Villa Hestia

Heaven for some water sports

by gosiaPL

Sopot is popular for water sports and it has a few equipment rentals if you don't bring your own. The Bay of Gdansk is especially popular among windsurfers and boat sailers (I've selected only 'Boating/Sailing' in the tip theme). For equipment rental try the Sopocki Klub Zeglarski which also does courses for beginners :-)

BOUNCE AROUND ON A RUBBER RAFT

by Pawtuxet

Here is another way to have some fun at Sopot. Seems there is no end to the water amusements you can find here. This is a pretty bumpy ride with some serious corners here and there...but everyone has a great time.

Sopot Light Louse

by Gosia78

Light house in Sopot which also serves as a sightseeing tower was built during construction of balneaotherapy building in 1903 – 1904. It is open during season, the main entrance is from pier, you have to pay first at the pier entrance and then when entering the light house (the price is 2,50 polish zloty).

The Balneology

by Gosia78

The Balneology - Bathing Building together with the rheumatology hospital was built according to the design fo Paul Puchmuller in 1903-04. The balneaotherapy building required its own boiler room and chimney; the architect came with good idea to build around the tall chimney light house and sightseeing tower. The are a lot of sculptures and stained-glass windows in the building. Over the main porch you can see sculpture of siren with Tryton. Tryton (Tryton Roman name Triton Greek name) comes from Greek & Roman Mythology and he is God of the sea and son of Poseidon. The entrance is also decorated with arms of Sopot. To commemorate the founder of the resort town Jean Haffner, a commemorating plate was attached to the wall of the building.

Sopot

by Aardvark

"The Baltic Beauty"

Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000.

Sopot is a powiat capital in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Until 1999 it formed a part of the Gdañsk Voivodeship. Along with Gdañsk and Gdynia, Sopot is part of the trojmiasto (Tricity) metropolitan agglomeration.

Sopot is a large health-spa and tourist resort destination, well known for the longest wooden pier in Europe, the Molo (at 515.5 meters), from which one can see the Gulf of Gdañsk. The city is also famous for its Sopot International Song Festival, the largest such event in Europe after the Eurovision Song Contest.

"City Name"

The name Sopot stems from an old Slavic word meaning "spring" or "source". It was mentioned as Sopoth in 1283 and Sopot in 1291. The German name Zoppot is a Germanization of the original Slavic name. Between the two world wars the plural names Sopoty or Copoty were in common use.

"Spa Paradise"

New complexes of baths, sanatoria, and hotels were opened in 1972 and 1975. By 1977 Sopot had approximately 54,500 inhabitants, the highest ever in its history. In 1979 the historical downtown was declared a national heritage center by the government of Poland.

The martial law declared by Wojciech Jaruzelski in 1981 and the following period of economical decline ended with the fall of the communist regime in 1989. In 1995 the southern bath and sanatoria complex were extended significantly and the Saint Adalbert spring opened two years later. Thanks to that in 1999 Sopot regained its official spa town status.

In 2001 Sopot celebrated the 100th anniversary of its city charter.