The Grom Motorcycle Museum is a private collection housed in an old industrial building in the centre of the town of Vransko in central Slovenia. It claims to be the largest motorcycle museum in Slovenia, a claim undoubtedly well founded as it is a large collection by any standards.

The Grom collection has a strong emphasis on unrestored machinery and the unusual. The geographic location meant that back in the day the motorcycles of Slovenia were truly international. Italian brands are strongly represented but there is a decent spread of French, German, American and British machinery too along with a patriotic smattering of Tomos products. 

Many of the exhibits are working and used on the road and a good number are held in a preserved state. There is a wonderful 1906 Puch in a glass case that is completely unmolested and original down to period tyres which have worn down to the string casing. The collection is expanding and projects are trundling out of the workshop on a regular basis. On the go whilst I visited was a French Majestic hub centre steered machine from the late twenties.

Though Vransko is a sleepy town it's got a lot of charm, is set in stunning countryside and  definitely warrants a night or two stay. The Museum itself has a bed and breakfast attached, no-one was in when we arrived so we ended up next door in a friendly small pizzeria restaurant and bar which had comfortable and reasonably priced rooms.  

The Museum is well worth going out of your way to visit, Ljubljana airport isn't far away and a long weekend in Slovenia isn't out of the question for Europeans. Below a selection of the Museum's exhibits, more to come over the next few days...

Just outside the sleepy village of Saku�ak 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.

The Puch Museum is run by the Janez Puh Jur�inci Society ('Dru�tvo 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.

Check the website of the Puhov Musej (Johann Puch / Janez Puh Museum).