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| Great road sign points the way. |
Just outside the sleepy village of Sakušak near the medieval city of Ptuj in the heart of the Slovenske Gorice wine growing region of northeastern Slovenia can be found a shrine to the area's most famous son, Johann Puch, or Janez Puh to give him the name he was born with..
A short blip back in time and Slovenia was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire, the Austrian city of Graz where the Puch factory lies is just a short drive across the border. Then, as now, it was not unnatural that a young man would take his talent north to earn a living. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia a sense of national pride has flourished in Slovenia and though Puh may have found success in Austria the people of Slovenske Gorice are keen to remember that he was one of their own.
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| View of the museum from the road side. |
The Puch Museum is run by the Janez Puh Juršinci Society ('Društvo rojaka Janeza Puha'), is situated in beautiful countryside and housed in a traditional thatched local building. A nice touch is that there is a wine cellar beneath that serves as a club house par excellence. The Museum is open at weekends or in the week by prior arrangement. I was lucky enough that the tourist office in nearby Ptuj called up for me (English not spoken at the museum whilst I was there, though German is) and arranged a mid-week visit. Very generous of the Museum to have opened up for just the one soul coming along to have a look, it highlights that it is very much the enterprise of a bunch of enthusiasts.
On arrival you are invited to watch a short film about the life of Janez Puh. It's a well made and entertaining short film and thankfully available in several languages. After that a browse around the exhibits. There's a modest collection of motorcycles and bicycles, a room of memorabilia and a room with an ethnological display of local life a couple of hundred years back. A really enjoyable museum to visit, full of charm and enthusiasm and well worth a look if you are in the area.
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| Several of the exhibits and the opening film. |
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| 1970 Puch Pony Express. |
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| 1935 Puch S4 250cc |
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| 1955 Puch M5 moped. |
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| Several of the Museum's bicycles. |
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| Another view in the bicycle room. |
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A bust of Puch sits amongst the vines in the
garden. |
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| Fantastic club house in the cellar. |
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| Cutaway Puch split single ('twingle') motor. |
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Only recently has Puch been recognised in his
homeland but people are keen to redress and
this bridge in Ptuj is named after him. |
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