This building was nicknamed ‘The Witch’s House’
There are many beautiful houses in Vyborg, but this particular one has received a rather expressive nickname.
It originally was the residential house of joint-stock company ‘Torkel’, built in 1898 according to the project of Finnish architect Eduard Dippel.
The designers were given a specific triangular plot with two sharp corners. This is how the building got its shape, which is popularly dubbed a ‘house-iron’ or a ‘house-wall’: from some angles, it appears to be flat.
The exterior of the house is as expressive as its interior layout. The facades with Gothic gables are faced with natural stone: it reminds of the masonry of old Vyborg fortifications. In 2016, the house was granted the status of a cultural heritage object of regional significance.
The origin of the “witch’s” nickname is not known. Probably, it comes from the unusual shape of the building. But, such a name definitely helps attract tourists and connoisseurs of Finnish architecture!
