Vamberk

Bobbin lace came to Vamberk in the seventeenth century - the tradition credits Magdalena Grambova, a Belgian noblewoman married into the local family, with bringing lacemakers from Flanders in the 1620s - and it took hold as a cottage industry across the whole district, worked by women at home for merchants who sold it across the empire. By the nineteenth century Vamberk lace was a substantial trade and the town had a lace school from 1889, which still teaches. The Museum of Lace holds several thousand pieces covering Czech and European work from the seventeenth century onward, and demonstrations of the pillow, bobbins and pattern card are given. A lace festival is held every two years. The craft survives as a serious practice rather than as a re-enactment, and pieces can be bought from makers, though hand-worked lace is expensive for obvious reasons.

History

The small castle and then the settlement were first called Waldemberg, shortened to Walmberg and then Wamberg, in Czech Vamberk; the name may be Czech, "Valda's hill", or German, "wooded hill". Vamberk is first mentioned in 1341 and gained town privileges in 1616. For centuries the town lived from lacemaking, weaving and the timber trade, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries textile, stove and meat industries made it the industrial centre of the region (Wikipedia, Vamberk).

What you'll find

• A museum of several thousand pieces - Czech and European lace from the 1600s.
• A lace school since 1889 - still teaching the craft in the town.
• Working demonstrations - the pillow, bobbins and pattern card in use.
• A festival every two years - makers and exhibitions across the town.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Good to know

The museum closes on Mondays and keeps short winter hours. Demonstrations depend on staffing. Hand-made lace is expensive; much sold as Czech lace elsewhere is machine-made or imported.

Nearby

Rychnov nad Kneznou is south; the Orlicke hory rise east.