Southern Bathhouses in Sopot

Dark timber, steep roofs, little towers and carved dragons – the Southern Bathhouses look as if they had sailed onto Sopot beach straight from a Norwegian fjord. This wooden bathing complex from 1907 stands on the sand a few hundred metres south of the pier and is one of the most unusual landmarks of the old resort. Since the 1990s it has housed the Zhong Hua Hotel with its oriental interiors.

History: from ladies' and gents' baths to a hotel

The complex was designed by Paul Puchmüller, Sopot's municipal architect from 1901 to 1922, who also designed the older Northern Bathhouses of 1903, the town hall and the former grammar school. His inspiration was the Norwegian national style, echoing stave churches – a rarity on the Baltic coast. The building had three sections: for women, for families and for men; the family section had a children's pool with a slide. On the promenade side there were hairdressers, restaurants and cafés, and rows of cabins and jetties stretched towards the sea.

After the First World War a seaplane base with flights to Germany was set up next to the baths. In 1938 the building was briefly turned into a Hitler Youth hostel. After the war its use changed several times, and in the 1960s it was a meeting place for locals who played bridge and sat in the cabins. In the 1990s the Ming Hoong company restored and extended it, turning it into a hotel with Far Eastern décor.

What to look for

• Carved decorations with dragons, dolphins and mythical creatures on the timber façades.
• The beach front – from the sand you see best how the complex stretches along the shore.
• The Art Nouveau villa next door, built in 1910 for the wealthy widow Agnes Kalau von Hofe to a design by Heinrich Dunkel; its cylindrical tower has lost its conical roof.

The beach by the bathhouses

At beach entrance no. 23 is the Łazienki Południowe I bathing area, one of Sopot's beaches adapted for people with disabilities. In summer there is a wide wooden boardwalk about 65 m long towards the sea, extended by a mat on the sand, a walkway to a wheelchair-accessible shower and a pavilion with accessible toilets.

Tripto tip

Viewing the building from outside takes 15–20 minutes – combine it with a walk along the beach from the pier and Plac Zdrojowy. The surroundings are open to everyone, and you can go into the restaurant and hotel as a guest. The carvings look their best at sunrise, when low light from the sea brings out the detail in the wood. The hotel is at al. Wojska Polskiego 1.