Bergdala glastekniska museum
Non-profit museum at Bergdala glassworks with glass machines you can touch, including pantographs, glass presses and a bottle-blowing machine.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Bergdala glass technology museum is located in the old grinding works at Bergdala glassworks in Glasriket (the Glass Country). The glassworks was founded in 1889 and had a grinding works from the start. The building has deliberately been restored as little as possible, so that the walls still show traces of decades of work.
The museum was founded in 2015, when the first machine, a horizontal pantograph, came from Kosta glassworks. Since then the collection has grown with, among other things, a vertical pantograph, two guilloche machines, glass presses and a semi-automatic bottle-blowing machine. During its first years the museum received a grant from the Swedish National Heritage Board for its setup. Operations were first run by the association Glas i Hovmantorp and since June 2019 by a foundation, entirely through voluntary effort.
The collection aims to preserve the mechanical side of the history of Glasriket, which is rarely shown: machines that from the second half of the 19th century made rational mass production possible. The museum shows technical development from the late 18th century to the present, and visitors can touch the machines and try them out. Collections, pictures and audio guides are also documented on the museum’s website.
Highlights
- Horizontal and vertical pantographs with hundreds of patterns
- Guilloche machines
- Hand-operated glass presses and an air press
- Semi-automatic bottle-blowing machine
- Machines that visitors can touch and try out
Permanent exhibition
- Glasmaskiner och glasföremål – Machines once used at the glassworks, including pantographs, guilloche machines, glass presses and a semi-automatic bottle-blowing machine, together with glass objects made with them.
- Founded
- 2015
- Operated by
- Stiftelsen Bergdala Glastekniska Museum
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Free admission; donations are welcome: cash in the box at the entrance, Swish or bank giro.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: not available
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Limited accessibility: the doorways are about 1 m wide and it is cramped between the machines, but a wheelchair can be brought in if notice is given in advance. The museum has no toilet of its own; the glassworks shop has a customer toilet.
Kids & families
- Hands-on stations
Children and dogs are welcome in the museum. Keep an eye on children at the machines (pinch risk) and outdoors (glass fragments).
Getting there & parking
By public transit
There is no public transport to Bergdala. The nearest railway stations are Hovmantorp and Lessebo, both about 10 km away. Buses run on road 25, but the stops are 7–8 km from the museum.
The museum lies right next to Bergdalahyttan (Bergdala glassworks).
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
Café Bergdala is at the glassworks, and there are picnic tables outside the museum and the glassworks.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Audio guide | yes (SV, EN) |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Audio guides in Swedish and English are available online. Visitors may touch and try all the machines; take care at pinch points and with heavy glass molds. The ground around the old glassworks is full of glass fragments and contaminated, so never walk there barefoot. |
