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Czech crystal gifts and countless other carefully selected items fill this enchanting, Central Texas shop, located 15 minutes from downtown Austin. Visiting The Old Prague Market is like taking a trip to a charming European marketplace where you will find a treasure trove of specialty items and Czech crystal gifts found nowhere else, at unbeatable prices.

Located in a picturesque, historic building, the Old Prague Market brims over with exceptional examples of fine Czech crystal. Here you will find Czech crystal gifts, accessories and conversation pieces that add a distinct touch to home or office décor and make memorable gifts for any occasion.

At the Old Prague Market, we choose our items with care and change our inventory often, so ou'll always discover something new and exciting when you visit. We give special emphasis to holidays and enjoy bringing you outstanding gifts for Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentines Day and other special times throughout the year. When you need a distinctive crystal gift for any occasion - anniversary, birthday, holiday, wedding, housewarming - or just want to add the special accent of Czech crystal to your décor - you will find the perfect gift here.

Czech crystal gifts come in a variety of distinctive shapes, sizes and types. Choose from among:

• Angels and bells
• Vases
• Candleholders
• Glasses, bowls, pitchers, decanters
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Baskets
• Paper weights and eggs
• Jars
• and much more.

In addition to our stunning collection of crystal, we carry other unique items such as porcelain, colored crystal and stained glass. We will wrap your purchases free of charge and mail them upon request. Use our crystal order form to request an item or for a complete list of our gift ideas.

About Czech Crystal

Many consider Czech Crystal the premium crystal on the market today. It contains a high percentage of lead oxide, which causes light rays to refract or bend, just as occurs with a diamond. This gives Czech crystal a remarkable dazzle and beauty.

Czech Republic Crystal History

The production and design of glass and crystal has been a venerated tradition of the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia, since the early 14th or 15th Centuries. Bohemia, located in Northern Czech Republic near mineral rich mountains, provides the raw material that has been transformed into crystal art forms renowned the world over. Bohemia is the old name for Czech lands.

Since the early 19th century, Bohemia has been the world's leading producer of fine crystal. Its workshops and factories continue the tradition of melting, blowing, cutting, engraving, and painting glass and crystal, which was originally thought, along with Prague, to be magical.

Making Czech Crystal

To produce plain glass, sand is mixed with soda, lime, fluxes, ash, oxide of silica and stabilizers and then melted at extremely high temperatures until liquid. At this point it is considered a "super cooled" liquid, not a solid.

Crystal is achieved by adding lead oxide to this mixture. Consequently, it is known as leaded crystal glass. This special glass is famous for its extreme brilliance as well as its hardness, which makes it easier to cut designs into.

Cutting glass is an art form learned over many years and requires great patience. To create their art, artisans painstakingly press a crystal object against a large rotating wheel, usually of iron or stone. This wheel cuts grooves of straight, sharp angles into the glass, adding light-reflecting surfaces to achieve a dazzling sparkle.

We also give tours of the Czech Republic and Europe.

The Old Prague Market
Downtown Pflugerville, Texas

1-800-436-0931

info@oldpraguemarket.com

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