Glasi Hergiswil

Glass has been made at Hergiswil since 1817, using the sand, wood and lake transport available on this shore. By 1975 the works were failing and due to close; the workforce occupied the site, and the designer Roberto Niederer took it over and kept mouth-blowing alive when every other Swiss glassworks had mechanised or shut - it is now the only one left doing it. Visitors can watch the blowers working at the furnaces from a gallery, which is free, and a paid museum tells the history through a walk-through installation with sound and darkness rather than cases. There is a glass labyrinth and a large shop. The works sit directly on Lake Lucerne below Pilatus.

What you actually see

• Mouth-blowing at the furnace - the last such works in Switzerland, free to watch.
• A rescue in 1975 - occupied by workers, then bought by a designer.
• A walk-through museum - the history staged rather than displayed in cases.
• A glass labyrinth - the site's family attraction.

When to go

All year; blowing happens on working days, not weekends. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Glassblowing is only visible during production hours - check before going, since weekends and holidays usually mean cold furnaces. The site is commercial, ending in a large shop. It is small.

Nearby

Pilatus rises directly above; Lucerne is along the lake.