Památník bigbítu

The Big Beat Memorial (Památník bigbítu) is a small monument in the Chvojkovy quarries in Plzeň, honoring the city's distinctive role in the history of Czechoslovak rock music during the 1960s and 1970s, locally known as "bigbít." Its official name, Milník času — Milestone of Time — points to an era when Plzeň, rather than the capital Prague, became a gateway for young people seeking access to Western rock music.

Where is the memorial and what does it look like?

The monument stands in Chvojkovy lomy, a former stone quarry turned into a park, in the Plzeň 2 – Slovany district on the city's eastern side (Východní Předměstí). Its form is deliberately raw and simple: a circular base four meters in diameter, its perimeter marked by unprocessed stones taken from the quarry itself. Resting on these stones is a wooden symbol referencing the anti-war movement and the generational aesthetic of the 1960s, inscribed with the word "Bigbít." The rough material — quarried stone left untreated, wood instead of anything more refined — echoes the spirit of the era it commemorates, a time when rock music in Czechoslovakia grew up outside official channels, in garages and on makeshift stages.

Who created the memorial, and when was it unveiled?

Milník času was created by Jaroslav Šindelář, an academic sculptor from Plzeň. The monument was unveiled on 1 May 2009, and the funds for its construction came from a public collection — the initiative came from residents and people connected to the local music scene rather than from city authorities. The choice of 1 May was not incidental: in the Czechoslovak calendar, the date was strongly associated with official state parades, so placing a monument to countercultural music on that day carried an extra layer of meaning.

Why did Plzeň become a "gateway" for big beat music?

The memorial's significance rests on a concrete geographic and technical circumstance: lying close to the border with Germany, Plzeň received a far clearer signal from Radio Luxembourg than Prague did. Radio Luxembourg was one of the few stations broadcasting Western popular and rock music at the time. This gave young people in and around Plzeň easier access to recordings and musical trends that reached the rest of the country late, if at all. It effectively made the city an informal center of big beat in Czechoslovakia — a role the memorial exists specifically to keep alive for later generations of residents and visitors.

What is the memorial's connection to an annual festival?

Since the unveiling, the site has hosted an annual music festival of the same name — Milník času – Bigbít — every 1 May. Held in the Chvojkovy quarries, the festival's programming draws on the music of the 1960s and 1970s, keeping the memory of that scene actively alive rather than confined to a plaque. Because of this pairing, Milník času functions as more than a static commemorative object: the monument and the festival reinforce each other, drawing an older generation that remembers big beat firsthand alongside younger visitors encountering it for the first time.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Big Beat Memorial located? In the Chvojkovy lomy quarry park in Plzeň, in the Plzeň 2 – Slovany district on the city's eastern side.

Who designed the memorial, and when was it unveiled? It was created by Plzeň-based academic sculptor Jaroslav Šindelář and unveiled on 1 May 2009.

What is the memorial made of? Unprocessed stones from the local quarry, arranged in a four-meter-diameter circle, topped with a wooden symbol and the inscription "Bigbít."

Why is the memorial called Milník času? The name means "Milestone of Time" and refers to Plzeň's role as a place where Western rock music reached listeners during the communist era, thanks to better reception of Radio Luxembourg than in Prague.

Does anything happen at the memorial site regularly? Yes — every 1 May, the Chvojkovy lomy quarries host the Milník času – Bigbít music festival, celebrating the music of the 1960s and 1970s.

How was the memorial financed? Its construction was funded through a public collection.