Five centuries of glassmaking, garnet jewellery and cubist furniture — what is genuinely Czech and what is an import in a souvenir shop.
Bohemian glass is one of the few luxury products where the Czech lands set the world standard for centuries, and it is still the thing most worth buying here. The problem is that the shops selling it in the Old Town are full of cheap imports at Bohemian prices. Here is how to tell the difference.
Why Bohemia
The forests of northern Bohemia gave abundant wood for furnaces and potash from beech ash. From the 16th century, Bohemian glassmakers developed a harder, clearer potash-lime glass that could be deeply cut and engraved — something Venetian glass could not do. Europe’s courts bought it for two hundred years.
Cut crystal
The classic product: heavy lead crystal, deeply cut into geometric patterns that catch light. Genuine lead crystal rings when tapped and feels noticeably heavy for its size.
Bohemian garnet
Český granát is a deep blood-red pyrope garnet mined in North Bohemia, and it is the distinctive Czech gemstone. Real Czech garnet jewellery carries a certificate; the stones are small, uniform and set densely.
Czech cubism
Between 1911 and 1914 Prague designers applied cubist geometry to furniture, ceramics and buildings — a movement that existed nowhere else. Reproductions of Gočár and Janák pieces are still made, and the House at the Black Madonna has a shop.
Modern design
Post-war Czechoslovak glass produced remarkable studio work, and contemporary Czech designers — particularly in lighting and glass — remain internationally exhibited.
Buying without being fooled
Buy from established shops rather than souvenir stalls. Ask directly whether a piece is Czech-made and whether it is lead crystal. Hand-cut pieces have slight irregularities; machine-pressed imports are perfectly uniform and much lighter.
자주 묻는 질문
Is Bohemian glass worth buying?
Yes, if it is genuine — it is one of the few products that is meaningfully cheaper and better here than abroad.
How do I know if garnet is real?
Genuine Czech garnet is sold with certification, and the stones are small, deep red and densely set. Large single “garnets” are usually something else.
Can I take glass on a plane?
Yes, but pack it in hand luggage wrapped in clothing. Checked bags rarely end well for crystal.
Read more: souvenirs worth buying, Czech artists 그리고 Prague architecture.
Last reviewed in August 2026.
