Polish Rock Granary, Jarocin

The Polish Rock Granary is a museum where loudspeakers replace silence. Spread over two floors of a former grain store in the centre of Jarocin, it tells the story of Polish rock music from the 1950s to the present day, built around the festival that, from 1970, turned a small town in Greater Poland into the symbol of a whole generation. This branch of the Jarocin Regional Museum opened on 17 July 2014.

History: from Young Rhythms to "Jarocin"

The festival was dreamed up by the people of Jarocin's first youth club, Olimp, led by basketball player and artist Jacek Chudzik, together with the local band Kwiaty. The first Greater Poland Rhythms of the Young took place in June 1970: three days of concerts by amateur bands, a finale with star guests and prizes called Chameleons – the first Golden Chameleon went to the band Sekwens. The name was borrowed from a Radio Poznań programme. In 1980 the event changed format and, as the National Festival of Young Generation Music (6–8 June), brought Dżem, Maanam, Kombi and Kasa Chorych to the stage, among others. In the years that followed the festival had a huge influence on the development of Polish rock music.

For a long time there was no museum – fans coming to the festival had nowhere to learn its history. In 2010 the Regional Museum secured EU regional funding, and the script for the permanent exhibition was written by Robert Jarosz and Leszek Gnoiński.

What to see

The exhibition is divided into 14 themed zones, and its main protagonists are sound and moving images.

• The zone devoted to the Jarocin festivals of the communist era – photos of bands and audiences, and press cuttings following the event over the years.
• Photographs from successive festivals – taken by professionals, amateurs and also by the security service officers who kept the festival under surveillance; today these frames are themselves documents of the era.
• Original concert recordings and footage, plus a series of documentaries made especially for the museum, showing how the festival evolved against a changing political background.
• Memorabilia – posters, programmes, passes and tickets, T-shirts, badges and items donated by Polish musicians.
• Touch screens and projections that let you choose what to listen to and watch.

A music club operates on the ground floor, and the building hosts concerts, exhibition openings, film screenings and meetings with musicians.

Did you know?

Jarocin's rock history has spilled onto the streets. Since 2012, as part of the "From Counterculture to Pop Culture" project, artists from the Polish street-art scene, including M-City and Zbiok, have painted murals on blocks of flats, garages and transformer stations – so far 10 large-format and 17 smaller works. The very first mural, funded by a collection among residents of the 1000-lecia estate, was painted by local young people back in summer 2007 on a wall of garages near the stadium and the festival's main stage.

Tripto tips

The Granary is at Skwer Wielkopolskich Rytmów Młodych, ul. Poznańska 2. According to its official website it is open Tuesday to Friday 09:00–16:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays 12:00–16:00; it is closed on Mondays, and last entry is half an hour before closing. A standard ticket costs PLN 15, reduced PLN 10, a family ticket PLN 35, and a combined ticket including the Regional Museum's collections in the Radoliński Palace PLN 20. On Saturdays admission to the permanent exhibition is free. The building is wheelchair accessible. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the visit, and if you like street art, add a walk along the mural trail.