Handcrafted glass know-how on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List

The knowledge, techniques and skills related to hand-made glass have been added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 6.12.2023, XNUMX. The acceptance of the multinational application is a significant tribute to the craftsmanship of glass making, the bearers of the tradition and the entire Finnish glass industry. The continuation of the tradition requires the transfer of know-how from one generation to the next, enabling the work of the creators and valuing the know-how.

The application of Finland and five other countries to UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity has been accepted in Botswana on December 6. In addition to Finland, the multinational application includes France, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The Finnish Glass Museum initiated the application

In Finland, 17 associations of glass industry and tradition bearers were preparing an application. The Finnish glass museum located in Riihimäki initiated the application in Finland and coordinated the project for ten years. In 2021, the Ministry of Education and Culture authorized the Finnish Museum Agency to coordinate the preparation of the multinational application together with the Finnish Museum of Glass and glass industry operators.

- The glass industry and the tradition of glass making mark the history and present of the city of Riihimäki. The Riihimäki glass factory ceased operations in 1990, but it is wonderful that we still have an operator in the city who revives, maintains and brings out to the public the tradition of glass. This year, we have elevated the Lasikaupunki branding work to one of the top projects of the mayor's development program. The UNESCO stamp brings us global credibility and further strengthens the profile and visibility of the city of Riihimäki in the future, says city manager Jouni Eho.

- The Finnish Museum of Glass has done long-term and nationally valuable work in promoting the tradition of hand-made glass to be added to the UNESCO cultural heritage list. We are proud that Riihimäki has a strong and internationally respected center of expertise in the field, says Mika Herpiö, the city's vitality director.

The Finnish Glass Museum is a national museum of responsibility.

The Finnish Glass Museum is a nationally responsible museum specializing in glass, glassmaking and glass art, which records the history and current state of Finnish glass.

- In addition to recording, our tasks also include transferring know-how and tradition. For example, we have helped to revive the tradition of glass engraving, which had already disappeared from Finland, by bringing experts in the field from Germany who taught Finnish glass artists to use engraving as a way of working, says Hanna Mamia-Walther, director of the glass museum.

Visitors don't come to the glass museum only for the exhibitions, but also the museum building designed by Tapio Wirkkala attracts tourists from as far as Japan, for example. About 60 visitors visit the museum every year.

In the spring of 2023, the Nanny Still – Still life exhibition was visited by approximately 23 visitors. The exhibition became the glass museum's most popular exhibition for decades.

Coffee and cake at the Glass Museum on Saturday, December 9th

In honor of UNESCO's decision, the glass museum offers free admission all day (9 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and cake coffees for the first 17 visitors from 200 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, December 14.

In honor of the celebration, you can travel on local buses for free on Saturday. The glass museum is served by the R-transport line 2, whose trains leave the train station from stop D every hour starting at 10.45:14.45 a.m. The last train leaves at XNUMX:XNUMX. Stop D is located next to the old power plant on Paloheimonkatu.

You can get back to the train station from the museum of glass every hour starting at 11.05:15.05. The last train leaves at XNUMX:XNUMX. The glass museum stop is located at the intersection of Kolehmaisenkatu and Tehtaankatu.

The Finnish Glass Museum is located at Tehtaankatu 23, 11910 Riihimäki.

You can also use the R-ride service on Saturday for free. The R-kyid stop is located in the courtyard of the glass museum. See detailed instructions for ordering From the website of the city of Riihimäki.

The Finnish Glass Museum
Museum Agency

Follow the hashtags #glassblowing, #eläväperintö, #UNESCO, #glassblowingsunescoon23 on social media.