Glass Heritage Centre in Krosno

The Glass Heritage Centre (Centrum Dziedzictwa Szkła, CDS) in Krosno is an interactive museum devoted to the craft that made this town at the foot of the Low Beskids famous worldwide. Krosno's glass story began in 1923; later the Krosno Glassworks opened plants in Jasło and Tarnów and sold its products to more than 60 countries on every continent. The centre was created jointly by glassmakers, local activists and the town authorities to preserve and present this tradition; it was officially opened in June 2012, partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

CDS has two sites: the main building on Blich Street and the so-called Piwnice Przedprożne cellars on the opposite side of the market square. It is not a classic museum of display cases but a place where glass is made before your eyes and where everyone can try working with it.

What to see

• Glassmaking shows – how glass is created and decorated; visitors can take part.
• A film on the history of the glassworks of Krosno and the region in the main building.
• Permanent and temporary glass exhibitions – from design to art pieces; the centre regularly holds temporary exhibitions and glass festivals.
• The Piwnice Przedprożne cellars under the market square – art glass by Polish makers, utility design, glassworks tools, a furnace and a small optics workshop.
• Workshops – glass painting, sandblasting, engraving; led by experienced artists and adapted to the participants' age.

The centre also works beyond its walls: with the GlassTour mobile furnace its craftsmen travel around Poland showing glassmaking in the open air, and they run off-site workshops in engraving, painting and lampworking. There are special educational packages for schools and kindergartens, and for those who want to get to know the town better the centre occasionally organises a walking tour of Krosno "along the trail of glass, light and time" (about 3 hours 45 minutes), starting at its reception.

Practical information

The main building stands in the lower part of town, below the old town; an escalator from Legionów Street runs on the centre's opening days from 7:00 to 16:15. Krosno has rail and bus stations, and you can leave a car in the municipal car parks. The centre can only be visited with a guide: groups start on the hour, so it is best to book in advance – groups and schools book through the centre's reception by e-mail. The full programme including the cellars takes about 100 minutes, with the last entry at 15:00. A full ticket costs 42 zł, and there are cheaper options for the main building or the cellars only (all prices in the "At a glance" box). For families with children it is one of the most engaging museums in Subcarpathia: you can not only watch but also paint a glass item yourself and take it home. At weekends a tourist train runs around town and stops near the centre.

Nearby: trails and peaks

A few minutes' walk away, in the former Bishops' Palace, is the Subcarpathian Museum in Krosno with one of Europe's largest kerosene-lamp collections. The theme of oil and light continues at the Museum of the Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka, 10 km away, and on the way to the Slovak border it is worth stopping at the Historical Museum in the Dukla palace.

Official website: miastoszkla.pl

Photos: Silar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Centrum Dziedzictwa Szkła w Krośnie, official website.