Boot Monument (Pomnik Glana) in Jarocin

A boot more than two metres tall, with a high leg, stands by one of Jarocin's busier junctions and tells you at once where you are. The "glan" – the heavy leather boot worn by the punks who flocked to Jarocin's concerts – became the symbol of the town and its festival, the biggest rock event of the former Eastern Bloc. The monument was unveiled on 15 July 2011, the first day of that year's festival.

History: Felicja Pawlicka's idea

The idea came from artist and cultural organiser Felicja Pawlicka, who died tragically in 2010. Her friends carried it out after her death, and the sculpture was made by Jakub Bogatko and Małgorzata Kruk. The boot is over 2 metres tall, weighs about 200 kg and is made of epoxy resin.

Jarocin's rock story began in 1970 with an event called Wielkopolskie Rytmy Młodych (Greater Poland Youth Rhythms). The festival in its best-known form started in 1980 on the initiative of Walter Chełstowski; bands such as Dżem, Maanam, TSA, T.Love and Republika played there. Suspended after riots in 1994, it returned in 2005 and is held every year.

A living monument

It has become a tradition to decorate the boot with colourful laces, and visitors love taking photos with it. Miniature boots stand in front of the Kamienica Kultury (House of Culture) on the market square, and murals about Jarocin's rock history around town form the outdoor part of the Spichlerz Polskiego Rocka – the Polish Rock Granary museum.

Tripto tip

The monument stands at the corner of Św. Ducha and Wojska Polskiego streets, next to the park; it is free to see at any time and a photo takes a few minutes. Use it as the start of a rock walk: through the park with the ruins of the 15th-century Holy Spirit church and the amphitheatre where leading Polish rock bands made their debuts in the 1980s and 1990s, to the Polish Rock Granary – the only museum of Polish rock in the country. Pick up a mural map and tourist information at the Kamienica Kultury, Rynek 17.