Sgrafitto Tenement House, Gdansk, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Sgrafitto Tenement House stands at Ogarna 15/19A in Gdansk and is known for a large sgraffito, a picture scratched into layers of coloured plaster, that decorates its facade. The artwork refers to Gdansk's clock traditions and sits on Ogarna Street, the old Dog Street, in the historic centre. It is a quick, rewarding stop for anyone who likes street art with some history behind it.

The story behind it

Ogarna Street was once known as Dog Street. According to an old Gdansk tradition, packs of dogs were led at dusk from the city dog pound through this street to Granary Island, where they helped protect the warehouses from thieves. Many tenements on the street still carry dog motifs as a nod to that name.

Some houses here took part in the art project called Gdansk Facades Renewal. On building 15/19 the project produced a sgraffito by the artist Anna Waligorska. The technique means laying several coats of differently coloured plaster on the wall, then scraping away the upper layers following a pattern so the colours beneath show through. Her design draws on the city's clock-making and clock traditions.

What to look for

• Look at the surface of the facade up close to see how the scraped lines reveal the colours of the plaster layers underneath.
• Follow the design as a whole and pick out the references to Gdansk's clock traditions that the artist built into it.
• Check the neighbouring tenements on Ogarna for carved or painted dogs, a reminder of how the street got its name.
• Step back across the street for a view of the full facade, then compare it with the older, more traditional fronts on either side.

Tips for your visit

• You see the house from the street, so it costs nothing to look. Ten minutes is enough, longer if you want to photograph the detail.
• Daylight is best, since a low sun makes the scraped texture of the plaster easier to read.
• Ogarna is a short walk from the central Old Town, so it pairs easily with the main sights and the Motlawa riverfront.
• Treat it as one stop on a longer stroll rather than a destination on its own, and wander the side streets for more facades and details.

See it on a quest

The house is one of the stops on The Watchmaker's Curse in Gdansk, a self-guided walk whose clockwork theme suits a facade inspired by the city's clock traditions. You reach the building on foot as part of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, so you can start whenever you like. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.