Glasbruksmuseet

Museum in Surte about the working life of the glassworks and the works community 1862–1978; closed for renovation, expected to reopen in 2027.

Temporarily closed

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Temporarily closed (expected until 2027). The museum is closed for renovation, expected to be completed in 2027. The association currently holds open houses and other activities in temporary premises at Göteborgsvägen 66, behind Surte Library, but this is not museum activity.

About the museum

Glasbruksmuseet (the Glassworks Museum) in Surte tells the story of Surte glassworks, which from 1862 to 1978 was the community's largest and most dominant workplace. The museum is located in the works area by the Göta älv, in a building that was erected in 1852 as a mill and converted into a glassworks in 1862. It is Surte's oldest building and has over the years housed, among other things, a painting workshop, a power station, a telephone exchange and a washing room.

A museum board was formed in 1985, and the museum was inaugurated on 23 May 1992. Artists and craftspeople have built up environments from the works and the community, with a glassblowing hut (hytta), a shop (handelsbod) and a workers' dwelling. The collections show glass packaging for wine, water and milk, including the oldest preserved bottle from Surte, a beer bottle from 1893. One exhibition is about Alexander Samuelson, who learned to blow glass at the works and in 1915 had his name on the patent for the Coca-Cola bottle. Next to the museum a glassblowing workshop was built in 2006, and in the exhibition hall art, debate and information were shown in changing exhibitions.

Today the museum is closed for renovation, which is expected to be completed during 2027. In the meantime the association runs activities in temporary premises on Göteborgsvägen, including open houses, glass painting and a Christmas market, but no museum activities.

Highlights

Recreated environments from the glassworks: a glassblowing hut, shop and workers' dwelling
Surte's oldest preserved bottle, a beer bottle from 1893
The exhibition on Alexander Samuelson, designer of the Coca-Cola bottle
Building from 1852, Surte's oldest