations, Crystal Valley Week will also offer a chance to take a look behind the scenes of this traditional craft. A rich program will take place all week long on Dr. E. Beneš Square in front of Liberec City Hall. Visitors will find a glass furnace and a burner there, so they can try their hand at working with a glassblower’s pipe and other glassworking and jewelry-making techniques. Workshops and art classes will also take place at other festival venues, including the Crystal Market in the unique glass-enclosed spaces of the Regional Library. The doors of selected facilities will also open to the public, including, for example, the Evans Atelier glass workshop in Vratislavice nad Nisou.

“I haven’t missed a single one of the festival’s four editions so far, and I definitely won’t miss this year’s,” says Květa Vinklátová, Deputy Governor of the Liberec Region for Culture, Heritage Preservation, and Tourism, adding: “I’ve watched the festival grow year after year, and I’m proud to see top-notch works from across the Crystal Valley all in one place and to witness people’s interest in them. After all, the festival’s theme clearly confirms the significance that Czech glass has had—and continues to have—around the world.”

A Festival You Can Support

The vast majority of the Crystal Valley Week program remains free. Admission fees apply only to the floristry event at Lidové sady, PechaKucha Night—featuring dozens of inspiring guests—and the closing multimedia show with a fashion show.

New this year is the option to support the festival’s organization via QR codes that will be available directly at the venue.

CzechTourism will once again be one of the partners for this year’s Crystal Valley Week. Great trips start at Kudy z nudy.