Traditional forest glassworks, migrating within a firmly delimited forest territory to areas where the wood was, were disappearing in the Jizera Mountains region during the 18th century. Ancient glass-making families bled to death, along with burnt-out furnaces. The nobility, however, did not want to give up the glass-making business in any case. After half a century, a glassmaking master Johann Josef Kittel from Falknov tried to take advantage of the situation and after a series of negotiations, he rented a glasswork belonging to the Count Des Fours in Antonínov in 1752. Coming from the Českolipsko region, he was lured to the Jizera Mountains by a relative enough of firewood for glass-making furnaces heating. However, he did not run the glasswork in Antonínov himself, he entrusted it into the hands of his nephew Johann Leopold Riedel (1726 – 1800), who had already been working for him for seven years. Riedel, a trained painter and glass gilder, rented the glasswork from the nobility to his own account a year later.

Johann Leopold Riedel came from a family that had been trying to make a living by glass-making for three generations. His grandfather Christoph Riedel (1678 – 1744), a glass merchant, lived in Pavlovice in Nový Zámek estate in northwest Bohemia. When returning from a tour of German counties and Poland he was murdered. A tale of two crows, which brought cheerful wedding guests to the track of killers, tells about his death. Father of Johann Leopold Riedel, Johann Karl Riedel (1701 – 1781), who was also active in the glass-making industry, held even the post of reeve in Falknov.

Fortunately, Johann Leopold Riedel was luckier than his legendary ancestor. While others were ruthlessly robbed by Prussian-Austrian war, the glass-making master from Antonínov made a considerable fortune. In 1756, the nearby Zittau was not spared from the war rampage, and Riedel, a capable businessman, became one of the main suppliers of window panes to the ruined city. He was meeting the demand of Zittau citizens for entire seventeen years. In order to satisfy his customers, he rented a nearby glasswork in Karlov from the nobility in 1761, which stood in place of today´s Josefův Důl dam. Five years later, Riedel is also stated as a renter of a glasswork at Nová Louka, which was established on the estate of the Counts of Clam-Gallas by already mentioned glass-making master Johann Josef Kittel from Falknov. Riedel gave a leadership of the glasswork to his father Johann Karl.

In 1774, Johan Leopold Riedel was, for long-standing disputes with the nobility over wood and the amount of rent, forced to leave both Zenkner´s glasswork and Karl´s glasswork, which was ordered to demolish by the nobility soon after. After the cancellation of rental agreements, Riedel had to leave Antonínov, where he lived with his parents. They moved to a younger brother´s place. He was a glass-making master at Nová Louka, Franz Anton Riedel (1744 – 1780), husband of Kittel´s daughter Anna. Franz Anton Riedel bought Nová Louka and Bedřichov from his father-in-law in 1769 for the amount of 6500 guldens.

Also Johann Leopold Riedel relocated his business activities to the Clam-Gallas estate in Liberec, as he built there a glass-making settlement Kristiánov between 1774 –1776. In 1780, after the death of Franz Anton Riedel, Johann Leopold Riedel had won also the glasswork at Nová Louka and in 1786, he gave the leadership of it to his eldest son Anton Leopolod Riedel (1762 – 1821). After a stroke in 1795, which paralyzed half of his body, Johann Leopold Riedel finally left glassworks to his sons for 1500 guldens. Anton Leopold won Nová Louka glasswork and the younger Karl Josef Riedel (1767 – 1843) Kristiánov.

According to the topographic-economic description of the Boleslav region from 1787, the glasswork at Nová Louka annually consumed 300 centners of potash (1 centner = 56,006 kg), as well as Bedřichov and Kristiánov, less than Antonínov (350) and more than Svor (250), Potočná (200) and Strážov (200). These seven glassworks produced 1500 of glasswork’s thousands of ordinary and crystal hollow glass, sheet glass and jewellery semi-products. In that period, goods were exported mainly to Russia and Turkey, then, to a lesser extent, to royal countries of the Habsburg monarchy. On the contrary, previously very significant export to France, Spain, and Portugal and from there to America declined.

Anton Leopold was more successful in business, but as in the case of Kristiánov, also here refiners and traders from the Jizera Mountains region gradually prevailed over customers from Českolipsko. Their interest, however, was not jewellery yet, but clear and colored hollow glass, chandelier hangings, flacons, stoppers and glass for timepieces, all made in excellent quality.

So-called Zenkner´s glasswork in Antonínov

Stylized picture from the end of the 19th century
Reproduction from a period publication

Glass-making settlement Kristiánov in the 18th century

Stylized picture from the end of the 19th century
Reproduction from a period publication

Glasswork at Nová Louka in the 18th century

Reproduction from a period publication

Johann Leopold Riedel (1726-1800)

Reproduction from the catalog Riedel from 1756 (1991)

Karl Josef Riedel (1767-1813)

Oil painting on canvas
Collection of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou

Flacons, 1780 - 1810

The Jizera Mountains
Blown glass, cut, gold painted
Collection of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou

Containers for holy water, 1780 - 1800

The Jizera Mountains
Blown, hot shaped glass, decorated with glass ruby thread
Permanent exhibition of the Museum of Glass and Jewellery in Jablonec nad Nisou
Photo Tomáš Hilger