Glass Show Segment

Smaland is renowned for its thrifty and determined people who have the knack of finding ingenuous solutions to the problems. Many well-known people have their origins in Vaxjo. Our destination today! The Kingdom of Glass - But our first stop is at The House of Emigrants: The House of Emigrants in central Vaxjo remembers the great period of emigration from Sweden. Between 1840 and 1930, 1.3 million Swedes left for America. Amongst the exhibits is “The Dream of America” as well as the archives, library, research room and a cafe. Our guide gave us a tour of the building and a sense of history of the emigration that took place over 90 years.

The author Wilhelm Moberg described the countryside around Vaxjo in his writings. It was from here that Kristina and Karl-Oskar began their long journey over the Atlantic to fulfill their dream about life in America.

Many North Americans come to Vaxjo to find their roots. The House of Emigrants in Vaxjo provides a picture of the barren and poverty-stricken Smaland that more than 200,000 emigrants left in the 19th century. There, it is possible to follow the emigrant’s journey, fully laden horse-drawn carriages carried their “America trunks” from the stony landscape to meet the emigrant line’s steamers for the passage over the vast ocean. A journey full of adventure for those that reached the promised land, where success as well as disappointment awaited them.

Within a radius of just a few dozen miles in the counties of Kronoberg and Kalmar in the province of Smaland, you’ll find some of the most famous glassworks in the world. You can easily visit several of them in just one day. Our first stop was at Sandvik.

In truth, glass is nothing more than melted sand. No magic at all, just fine sand which melts to a syrupy consistency at high heat. An in order to melt it faster, soda and potash are added. The basic formula has been known for millennia. Archeological finds of glass in Egypt have been dated to 2000 years BC. The technique for blowing glass through an iron pipe was invented by the Romans. The same type of iron blower is still used.

King Gustav Vasa was the Swedish glass pioneer in that he founded Sweden’s first glassworks in Stockholm in the 1500s. But the deep, wide- spread forests were in Smaland and the ovens consumed cord upon cord of wood. The first glass was melted at Kosta in the summer of 1742. That’s when the Kingdom of Glass was born.

The forests of Smaland have long been an ideal center for the manufacture of glass. Fuel was close at hand and the former iron works had the skilled labor which could be developed. The results of this craftsmanship have achieved success the whole world over. Today, there are fifteen glassworks making crystal that are open to visitors throughout the year.

At these works you can experience the fascinating art of glass blowing engraving and painting. The treasures of the Kingdom of Glass are displayed at the Swedish Museum on Vaxjo.

Swedish glass is renowned for its manufacture and design. Old or new, colorful or crystal clear. At the Swedish Glass Museum you can follow the development of glassmaking through five centuries.

Blowing glass is a living work of art. Each glass is unique. Each is like a fingerprint where every singularity reveals that the glass was made by hand - imprints left by the glass master, the grinder, the engraver or the glass painter.

Glass cannot be ignored. It arouses our curiosity, our love. It can make us happy and cause us to laugh. And glass has temperament - it can thick or thin wafer thin. Glass can easily change appearance, shape and color. It can be hard, brittle, sharp or soft or both.

No material wakes our imagination like glass. Visitors to a glassworks are made part of that magic moment of creation, a fascinating choreography with as many as seven glass workers on stage. The oven temperature is 1130 degrees Celsius when a glowing glob is taken out and handed to the glass blower.

It must be like taking lava from the center of the earth. The syrupy gobs of glass sizzle as they’re shaped against the wet newsprint in the hands of the glass master. For but a second he freezes, preserved forever, fire and ice, two amazing conditions of extremes.

Work in the glass house hasn’t changed much over the last century. The work steps and the tools are the same. The blowing iron is rolled as it has been for hundreds of years.

It is up to the master to decide which is the exact right moment for putting the handle on the pitcher. His experience must decide how warm the glass is. If the glass is too hot, the added piece runs off or goes right through. If too cold, the handle won’t set. it’s just a few seconds and the master mustn’t hesitate.

Becoming a good glass blower calls for many years of practice. It is truly a craft learned in stages. At least ten years are needed to make a master. And on the floor, it is experience that counts. That and a sense of glass...

This is why no two glasses are ever alike. The difference perhaps a personal brush stroke or a microscopic air bubble becomes the glass’ certificate of authenticity.

Most glassworks are open every day. You can go into the works, see the glass blowing and then make a bargain in the factory shop. We certainly had the opportunity to shop at both Orrefors and Kosta Boda and pick up some wonderful treasures to take home. We end our day at the Orrefors Glassworks where we spend our evening in the Glass region . Now the glassblowers have gone home, now the table in the furnace hall is being set with herring and potatoes for the traditional Hyttsill, a time honored tradition in the Kingdom of Crystal..

It will be a festive meal of the old-fashioned kind. With salt herring fried in the cooling tube - where the glass has cooled down slowly earlier in the day. With crisply fried Smaland sausage, real Smaland curd cake and frothy cool beer in the glasses.

An evening meal dating back a long time, when the accordion is played, when songs and laughter raise the temperature in the furnace hall.

The tradition of eating herring in the furnace hall has its origin on the time when the glassworks was also the village meeting place. Then people assembled in the warmth of the furnace hall to tell stories, pass on news and have a bite to eat.

Salt herring was simple food. But one learned to prepare it with finesse. The loganberry preserve eaten with the Smaland sausage came from the forest around them. The potatoes were baked in their skins in the ashheap. And the strawberry jam eaten with the curd cake was made in the cottage kitchens.

Today, as before, the smell of the fired lard in the Smaland sausage, of the onions, and the herrings, mingles with the slight smell of burnt wood and hot iron in the furnace hall. In addition to the wonderful smells and tasty mouthfuls, we had the opportunity to not only try and blow glass, but also to etch on a glass that was given to each participant at the dinner. People were able to try on a glass object before using the tool to permanently etch on their own glass. A steady hand and a good eye help to create a treasure for us to remember the evening.

A birthday celebration toast for Lois and Marilyn brought the group to life. After dessert, Harry joined the musicians to add to the entertainment of the day. And after a few numbers, the crowd called for Arne to play the spoons with the musicians.

When we remember this day, we will remember; the Heritage Museum, the masters working in the glassworks, the incredible tax-free shopping, the Hyttsill dinner with excellent food, fun and entertainment, and the beauty of this portion of Sweden as we anticipate the celebration of Midsummer’s Eve.