Piwnica pod Baranami ("The Cellar under the Rams") is one of the most celebrated cultural institutions in Polish bohemian history. Founded in 1956 in a cellar beneath the Grey House on the Main Market Square, it became a legendary cabaret venue during the communist period — a space where irony, wordplay, and political humour could be deployed with just enough ambiguity to survive official scrutiny. Its founding director Piotr Skrzynecki ran it for decades and it hosted virtually every major figure in Polish culture.
Today Piwnica continues as a performance venue and jazz club, though the character has evolved since its communist-era golden age. Regular evening performances range from cabaret to jazz to literary events; the venue's irregular calendar is posted on the door and online. The cellar itself — low vaulted brick, decades of layered decoration, a stage barely large enough to hold a quartet — retains the atmosphere of its remarkable history. For those interested in Polish cultural history, it is well worth an evening.