Crooked House (Krzywy Domek)

The Crooked House (Krzywy Domek) stands at ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino 53 in Sopot, the seaside resort town in Poland's Pomeranian region, between Gdańsk and Gdynia. Completed in 2004, the building has a distorted, curving form, with wavy walls, a rippling roof and windows that appear to melt or sag. Its design was inspired by the illustrations of the Polish artist Jan Marcin Szancer and by the fantasy drawings of the Swedish artist Per Dahlberg, and the effect is of a fairy-tale cottage drawn in a children's book. The building is a shopping and leisure centre rather than a museum. It contains shops, cafes, restaurants and galleries, so visitors can step inside for a coffee or a browse, but the main attraction is the exterior, which is among the most photographed buildings in Sopot. The facade, with its colourful tiles and uneven proportions, is best captured from across the street, where the whole curving front fits into the frame, and from close up, where the details of the glazing and the roof appear. A visit normally lasts 15 to 30 minutes, longer if combined with a meal or shopping. Entry is free, and the shops and cafes typically open from 10AM to 10PM, though individual venues vary. Morning is the best time for photographs without crowds, while evenings are lively with the nightlife of Monte Cassino Street, which is the town's main pedestrian promenade. In July and August, the street can be very crowded, especially at weekends. The house lies five minutes on foot from the Sopot station on the SKM suburban line, on the way toward the Sopot pier, so it fits naturally into a walk from the station to the beach. Visitors who step inside will notice that the floors, ceilings and some window frames follow the same warped lines as the exterior, which adds to the playful effect and makes the interior worth a short browse even for those not shopping.