UNESCO has just declared blown glass as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A dream come true for the Royal Crystal Factory of La Granja and for an ancient craft that continues to attract the attention and glances of curious tourists who come to enjoy the art of molding and creating with fire and silica sand. .
It has been long-awaited news. They had been after years of achieving this historic event. In the summer of 2021, they managed to get the Government to recognize the technique of blown glass as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Spain and now, finally, they have reached their Christmas lottery: UNESCO recognition of the manufacture of artisanal glass, just as it already has. Other manifestations such as flamenco or the Mediterranean diet have it.
Emotion overcomes the Segovian delegation that has traveled to Botswana, where the UNESCO Evaluation Body has met and has given the green light to the declaration. “A historic event,” as described by the president of the Board of Trustees of the National Glass Center Foundation, Andrés Ortega. “The dream of the Royal Crystal Factory of La Granja in particular, and of the field of blown glass in general, has been fulfilled with this declaration.”
The inscription in the Representative Lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the traditional technique of glass blowing, which has been used uninterruptedly for 300 years in the Royal Crystal Factory of La Granja (Segovia), is a transcendental recognition for a sector that is experiencing a crucial moment in history, not only in Spain but worldwide.
In that sense, Orteega positively values the five years of work carried out to achieve the designation as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. “It has been an effort promoted by Spain, Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and France, with the notable support of the Ministry of Culture of Spain, through the General Subdirectorate of Heritage Protection, with the technical support of the Royal Factory of Cristales, which has borne fruit”.
In this way, the statement of ‘Knowledge, craft techniques and skills in glass making’, which includes, in addition to the cane-blown glass technique, blowtorch glass and carving, engraving, enamels and gilding, is a tribute and a recognition of blown glass.
This support from UNESCO will give more visibility to glass-blowing crafts, raise citizens’ awareness of values and intangible cultural heritage, favor the distinction between manual glass craftsmanship and industrially manufactured glass, allow for increased documentation activities, teaching and safeguarding artisanal glass production, as well as the transfer of knowledge between communities.
Only two centers in Spain maintain the blown glass technique, practically unchanged, for centuries, Vidrios Gordiola in Algaida, in Mallorca, and the Real Fábrica de Cristales de la Granja, in Segovia. In this city, furthermore, the added value is that this trade is carried out every day in a building created for it and declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.