Beyond the Delicate Threads of Yesterday

Lace and the art of making lace are traditions that have lasted for a very long time. They boast a history that spans several thousand years, and lace is displayed in many museums and exhibitions. This craft, particularly making bobbins, has remained a cherished skill. You can see lace practically everywhere; you just need to observe closely. For instance, lace is featured in open-air museums and during folklore festivals where traditional folk costumes, like those worn during the famous Ride of the Kings, are beautifully adorned with lace. You might also recall large lace collars from fairy tale films or artworks from renowned masters seen in galleries and museums. Moreover, brides-to-be often dream of lavish wedding veils, while contemporary clothing designers incorporate modern bobbin lace into their collections. Join Kudy z boredy to explore the origins of lace-making, see it firsthand, and discover where lace shows, markets, and exhibitions take place.

Where can you find lace in the Czech Republic?

In the Czech Republic, lace has a unique significance that goes beyond just being displayed in museums and showcases. If you’re interested in witnessing lace up close or trying to maneuver the intricate bobbins or even threading just a single strand, there are plenty of options available:
Vamberec lace – Vamberk is to lace enthusiasts what Pilsen is to beer lovers. Here you will find the Vamberecká Lace art cooperative, along with the Lace Museum, which not only offers a captivating exhibition, but also live demonstrations of bobbin weaving. Don’t worry; lace here is not a relic of the past – it is an active and thriving tradition. Plus, every June, you can attend the Lace Festival!
Lace on folk costumes – A hidden gem is the Museum of Folk Costumes located in the Posázaví region. Plan to spend quite a bit of time here; it houses thousands of authentic, complete costumes displayed on hundreds of mannequins. The exhibition is enriched with items used in processing textiles, spinning, and weaving.
Series of museums and galleries, For example, at the Museum of Bohemian Paradise in Turnov – in addition to beautiful jewelry, a remarkable collection of lace is available for viewing. Special exhibitions often highlight lace-making as a vibrant art form rather than just a forgotten memory.

Collections at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague – for those who appreciate design and fashion history, lace collections are sure to inspire joy. Additionally, you’ll often find various workshops and events in Prague that give lace a modern twist.

Lace festivals and fairs – The most renowned ones take place in Vamberk and Sedlice in the Blatno area. There, lace makers showcase their skills and demonstrate how lace exemplifies patience, artistry, and a love for tradition. You can explore the distinctive Sedlice lace shop and even choose from weekend courses offered.
Smaller museums and exhibitions – The Museum of Lace in Šumava depicts the tradition of lace-making and is situated right in the historic center of Prachatice. The history of Letovice lace (which will be highlighted later) is illustrated in the Tylex Letovice exhibit, and you can witness skilled lace makers’ techniques in the handicrafts exhibition in Mohelnice, located in Central Moravia, or visit the Zubří Museum to view the Zuber lace exhibition. Reports of lace production exist from the Erzgebirge region, like in Nejdek, and also from lace-making in Domažlice.

How are other lace makers and lace-making today?

If anyone claims that lace-making is a thing of the past, lacemakers might gracefully respond with their needles and mallets! The reality is that this craft still has many devoted supporters and is gradually finding its way into modern design and fashion.
There are schools and courses in bobbin weaving that are gaining unexpected popularity. Lace is now showing up on wedding dresses, in interior design, and even in jewelry. Young designers are enthusiastically experimenting with lace – integrating it with denim, leather, or even utilizing 3D printing technology, which would likely astound our ancestors. In 2019, the lace of Vamberk was recognized on the List of Intangible Assets of Traditional Folk Culture of the Czech Republic, akin to receiving an Oscar for lace makers. Additionally, Czech lacemaking is on track for inclusion on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. So indeed, lace-making is alive, evolving, and collecting prestigious accolades.

The golden age of lace and the lace school

The roots of European lace-making can be traced back to Renaissance Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. While each of these countries claims to have invented bobbin lace, the actual development happened simultaneously in several locations. By the 15th and 16th centuries, well-known laces like Brussels, Venetian, and Flemish lace, as well as lace from Valencia, were prevalent in Europe. Thanks to sample pieces and traders, their popularity spread quickly across the continent.
In our own country, the earliest references to lace date back to the 16th century, but it truly flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries, when lace served not just as clothing adornment but also as a sign of wealth among affluent households. The golden age of lace occurred during the Baroque period: lace was intricately designed to enhance sleeve cuffs, fans, linens, lace curtains, religious garments, baptismal outfits, wedding dresses, and collars, such as those worn by Emperor Rudolf II. Each piece was crafted entirely by hand, and some monasteries thrived on lace production; the tradition of teaching lace-making skills persisted in certain areas well into the 20th century.

Vamberec lace and lace from the foothills of the Orlické Mountains

In specific regions, lace-making has become a significant source of income for entire communities. For instance, the area around the Orlické Mountains became part of lace-making history in 1642, when Count Kašpar of Gramb, an imperial colonel, acquired the estates of Vamberk and Rychnov nad Kněžnou. His wife Magdalena, originally from Flanders, noticed the poverty in the area and chose to help the local women. She taught several young girls the art of making bobbin lace and eventually introduced lace-making based on Flanders patterns as a means for local women to earn a living.
The lace-making craft flourished so much in Vamberk that it emerged as one of the leading lace-making regions in Bohemia. From the late 19th century until the early 20th century, lace was produced in nearly every home, culminating in the opening of a lace factory in 1889, known as the Lace School. This school is still operational and offers courses for anyone interested in learning this traditional craft.
Bobbin lace has become a remarkable phenomenon. It’s not merely decoration, but a testament to the skill, taste, and patience of its creators. If you examine it closely with a magnifying glass, you’ll see that each knot and intersection of threads reveals a small miracle of human ingenuity.
Interestingly, in certain areas, lace was treasured as a family heirloom, passed down through generations like jewelry. Experienced lace makers continued to share patterns throughout their families, and some designs – like the legendary vamberecka or Příbor lace – have become part of folklore. The first lace-making schools were established in the 18th century, emphasizing the growing demand for this fashionable craft, which was also vital to the local economy.

Lace from the Ore Mountains

In the Erzgebirge or Ore Mountains, many miners’ wives crafted braids, decorative trims, and lace at home, a system perfected by Barbara von Elterlein. She married Christoph Uttmann, the proprietor of the Annaberg mine, and according to tradition, she created the first Erzgebirge lace collar for her husband. This enterprising woman employed several hundred local ladies, providing lace for the Saxon court in Dresden, and ensured that “her” lace makers had access to new designs and styles through printed pattern books from esteemed manufacturers in Western Europe.
Lace was also a hit in spa towns, where the elite of Europe gathered. Specialty shops were common in Teplice, Mariánské Lázně, Františkovy Lázně, Jáchymov, and Karlovy Vary. The reputation of lace was such that even though these delicate pieces were made in humble miners’ cottages high in the Ore Mountains, they were marketed as genuine Karlovy Vary lace.
It might appear that lacemaking was prevalent mainly in Bohemia while Moravia languished in ignorance of lace-making. However, this is not entirely correct, as lace-making thrived in areas like Těšín and Nový Jičín as well. Furthermore, the folk art of embroidery and lace-making was taught in a school founded in the 19th century by Countess Marie Walburga Countess of Truchsess-Waldburg-Zeil in the castle in Kunín.

Lace as a rebel

Don’t let the delicate look of lace fool you – it has been a means of political expression. During the First Republic, lace not only represented national identity but also women’s empowerment. Lace-making attracted not just rural girls, but also women from urban families seeking a means of self-expression and independence.
Today, lace doesn’t just sit silently on the sidelines – it demonstrates that tradition can be as captivating as modern design. Whether it’s found in handmade veils, lace jewelry, or avant-garde haute couture, lace shows that even the finest threads can create something that endures. Even today, Czech lace has a role in diplomacy. During state visits, beautifully hand-beaded lace pieces are often given as gifts for First Ladies and royalty, portraying Czech craftsmanship, history, and elegance. Notable figures like Queen Elizabeth II have even received these lace treasures.

The Industrial Revolution and the Great Lace Robbery

Large-scale lace production emerged thanks to the Industrial Revolution. The South Moravian town of Letovice became known for lace-making in a rather questionable manner, launching the continent’s first machine-produced lace in 1832, two decades before its closest competitors, albeit through unscrupulous means.
Some nations treated lace and the secrets behind its manufacturing as national treasures. In England, for example, it was illegal to bury someone with valuable lace, followed by import bans on foreign lace, and strict laws against exporting lace-making machinery, often punishable by death. But the resourceful Viennese industrialist Daniel Baum found a way around this: he opened a lace-making workshop in England, disassembled the machines, and had them shipped to Moravia disguised as machinery parts. The larger pieces that couldn’t fit were cleverly hidden beneath the ships’ keels and transported underwater across the Channel.

Tylex and Topak: Your grandmothers used our lace

The old linen factory in Letovice was revitalized thanks to English machinery, causing Austrian Emperor Franz I. to implement protective tariffs on imported lace for the monarchy. This led to Letovice becoming the unrivaled leader in the domestic market, quickly exporting lace, tulle, and curtains throughout Europe.
After World War II, the factory was nationalized, and the national company Tylex was formed in Letovice in 1946, which encompassed all lace production in the Czech lands, including the factories in the Ore Mountains and Vamberk. Just like the lace-making school in Vamberk, Letovice currently operates as Tylex Letovice. The company’s history is documented in its museum.
The machines for bobbin lace were later transferred to Drnovice, where a dedicated factory for producing bobbin lace was established. Known as Topak, this factory, founded in 1908, is regarded as the oldest machine-made bobbin lace factory in the world and the largest in Europe. Its slogan is “Your grandmothers used our lace”.

Interesting facts about lace

• • Lace was often considered a very lavish item. For instance, when Maria Theresa purchased a lace dress for her mother in Brussels, she paid about the same amount as one would for a house in downtown Vienna. The monarch had a penchant for lace: in 1767, she established the first lace school in Central Europe, which is now known as the Higher Vocational School of Textile Crafts. This institution has proudly represented the Czech Republic at local and global art exhibits. For example, at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Art in Paris in 1925, it received two Grand Prix and honorary mentions for a set of sewn lace designed by Emilia Paličková and a collection of wooden toys created by Minka Podhajská.

• • Although homegrown lace never reached the acclaim of lace from Venice or Flanders, the speed of lace production was quite comparable everywhere. For instance, a skilled worker in Mechelen could produce only about 35 centimeters of lace in a week – it’s important to note that Mechelen lace is known for its intricate floral designs and glossy outlines, making it particularly complex.

• • A lace measuring 4.70 x 2.08 meters holds the Guinness World Record. This was crafted by three hundred lace makers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Spain. It is reportedly the largest hand-made bobbin lace in the world, created using traditional methods yet adorned with modern motifs such as the tree of life, hearts, and waves, illustrating that lace evolves with the times. This masterpiece was created within seven months to honor 400 years of lace-making tradition in the Czech Republic.

• • Bobbin lace was also successfully showcased at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. It was among the 25 “Czech pearls” that the Czech Republic featured at this exhibition. Czech lace has also won gold medals in the World Expo held in Brussels and Montreal.