Dedicated audio guide devices are gradually becoming less common, and in most cases, that's a positive change. Today's smartphones can already provide audio guides, maps, navigation, photos, and content in multiple languages without requiring visitors to carry extra shared equipment. SmartGuide digital audio guide platform, for example, builds on this idea by turning the visitor's own phone into a personal travel guide.
However, some hardware deserves to survive. Not because it performs a function that software cannot replicate, but because the physical object becomes part of the experience. Poesiomat is one of those rare examples. Rather than simply playing audio, Poesiomat invites people to pause, interact, and become part of the storytelling before the first recording even begins.
This blog explores how a hand-cranked poetry jukebox, Poesiomat, became a landmark, why it offers something a smartphone cannot, and how it perfectly complements SmartGuide.
Poesiomat placed at a Point of Interest, where visitors can discover stories connected to the location.
Poesiomat first appeared at Prague's Náměstí Míru in March 2015, created by Czech cultural activist Ondřej Kobza in collaboration with designer Jitka Tomsová. What began as a public poetry jukebox has grown into a network of location-specific audio installations across Czechia and beyond. Today, Poesiomats can be found in cities, villages, castles, parks, railway stations, and landscapes, with installations expanding to countries including the United States, Germany, Finland, Norway, and several others. Although every Poesiomat shares the same recognizable design, no two are alike. Each installation tells the story of its own location through carefully selected recordings connected to its history, culture, and people.
At first glance, Poesiomat looks like a black iron pipe rising from the ground, somewhere between a submarine periscope and a piece of forgotten industrial equipment. Then you notice the hand crank. Turning the handle lets visitors choose and play recordings ranging from poems, songs, and local stories to historical speeches and the sounds of the surrounding landscape. Powered entirely by the visitor, the current model requires no connection to the electrical grid, while its mechanism intentionally recalls old phonographs and barrel organs.
A visitor using a Poesiomat hand-cranked audio installation, enjoying the stories and recordings
Unlike a traditional audio guide, Poesiomat asks visitors to do more than simply press play. They stop, grip the handle, turn it, and wait for the recording to begin. That small physical action creates anticipation and makes listening part of the visit itself. The slower interaction is intentional. Instead of delivering information as quickly as possible, Poesiomat encourages people to pause and pay attention to their surroundings. The object becomes part of the storytelling, turning a simple recording into a memorable moment connected to the place where it stands.
Its creators describe Poesiomat as a "talking statue" and an amplifier of the genius loci—the distinctive spirit of a place. Every installation is developed with local historians, artists, experts, and communities. Visitors might hear local poetry, folk songs, historical speeches, personal memories, or the natural sounds of the surrounding landscape, allowing each Poesiomat to reflect the identity of its setting. More than 50,000 recordings are played every year, demonstrating how a simple hand-cranked interaction encourages people to stop, listen, and connect with local stories in a way that feels both personal and authentic.
No two Poesiomats tell the same story. Although every installation follows the same concept, each one features around 20 recordings carefully selected for the place where it stands.
For example, at Prague's Wenceslas Square, visitors can listen to recordings connected with some of the defining moments of modern Czech history, including the proclamation of the Czechoslovak Republic, an authentic speech by Klement Gottwald, the last words of Jan Palach, a speech by Václav Havel, and poetry inspired by the square.
Similarly, at Václav Havel Airport Prague, the Poesiomat serves as a compact introduction to Czech culture, presenting the voices and works of figures such as Václav Havel, Milan Kundera, Karel Čapek, Milada Horáková, and Jaroslav Seifert. Its program is primarily in English but also includes recordings in French, German, and Spanish, making it especially suitable for international visitors.
In Žatec, a city shaped by Czech, German, and Jewish history, the Poesiomat features recordings in Czech, German, and Yiddish, connecting literature, local legends, and the city's famous hop-growing heritage. Beyond these locations, Poesiomats can be found beside castles, in parks, at railway stations, in the countryside, and near historic buildings.
The project has also expanded beyond Czechia to cities including New York, Buffalo, Helsinki, Larvik, and Heidelberg. While every Poesiomat may look the same from a distance, its voice—and the stories it tells—always belong to the place beneath it.
A visitor turning the handle of a Poesiomat to listen to location-specific stories and recordings
SmartGuide gets you there. Poesiomat rewards your arrival.
Although they operate at different scales, that is exactly why they complement each other so well. SmartGuide helps travelers discover places they might otherwise pass without noticing, connecting points of interest into routes while providing maps, navigation, multilingual content, and historical context along the way.
Poesiomat focuses on a single location, inviting visitors to stop and experience the stories, voices, and sounds that belong to that place. SmartGuide can explain why a historic square matters and guide visitors through its hidden corners; Poesiomat then lets that square speak in the open air. SmartGuide helps visitors discover points of interest, while Poesiomat itself becomes a point of interest that starts speaking when they arrive.
SmartGuide digital audio guide app
The future of travel technology is not about choosing between software and physical objects but understanding the role each plays. Smartphones have replaced dedicated hardware whose only purpose is delivering information, making it possible to carry guides, maps, and audio in a single device. Physical objects still have an important place when the interaction itself adds meaning.
Poesiomat does exactly that. Its distinctive steel body attracts curiosity, the hand crank builds anticipation, and its public speaker briefly turns a visitor's personal selection into part of the surrounding soundscape. It is at once an audio guide, a sculpture, a local archive, and a small public performance.
Together, SmartGuide and Poesiomat encourage visitors to notice their surroundings, turning information into discovery and discovery into lasting memories.
Visitors gather around a Poesiomat to explore the voices, history, and sounds of the surroundings
The best travel technology does not distract visitors from their surroundings—it helps them notice what makes a place worth visiting. SmartGuide and Poesiomat achieve this in different but complementary ways. One provides a personal guide that visitors carry in their pocket, helping them discover routes, understand history, and explore at their own pace. The other is a physical installation that invites people to stop, turn a handle, and listen to the stories rooted in that exact location.
Whether you're a destination, museum, heritage site, or attraction, combining digital self-guided tours with meaningful on-site storytelling can create a richer visitor journey.
Get inspired by the Poesiomat project and discover Poesiomat locations on the official Poesiomat website. If you're looking to combine physical interpretation with multilingual digital guides, SmartGuide can help visitors continue exploring long after they leave the site.
Do you want to tell your local stories to international visitors?