In Budějovice
Koh-i-noor Hardtmuth
Pěšky 16 min · Autem 6 min
Pencils have been made in Budějovice since 1848 and the company shop is normally open, so you can take home something genuinely local. The famous yellow Koh-i-noor was created here too, named after the diamond in the English coronation regalia.
Pencils have been made in České Budějovice since 1848 and the largest share of the firm's output still comes from here. The yellow Koh-i-noor pencil was Franz Hardtmuth's idea, named after the diamond in the English regalia when he had already lived and run the factory here for forty years. With it came the hardness grading that became a world standard: letters you find on every pencil on earth. What they mean is still debated.
Practical details
- Pěšky 16 min · Autem 6 min
- Opening hours: do továrny se veřejnost nedostane, prohlídky se nekonají. Podniková prodejna (Široká 421/1) Po–Pá 8:30–17:00 · So 9:00–17:00 · Ne zavřeno
On site
You cannot enter production — fair to say upfront. What you can see:
The factory site stands in F. A. Gerstnera street across from the Vodárenská věž (story) — industrial architecture of the 19th century, buildings from 1847–1848 and later additions. On postcards after 1903 the site is visible from the tower — a nice comparison with today. (Whether the site is still visible from the gallery is best checked up there.)
The company shop is open regularly — the most accessible part of the story. Two and a half thousand items in forty square metres. Worth picking up a pencil and reading the letter on it — after the previous paragraph it is not just a brand.
The customer centre with exhibition opens only by arrangement for groups, but tours are led by long-serving employees — the kind of guide you rarely find elsewhere.