Holmegaard Værk - try blowing glass

Holmegaard is a world of glass, where original designs and good craftsmanship are the foundation for the classics we all know and admire. Based on almost 200 years of proud mouth-blown craft traditions, beautiful and elegant glass products were created that radiated quality and style.

Holmegaard’s story began in 1825 with a strong woman who, ahead of her time, went against the conventions and started her own glassblowing. Built on curiosity and craftsmanship, you can at Holmegaard Værk see classic Danish glass design where in a game of shapes and colors, a universe was created where everything was possible.

Holmegaard Glasværk’s history begins in 1823, when Lensgreve Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe requests the Danish king to build a glassworks in Holmegaard Mose. But in 1823 the sheriff dies without receiving a response to his application. When his widow, County Countess Henriette Danneskiold-Samsøe, shortly after her husband’s death, receives the king’s permission to build a glassworks, she decides to continue the project.

The plant is put in the bog because there is enough of the necessary fuel for the high temperatures of the glass furnaces and in 1825 the first production starts at Holmegaard glassworks. In the beginning, the plant only manufactures green bottles, but Henriette also wants a production of drinking glasses in clear glass. The Bohemian glassmakers could produce that.

Holmegaards Glasværk’s story is a story about a couple of small glass huts in a peat bog, which in the course of 190 years becomes part of a large modern group. During the 20th century, artists come into the picture to design and shape Holmegaard’s glassware. It will be the beginning of a long and proud tradition, which means that to this day some of Denmark’s best artists are associated with the glass production of Holmegaard.

Holmegaard is just as relevant today as it was at its origins - created with an eye for both function and decoration.

Every day there is the opportunity to experience the skilled glass artists working with glass production at the hot glass ovens. They blow glass every opening day in the period at. 10-13 and at 14 to 15 min. before closing time.

The glass ovens at Holmegaard will be lit up at the start of the season on 9 January. In Glasværkstedet you can see how glass is made. Due to COVID-19, it is currently not possible to blow your own glass, but all other activities are going well and are extremely suitable for both children and adults.

In Glasatelieret you can be a designer for a day and decorate glass with beautiful motifs. You can try working with templates, which are based on the sample collection’s many motifs and Holmegaard Moses’ rich animal and plant life. Or you can create completely unique designs on your own.

Skilled hosts are ready to help you get the materials right and to show you the sandblasting and engraving machines that are also used in the glass industry today.

In the Ceramics Studio, you can be inspired by the Kähler exhibitions’ beautifully decorated tiles and jars and create your own designs by painting on porcelain items.

You will also gain insight into production techniques and embossing of surfaces with stamping technique that connects the creative activities with the exhibited works. In our Glass and Ceramics Studios, we work in materials that make it possible to take things home the same day. Here you pay directly to the hosts in the workshops. It costs from DKK 65, and the price depends on what you do in the studio.

Holmegaard Værk is located in the old Holmegaard Glasværk, only three blocks drive from the Great Belt Bridge and one hour from Copenhagen. The museum is located in the middle of the beautiful South Zealand nature and is closest to Camp Adventure with the highly acclaimed Forest Tower. If you are on those edges anyway, set the GPS to Glasværksvej and come past Holmegaard Værk for a glass and cultural-historical experience of the greats.

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