The Capital of Humor is another name of Odessa, justified from many different points of view. Many people have heard of or encountered cheerful, joke-loving Odessians, others know about such humorous sights of the city as, for example, Sculpture Garden in the courtyard of Literary Museum. But humor in Odessa is not limited to this — here it is captured even in the architecture.
«House of Cards», «Flat House», «Witch House», «House of Shadows» — all these are nicknames of another original landmark of Odessa, the house located at 4 Vorontsovsky Lane.
The most ordinary at first sight house appears before the eyes in a completely different guise, if you look at it from a certain angle. That is why it has received so many strange nicknames — because it seems completely flat.
For Odessa residents and those who know the mystery of this house, the surprised eyes of those who see it for the first time are a fun amusement and they are kindly amused by the sincere bewilderment of tourists. Trying to understand what is the mystery of this strange building, rightfully included in the list of the most amazing architectural structures in the world, people walk from side to side, amazed and make enthusiastic exclamations. And unraveling the mystery of this tricky house once again convinces everyone that Odessa is indeed a fun city.
The clue to the originality of the flat house can be seen if you step farther away. Flat people who spend all their time standing do not live here. The point is that the side walls of the house are built at an acute angle, which creates an optical illusion. Inside, the flat house is a real treasure — here the efforts of the residents have preserved the ancient interiors: marble staircases, elegant moldings on the ceilings, wrought iron railings.
The Witch House in Odessa became a very popular attraction by accident — in fact, during its construction, no one planned to create an architectural masterpiece and surprise someone. The date of construction of this house is not known exactly, as well as the name of the architect who gave the city another miracle, but presumably the house was built either in the 30s of the XIX century, when the main building of the street, or in the early XX century.
There are several versions of the reasons why the house turned out the way it is. According to one of them, during construction it turned out that the funds were not enough, and the architects simply found a way out of a difficult situation: they brought the two side walls together so that the shape of the top of the house began to resemble a triangle, and at a certain angle — to appear completely flat. According to another version, the construction manager was drunk when he signed the documents, and he was simply deceived by the contractor, so there were not enough funds, and such an original solution was found. Another version, which many people consider the most probable, is that there was simply not enough land, and it was impossible to deviate from the historical development of the street, so such an amazing on the one hand and so traditional on the other hand building was built.
Whatever the reasons were, thanks to which there appeared another most interesting landmark of Odessa — a flat house — this original sight is worth seeing with your own eyes. Everyone who comes on vacation in Odessa, strive to look at this mystical house, to take pictures of it, to make fun of their friends, showing them the photos, to bring a piece of cheerful Odessa mood from the trip to South Palmyra.