The Northern Kingdom of Glass

Surely, everyone knows jewelry with Swarovski crystals, heard about the beautiful colored glass of the Murano island, remember Czech crystal and Bohemian glass, standing in the servant of Soviet families, as signs of affluence. But few know about the creations of Swedish glassworks by masters. Meanwhile, they have received worldwide recognition and for over 250 years they have been decorating the homes of their owners.

The Northern Kingdom of Glass

We are heading to southern Sweden, the province of Småland. It was glassblowers who turned one of the poorest regions of the country into the "northern kingdom of glass" with the capital, the village of Costa. Typical for Sweden are wooden houses painted in terracotta color, a rivulet flowing nearby, and around there is a deep forest.
The forest supplies firewood for stoves in which glass melts

and a safe distance prevents cities from fires. Here in 1742, two generals of King Charles XII founded the glass production, the same one who was defeated by Peter I near Poltava. Their names were Anders Koskull and Stael von Holstein. The first syllable of the first name, the first syllable of the second name and the name of the neighboring village "Boda" gave the name of the company "Costa Boda".

The Northern Kingdom of Glass

The first skilled craftsmen arrived smuggling from the Czech Republic and Germany.