History of the club
2003: from meet-ups to a club
Garbiarnia began as informal meet-ups of Beetle owners around Warsaw. On 10 May 2003, in Podkowa Leśna near Warsaw, the regulars decided to turn the meet-ups into a club. The founding meeting took place in Warsaw on 8 August 2003 with ten founding members, and on 2 October 2003 the Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Volkswagena Garbusa „Garbiarnia” (Society of Friends of the VW Beetle) officially began. In 2005 it became a registered association.
From the start the idea was to bring Beetle owners together rather than close the circle – members of other clubs regularly came to Garbiarnia's meetings. The club called it a “Beetle ecumenism”.
Meeting places
For years members met in Warsaw pubs: the PRL-themed club “Komisariat” on Świętokrzyska Street, then a rock pub on Racławicka Street every first and third Sunday, and later a pub run by a fellow Beetle owner.
Rallies and shows
The club's first event was Garb Jamboree 2004, followed by Pielgrzymka do Grzymka (2005, 2006) with orientation rallies for 30–40 classic VWs, and a national Beetle meet in Tułowice (2008). Over the years the archive records events such as Monte Garbo, Garbo Dakar, Rajd Strucla and Sumasumarum.
Helping others
Every year from 2004 the club took part in the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), Poland's biggest charity event – with parades of classic Volkswagens, auctions and fundraising (over 4,000 PLN in 2007 alone). Members supported children's homes in Otwock, Konstancin-Jeziorna and Warsaw-Radość, organised the Kopa del Garbo indoor football tournament for their children (four editions), and promoted blood donation – over 20 litres were donated in the club's campaigns.
Online
The forum (2003) was the heart of the club, joined by a club website (2005) and a WordPress site (2012). In 2026 the old software was retired and everything was preserved in this static archive – Garbiarnia⁴, the fourth version of the site.
How it looked
