The story begins in 1756 in Bohemia and continues right down to the united Europe of today, taking in on the way some of the most dramatic events in European history.

The Riedel family has been in the glass business for 300 years, with 11 generations keeping the family business intact. The Riedel story begins in 1678 in the northern part of Bohemia, bordering Schlesia - today the Czech republic and Poland respectively. This part of Bohemia was a German speaking enclave known as the Sudetenland.

The Venetians brought back the knowledge of glass making from the Near East around 1.000 A.D. The knowledge of producing glass spread slowly towards the northern part of Europe, searching for energy, critical to the melting of glass. Wood was the source, causing a glassmaker migration to the forests. Due to this migration, a glass culture developed in Bohemia in the 17th century.