Located just outside Luzern, the Hergiswil Glassworks is the only glass factory in Switzerland. Originally producing household goods such as glass jars, vases, and medicine bottles, it fell into financial trouble as soon as mechanisation came around as its craftsmen could no longer keep up with automated production.
Luckily for the plant, Roberto Niederer, a glass artist saved the plant from permanent closure by using it to create pieces of high-value glass art. Today, it stands as the last remaining glass factory in the country and produces high-quality handmade glass for consumer use like decanters and wine glasses. If you’d like a go a craftsman can also guide you to blowing your own glass ornament for a modest CHF20 fee.
There are three exhibitions inside the museum, the glass exhibition on the application of glass in physics is free, and the adjacent Glass Labyrinth demands a CHF5 fee. What I really loved was the museum that showcased the history of the factory and its relationship to the town through an immersive audiovisual story. If you go on a weekday and ask for it in English, you stand a chance of having the museum all to yourself. It’s so good that it won the 1996 European Museum of the Year award.
The ticket fees can be used as a coupon in the glass shops, but at a minimum purchase of CHF50 or CHF70 to use it, I think it’s a tad steep. American Express also offers free entry for two for the museum in certain periods, but it wasn’t honoured by the museum. You can also just walk in through the back door to see where craftsmen blow glass in the factory, that bit is completely free.
Souvenir shop 
Museum
