Location: Odessa Oblast
Odessa is a city in the south of Ukraine. The
administrative center of Odessa region and the main naval base of
the Naval forces of Ukraine. Hero City
The third most populated city in the country. The population of the
city as of January 1, 2018 was 993,831 permanent residents and
1,011,494 people of the current population. Over 1.2 million people
live within the agglomeration. The national composition of the
population: 61.7% of Ukrainians, 29.0% of Russians, 1.3% of
Bulgarians, 1.2% of Jews (2001). Located on the shore of the Odessa
Gulf of the Black Sea.
The largest seaport of Ukraine. Developed trade, metal processing,
oil refining, mechanical engineering, the production of drugs and
food. Sanatorium-resort treatment and beach vacations, cruise
tourism. Large scientific and educational center.
The historic center is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The
ensemble of Primorsky Boulevard, Duc de Richelieu Square and the
Potemkin Stairs.
Odessans are proud of their unique architectural and cultural
heritage. The city has many historical buildings and objects,
monuments, theaters and museums. University (founded in 1865),
historical museum (1825), city library (1830), astronomical
observatory (1871), art gallery (1898), other educational
institutions, theaters and museums. In addition to the university,
Odessa has other educational institutions of the highest
qualification, including the Medical University, the Maritime
Academy, the Maritime University, the Polytechnic University, the
Conservatory. Celebrities such as poet Alexander Pushkin, biochemist
Ilya Mechnikov, chemist Dmitry Mendeleev, singer Leonid Utyosov
lived here at different times. Several generations of brilliant
comedians, born and raised in Odessa over the past century, have
earned the city a special reputation as the capital of
Russian-language humor. The houses of the old part of the city are
built in various architectural styles from Neo-Renaissance to Art
Nouveau.
Streets and squares
Deribasovskaya street.
Seaside boulevard.
Cathedral Square.
Pushkinskaya street.
Richelieu street.
French Boulevard.
Objects
The
Potemkin Stairs. With 192 steps, this staircase became famous thanks
to the famous shots from S. Eisenstein's film "Battleship Potemkin",
where a baby carriage rolls down the steps after the soldiers opened
fire on the crowd. By the way, the official name of the Potemkin
Stairs is the Seaside Stairs. A feature of this object is the fact
that if you look at the stairs from above (from the side of the
duke), then only flights of stairs are visible, while at the same
time only steps are visible from below.
Teschin bridge. A fairly
modern bridge that connects Primorsky Boulevard with Staraya Odessa.
Standing on the bridge, you can feel the vibrations of the bridge,
as well as see a large number of newlyweds' castles, fixed on the
railing. They say the bridge got its name thanks to one story, as if
in the days of the USSR alone, the mother-in-law of one of the
mayors lived on the street named after. Gogol, and prepared an
amazing borsch, the lady's high-ranking son-in-law did not walk up
the stairs on the military slope (the bridge just connects Gogol St.
and Primorsky Boulevard and passes over the military slope), ordered
to build a bridge.
Monuments
More than 150 various
monuments are concentrated in the city.
3 Monument to the
orange, corner of Preobrazhenskaya st. and blvd. Mikhail Zhvanetsky.
4 Monument to Deribas, Deribasovskaya, 1.
5 Statue of Duc de Richelieu,
Primorsky Boulevard.
Monument to Shevchenko.
6 Monument to
Pushkin, Primorsky Boulevard.
7 Monument to Aunt Sonya,
Panteleimonovskaya, 27. 09:00-18:00. One of the most unusual
monuments is set right between the fish stalls of the famous Privoz
market. In Sonya's hands you can see a bunch of traditional Odessa
fish - gobies.
8 Atlantes hold the sky.
9 Monument to Prince
Vorontsov , Cathedral Square.
Temple architecture
10 Savior Transfiguration Cathedral , Cathedral Square, 3.
07:00-19:00.
11 Holy Assumption Cathedral, st. Preobrazhenskaya,
70.
12 Holy Trinity (Greek) Cathedral, Ekaterininskaya, 55a.
07:00-19:00.
13 St. Panteleimon Monastery , st.
Panteleymonovskaya, 66.
14 Catholic Church of St. Peter,
Gavannaya St. 5. 10:30-19:00.
15 Cathedral of St. Paul (Odessa
Church) , Novoselsky, 68. 11:00-18:00. Organ concerts are held in
the recently renovated church.
Civil architecture
16 Opera
House, Tchaikovsky lane, 1. The theater, built in 1809, is one of
the most beautiful in the world. Spectators go not only to the opera
or ballet, but also to see the amazing interiors of the theater, in
which, by the way, the palace scenes of the Soviet Three Musketeers
were filmed.
17 Vorontsov Palace, Vorontsovsky lane, 2d.
Museums
1 Odessa Archaeological Museum, st. Lanzheronovskaya, 4
(Located in the historical center of the city, near the Opera House.). ☎
+380 (48) 722-01-71. daily from 10.00 to 17.00 (day off - Monday).
Odessa Archaeological Museum, one of the oldest in the country, was
founded in 1825. Now the museum stores over 160 thousand exhibits, which
are the largest collection of sources on the ancient history of the
Northern Black Sea region. In addition, there are collections of
monuments of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, coins and medals.
2 Odessa Museum of Local History, st. Gavannaya, 4 (Located in the
historical center of the city, near the City Garden.). ☎ +380 (48)
722-84-90, +380 (48) 725-52-02. daily from 10.00 to 17.00 (day off -
Friday). In 1876, according to the design of the famous architect F.
Gonsiorovsky, a palace-type house was built, which now houses a museum.
The permanent exposition of the museum includes documents, printed
publications, objects of applied and fine arts, numismatic collections,
weapons of the 17th-19th centuries, related to the history of the city
and the region and once included in the collections of the Museum of the
Odessa Society of History and Antiquities, the Museum of the Book, the
Museum of the Old Odessa and some others turned out to be an integral
part of his funds. In 1983, the museum closed for major repairs. As a
result, the palace interiors of the mansion were restored to their
original form. The inner courtyard of the museum was transformed,
literally came to life, and in fact it is a kind of miniature park with
an elegant Grotto fountain. Acacia, chestnut, linden and, somewhat
unexpected for these places, Crimean pine and evergreen boxwood,
traditional for Odessa, give it a special intimacy and comfort.
3
Odessa Museum of A.S. Pushkin, Pushkinskaya 13. ☎ +380 (48) 722-74-53,
+380 (48) 725-11-34. daily from 10.00 to 17.00. (day off - Monday). This
is one of the first hotels in the young city - "Hotel du Nord", where
there were rooms for visitors, carriage houses with stables. Upon
arrival in Odessa on July 3, 1823, Pushkin stayed at this hotel and
lived here for a month. In our time, the literary and memorial museum of
A.S. Pushkin is located here.
4 Odessa Museum of Western and Oriental
Art., Pushkinskaya St. 9. ☎ +380 (48) 722-48-15. 10.00-18.00 (day
off-Wednesday).
5 Odessa Municipal Museum of Private Collections.
A.V. Bleshunova, 19 Polskaya St. ☎ +380 (48) 722-10-81, +380 (48)
725-04-53. from 10.00 to 18.00, cash desk - until 17.00, (day off -
Wednesday).
6 Odessa Art Museum, 5a Sofievskaya St. ☎ +380 (48)
7238272. from 10.30 to 18.00, ticket office - until 17.00 (day off -
Tuesday). The collection of fine arts of the Odessa Art Museum is one of
the most significant and diverse in Ukraine. It covers all types of fine
arts: painting, graphics, sculpture, arts and crafts, and includes works
by Russian and Ukrainian icon painters from the 16th century to the
present, with more than 10,000 original works. The museum was opened in
1899 on the initiative of the Odessa Society of Fine Arts, founded in
1865.
7 Museum. F. P. De - Volan of the Odessa port, st.
Lanzheronovsky descent 2. from 10.00 to 17.00 (day off - Saturday,
Sunday). Museum of Odessa Port named after F.P. De Volana was founded on
April 10, 1990 and opened for the 200th anniversary of Odessa. At the
moment, the museum exposition consists of 5 halls, with a total area of
490 sq. meters. The exposition of the museum fully reveals all the
multifaceted activities of the port.
8 Odessa State Literary Museum,
Lanzheronovskaya st. 2. from 10.00 to 17.00 (day off - Monday). In the
courtyard of the museum there is an interesting museum Sculpture Garden.
9 Odessa Museum of Numismatics., Grecheskaya st. 33. from 12.00 to
16.00 (day off - Sunday, Monday).
10 Museum of Anchors, Seaport. (The
museum is located near the church of St. Nicholas.). The exhibition
presents various types of anchors: rocker anchors made entirely from a
single piece of iron, Admiralteysky and Kholovsky, Matrosov's anchor
with increased holding power, and the so-called "cats". Three, four,
five-horned (multi-legged) cat anchors, light and tenacious, were very
convenient for the Viking rooks. They were even used by the
Scandinavians in battles as grappling hooks.
11 Wax Museum, 4
Rishelievskaya St. (Near the Opera House and the Archaeological
Museum.). 30 UAH (2012). More than 70 Figures Heroes of History, theater
and film stars, fairy-tale characters.
12 Museum of the Holocaust -
Victims of Fascism (Near the Opera House and the Archaeological
Museum.).
Odessa House-Museum. N.K. Roerich, Bolshaya Arnautskaya,
47. 10:00-18:00.
13 N. L. Shustov Brandy Museum (Museum at the Odessa
Brandy Factory), Odessa, Melnitskaya Street, 13 (Trolley bus No. 14, No.
3, minibus No. 168, 201). ☎ +380 (48) 740-08-99, +380 (67) 222-77-70.
from 10.00 to 20.00. from 100 UAH Dedicated to the history of the plant,
the history of the Shustov dynasty, cognac (brandy) production
technology, cognac business in Odessa. Group and individual tours of the
museum are held with a tasting of cognacs of various aging. The original
interior of the museum, which is actually located in the basement
(underground workshop) of the Odessa Cognac Factory, was made by the
famous Ukrainian architect and designer Denis Belenko. In 2015, the
Museum was included in the tourist map of wine routes compiled by the
Association for Cultural and Tourist Exchange under the Council of
Europe.
Theaters
Opera theatre. ticket offices are open from
10.00 to 19.00 with a half-hour lunch break around 15.00. 80-150 UAH It
should be noted that Odessans love to come here, and theater tickets are
very affordable. This means that the halls are always full, and an extra
ticket (which should be taken care of in advance) before the start of
the performance is gone in a matter of seconds.
Theater of Musical
Comedy, vul. Panteleimonivska, 3.
Puppet show.
Regional
Philharmonic.
Cinemas
Cinema "Rodina".
Cinema "Star".
Cinema "Moscow".
Cinema "Golden Duke".
Cinema City Cinema.
Cinema "I-Max".
Odessa film studio.
Parks and entertainment
Shevchenko park.
Victory Park.
Odessa city dolphinarium "Nemo".
beach holiday
The beaches of Odessa stretched along the entire
city, their length is 20 km. In the central part of the city, one passes
into another, and all of them are united by a 6-kilometer road that runs
along the coast and is called the Health Route. Cars are prohibited
along the health route, walking and cycling are possible along the road,
and a tourist “train” also runs. The easternmost beach and the closest
to the city center is Lanzheron, then comes Otrada, and so on until the
last beach of Arcadia. No money is taken for entering the beaches, with
the exception of the closed areas of clubs and other entertainment
establishments, entry by car closer to the beach costs 10 UAH.
By plane
Odessa International Airport is located within the city
on the western side.
The airport serves local and international
flights from Vienna (Austrian Airlines and Air Ukraine International,
daily), Tel Aviv (ElAl), Istanbul (Turkey Airlines), Athens, Aleppo,
Larnaca, Moscow, Kiev, Chisinau, Yerevan, Tbilisi, etc. Since 2015, air
communication with Russia has been discontinued, all those flying from
or to Russia are forced to use flights with transfers.
By train
Passenger railway station.
Passenger railway station
Odessa-Glavnaya connects it with almost all regional centers of Ukraine,
as well as with cities near and far abroad.
By bus
Regular
buses from Odessa go to most major cities of the Southern region, to
central Ukraine, Kyiv (Borispol) and many regional centers.
Bus
service connects Odessa with Germany (Berlin, Hamburg and Munich),
Romania (Galati and Constanta), Greece (Thessaloniki and Athens),
Bulgaria (Varna and Sofia), France (Strasbourg, Paris), Poland (Warsaw
and Krakow), Russia (Rostov, Volgograd, St. Petersburg and Moscow), as
well as other international flights.
Odessa has a main bus
station and several bus stations:
Odessa central bus station, st.
Kolontaevskaya, 58. ☎ +380 (48) 721-63-54, +380 (48) 733-56-63, +380
(48) 733-42-17. From the bus station in Odessa, buses depart across
Ukraine, to Russia and Europe. Regular routes: to Kyiv, Zaporozhye,
Dnepropetrovsk, Mariupol, Nikolaev, Kherson, Yalta and other bus routes
from Odessa - online. Routes to Russia and other countries: Rostov,
Volgograd, Chisinau, Paris, Tiraspol, Krakow, etc.
4 Bus station
"Privoz", st. Novoshchepny row, 5. ☎ +380 (48) 777-74-81, +380 (48)
777-74-82. 08:00-19:00. Main routes: Ilyichevsk, Kyiv, suburban flights,
Donetsk, Yuzhnoukrainsk, regional routes; Paris, Strasbourg, Krakow.
Flights of buses from Odessa - online.
12 Bus station number 3, per.
Novobazarny, 3.
12 Bus station number 4, st. Cosmonauts, 32A. ☎ +380
(48) 766-18-43.
5 Bus station "Odessa Privokzalnaya", st.
Odessa-Glavnaya, 37. ☎ +380 (48) 704-44-22, +380 (48) 722-50-70.
05:30-21:30
On the ship
Passenger ships and ferries run
between Odessa and Istanbul, Haifa and Varna.
There is a system of trams, "minibuses" and trolleybuses that runs through the entire city and nearby villages. Minibuses (almost all brands "Etalon" and "Bogdan") are the main means of transportation around the city. Travel in trams and trolleybuses is 5 UAH per trip, sometimes there is no conductor, payment is made through the front door to the driver. Travel in minibuses - 10 UAH. Pay only upon exit.
Markets
1 Privoz Market, st. Ekaterininsky corner.
Panteleymonovskaya. The legendary food market near the station.
2 Starokonny market, st. Indirect. The old market in Moldavanka,
currently specializes in household goods. However, of greater interest
to tourists is the flea market, which is formed on several adjacent
blocks on weekend mornings. Odessa is a maritime and commercial city,
things from different eras and peoples have been coming here for
decades.
3 7 kilometer. A large market-city in the vicinity of
Odessa, leaving the city in a western direction along the Ovidiopol
highway.
4 New market, Torgovaya st., Koblevskaya st., Konnaya st.
Neat market in the city center, fresh food and manufactured goods group.
Shopping centers
Passage, Deribasovskaya, 33. 09:00-20:00.
Mall Riviera.
Shopping center Srednefontanskiy.
SEC City Center,
SEC City Center Kotovsky.
Ostrov mall.
There are enough places in Odessa where you can eat well, especially
in the central part of the city. Prices in mid-level restaurants in the
city center are about - 60 - 100 UAH per person for lunch / dinner; in
high-level restaurants in the city center - 150 - 300 UAH per person for
lunch / dinner. In some high-end restaurants, prices are unreasonably
high - 400-500 UAH per person for lunch / dinner. In areas remote from
the center, prices are at the level of 60 - 200 UAH per person for lunch
/ dinner, but the quality of service is worse than in the central part
of the city.
Restaurant life is currently flourishing in Odessa,
new establishments of various formats are constantly opening, especially
in the city center.
Cheap
You can have a cheap meal on Greek
Square in the Athena Shopping Center. Also in the city center there are
several fast food restaurants (self-service):
Puzata Hata, st.
Deribasovskaya, 21 (TC "Europe"). Three-course lunch 30 - 45 UAH per
person. National cuisine, great view of the city
I'm roasting Steam."
Three-course lunch 30 - 45 UAH per person. edit
st. Uspenskaya,
28/30.
Average cost
Laffka.
Also in the city center there
are a lot of Italian restaurants and bars. Relatively inexpensive you
can eat and drink in the pizzeria "Olio", "Compote", "Zlachny", "Zarra
Pizzara" or "Buffallo 99".
Two Charles, Greek, 32. ☎ +380 (48)
726-8140, +380 (96) 524-1601. Bessarabian cuisine, own patio
Givi to
mi, Rishelevskaya, 9 A. ☎ +380 (48) 795-13-19. Georgian cuisine, own
patio
Tyulka, Koblevskaya, 46. ☎ +380 (48) 233-3-231. Odessa cuisine,
sandwich and glass
Fish and Kish, Mayakovsky lane, 1. ☎ +380 (48)
777-05-10. Odessa cuisine
Expensive
Of the special places, it
is worth noting such establishments as "Ministerium / Dogma Club",
"Fanconi", "Garnet", "Maman". They are one of the most fashionable and
popular places in Odessa. The cuisine is predominantly European and
Japanese, but in the restaurant "Maman" the emphasis is also on the
native Odessa.
National cuisines
The influence of people of
different nationalities living in Odessa, of course, is reflected in the
food and, accordingly, restaurants of national cuisine, which can and
should be visited in the city. Of course, this primarily applies to the
national Ukrainian cuisine:
Kumanets. Classic restaurant of
Ukrainian cuisine at an expensive price category
Khutorok. Expensive
establishment near Lanzheron beach, haute Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian
Lasunka. An ordinary institution of national cuisine, which,
nevertheless, is well located, which attracts potential visitors here,
mainly foreigners
The second national cuisine, which should be
discussed, is undoubtedly the Jewish cuisine. There are only two Jewish
restaurants in the city, which are located next to Jewish places of
worship. Visitors will be surprised by the rather ascetic atmosphere,
which, however, does not affect the quality of the dishes.
Hebron.
Rosemary.
It should also be noted good restaurants of Bulgarian,
Greek and even Bessarabian cuisine.
Iconic restaurants
In
Odessa, there are many special establishments that have an original idea
and an authentic atmosphere. Among them are:
Gogol-Mogol.
"Compote".
st. Deribasovskaya, opposite Greek Square.
("Bringing").
Admiralsky prospect, 1.
Dacha, French blvd.
Same.
Bins.
Gambrinus.
The nightlife of Odessa in the summer and the cold season boils in
the area of Ekaterininskaya Square, where there are many nightclubs,
including strip bars.
Arcadia (central beach). Bars, cafes,
restaurants and nightclubs are concentrated in Arcadia. The most famous:
Ibiza, Ithaca, Western, Bono, Portofino, Assol
Palladium (Night
club), Odessa, Italian Boulevard, 4. ☎ +380 (48) 728-65-66. Popular
nightclub in the city center, close to the railway station
"Morgan",
nightclub, st. Zhukovsky, 30, Odessa. ☎ +380 (67) 480-3020, +380 (48)
728-84-82. "Captain Morgan" is a legendary Odessa institution, the
founder of the non-stop movement, dancing on the stand, the legislator
of extreme and shot cocktails.
Odessa presents an opportunity to find accommodation for every taste
and budget. From a room in a communal apartment to a 5-star hotel. It is
popular among Odessans to rent dachas for the summer. The hotel market
in Odessa is mainly represented by small hotels with up to 30 rooms (the
exceptions are the Odessa hotel located in the port (currently not
working) and the Yunost hotel - a Soviet-style hotel). Prices for hotels
in Odessa fluctuate, depending on the season: High-July, August.
Mid-May, June, September. Low - from October to April.
Apartments
In the area of the railway and bus stations, you can turn to
grandmothers who rent apartments or rooms - the fastest and, possibly,
inexpensive option. But in fact, the housing they rent out is, as a
rule, a room in a terrible state and for inadequate money.
You
can also rent an apartment by the day both in the city center and by the
sea from companies-legal entities with a core business. Apartments vary
greatly in quality and price. You should not hope to rent an apartment
upon arrival at the station or through the newspaper: firstly, there is
no guarantee of finding a good quality apartment, and secondly, you will
have to spend a lot of extra time searching and then viewing apartments.
The safest way to book an apartment is through an apartment rental
agency. However, you need to make sure that the selected agency has an
office where you can contact in an emergency.
Ukraine
Accommodation, st. Deribasovskaya, 12 of. 25, +380 (48) 741-17-18
Cheap
In recent years, the budget format of hostels has been
actively developing in the city. They are usually located in the very
center of the city, and depending on the cost, they offer both group
accommodation and rooms for 2-3 people.
Hostel "Suitcase", Bunina
str., 8.
Hostel "Star", Tiraspolskaya st., 8.
Hostel "Star-2",
Osipova st., 5. ☎ +380 (50) 954-9494.
Hotel "Zirka", Odessa,
Uspenskaya st., 70. ☎ +380 (48) 7-000-343, +380 (97) 140-1687, +380 (63)
629-1529.
Average cost
"Black Sea" Rishelievskaya ("Black Sea"
Rishelievskaya), st. Rishelevskaya 59. ✉ ☎ +380 (482) 300-911, fax: +380
(482) 300-959. from 500 UAH
"Black Sea" Panteleimonovskaya ("Black
Sea" Panteleimonovskaya), st. Panteleimonovskaya 25. ✉ ☎ +380 (482)
365-411, fax: +380 (482) 365-412. from 500 UAH
"Black Sea" Otrada
("Black Sea" Otrada), st. Vice-Admiral Azarov 1A. ✉ ☎ +380 (48)
729-86-55, fax: +380 (48) 729-86-56. from 600 UAH
"Black Sea"
Oktyabrskaya ("Black Sea" Oktyabrskaya), st. Kanatnaya 31. ☎ +380 (48)
728-88-63. edit
Palladium Italian Boulevard, 4 +380 (48) 728-77-30
Aivazovsky st. Bunina, 19 +380 (48) 728-97-77
Odessa courtyard st.
Uspenskaya, 19 +380 (48) 784-53-46
Expensive
Londonskaya
Hotel, Primorsky Boulevard.
Hotel "Bristol", st. Pushkinskaya, 15.
Landline telephones in Odessa ("Ukrtelecom") have six-digit numbers
of the form +380 (482) XX-XX-XX or seven-digit numbers +380 (48)
7XX-XX-XX.
Precautionary measures
In markets and minibuses,
you can become victims of pickpockets.
Odessa is a modern Ukrainian name, since 1795. For the first time the
name Odessa appeared on January 10 (21), 1795. The name may be
associated with the ancient Greek colony Odessos (Greek Οδησσός; it has
now been established that the colony is located on the site of the city
of Varna). At the end of the 18th century, it was fashionable to call
cities by Greek names (for example, Olviopol, Sevastopol, Simferopol,
Tiraspol).
Ades is an old Ukrainian name.
Kotsiubiev - Ukrainian
name until the 16th century. At the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV
century, the northwestern Black Sea region came under the authority of
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, this is associated with the name of the
Polish gentry Kochuba Yakushinsky. The exact date of the appearance of
the settlement is unknown, and the names differ at different times and
in different sources, for example: Kochubiyev, Kachubiyev, Kachubiy,
Kachibey, Khadzhibey, Gadzhibey, Adzhibey. The first written mention of
the port of Kotsiubiev (in portu ... Kaczubyeiow) of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania and Russia, dates back to May 19, 1415 from the Polish
chronicler Jan Dlugosh.
Hadzhibey (from the Ottoman: "performed the
Hajj") - the name until 1795.
Istrian is a probable name in the
VI-III centuries BC.
The city has many "popular names".
Distributed "Odessa-mother", related to the criminal world. From time to
time, such comparisons, names and phrases as “Pearl of the Black Sea”,
“South Palmyra” are used (compared to Palmyra, a city of amazing beauty;
in relation to the Syrian Palmyra. Odessa is indeed located to the
north, however, according to the Russian imperial narrative, “ Northern
Palmira (this is St. Petersburg), Southern Capital, Capital of Humor,
etc.
The officially approved symbols of Odessa are the coat of arms, the large coat of arms, the flag and the anthem, the description and procedure for using which are determined by the regulation of the city council On city symbols. The coat of arms of the city is a red Spanish shield with a white anchor with four paws inside. The shield, on the large coat of arms, is framed by a decorative golden cartouche and topped with a silver city crown in the form of three towers. Under the tower is an image of the Golden Star of the Hero City, cut with gold and a diamond. The flag consists of a rectangular panel divided into three sheer stripes - red, white and yellow. The coat of arms of the city is located in the central, white stripe in the middle. The last change of the flag and coat of arms was approved on April 29, 2011. On August 25, 2011, the "Charter of the territorial society of the city of Odessa" was approved. According to him, the official anthem of the city is "Song of Odessa" from the operetta "White Acacia" by Isaac Dunayevsky. A fragment of the melody is played by the chimes on the city hall building on Primorsky Boulevard. In addition, since June 5, 2012, the city has its own tourist logo created by Artemy Lebedev's studio.
Location and physical geography
Odesa is located on the
northwestern coast of the Black Sea, at the crossroads of the routes
from Northern and Central Europe to the Middle East and Asia, in the
center of the Odesa district of the region of the same name. The city is
in the Eastern European time zone. The area of the city reaches 162.42
km². The sources of drinking water on the territory of the city today
are pumping stations, as well as the centralized water supply of Odessa
and the surrounding areas by the Infoksvodokanal enterprise, which is
carried out from the Dniester River along a 40-kilometer water pipeline
through the water intake in the city of Bilyaivka. There are three large
estuaries near the city: Kuyalnytskyi, Khadzhibeyskyi and Sukhii.
The city is located at a distance of about 39 kilometers from the
border with Moldova. In particular, this is the distance between Odesa
and the Mayaki-Udobne crossing point across the state border of Ukraine.
Odesa is located in the Black Sea Lowland. The average height of the
city above sea level is 50 meters. The highest point of Odesa is
Zhevakhov Mountain (65 meters above sea level), and the lowest is the
Kuyalnytsky estuary (4.2 meters below sea level).
The climate of Odesa is moderate-continental with subtropical features, with a mild winter, a relatively long spring, a warm and long, often very hot summer, and a long and warm autumn. According to the Köppen classification, it is humid continental (Dfb), close to subtropical (Cfa). The average annual air temperature is +13.0 °C, the lowest in January (0.7 °C), the highest in July (+24.4 °C). On average, 592 mm of atmospheric precipitation falls in Odesa per year, the least in October, the most in July. The minimum annual precipitation (196 mm) was observed in 1921, the maximum (765 mm) in 2004. The maximum daily rainfall (103 mm) was recorded on June 8, 1926. On average, there are 112 days with precipitation in the city per year; the least of them (6) in September, the most (14) in December. The average relative humidity is 76%, the lowest in August (66%), the highest in December (84%). The lowest cloudiness is observed in August, the highest in December. Winds from the north are most frequent in Odesa, and winds from the southeast are the least frequent. The highest wind speed is observed in January-February, the lowest in June-July. In January, it averages 4.6 m/s, in July — 3.2 m/s. The most clear days are observed in August, the least in December. Throughout the year, various atmospheric phenomena are observed in Odessa: thunderstorms, fog, dew, ice, etc. In particular, fog is most often observed in January-March, thunderstorms in June and July.
Odesa is a major port of Ukraine and has two satellite port cities —
Chornomorsk (on the Sukh estuary) and Yuzhne (on the Hryhoriv estuary).
This port node stretches along the Black Sea coast for 60 kilometers and
creates rather stressful environmental conditions for the marine
ecosystem of the region. Pollution of the marine environment occurs due
to emissions into the sea of untreated or insufficiently treated sewage
from Odessa, as well as polluted surface runoff from the city territory.
There is a threat of dangerous production in the Odesa Bay area. In the
case of ammonia spillage from ammonia trucks and its release into the
atmosphere, the zone of life-threatening damage will cover the entire
coast of Odessa, starting from the city of Yuzhne, including Odessa
itself, Kryzhanivka, Fontanka, Nova Dofinivka. After the completion of
the construction of a 40 million ton oil terminal, with a technological
platform at a distance of 20 kilometers from the coast, in the event of
a disaster, deadly areas can be formed within a radius of 7.5
kilometers; a moderately dangerous region within a radius of 12.5
kilometers.
Industrial facilities of mechanical engineering,
chemistry and petrochemicals, fish processing and agricultural products
contribute to air pollution and the generation of a significant amount
of wastewater. 75% of the total emission of pollutants into the
atmosphere comes from road transport and, in part, sea vessels,
especially in summer. Odesa's sewage treatment plants are overloaded and
outdated. Sewage breaks occur quite often, and a large amount of
polluted sewage enters the sea. Almost after every downpour, Odesa
beaches are closed for swimming due to the dangerous sanitary condition
of the marine environment on the coast. The Danube, Dnipro, and Dniester
rivers together carry about 100,000 tons of phosphates, up to 1 million
tons of nitrates, and more than 2 million tons of organic matter into
the sea. Due to the oxidation of organic substances, oxygen disappears
in the water. The content of health-threatening bacterial microflora in
seawater exceeds the norm by hundreds of thousands of times.
From
1965 to 1980, in order to prevent landslides, landslide structures -
breakwaters and breakwaters - were built along the coastline. These
constructions not only separated the beach area from the sea, they led
pipes of drainage systems, which discharge up to 20 million cubic meters
of fresh water annually. As a result, the sea water on the coast became
so desalinated that most of the marine biofilter animals died. In
addition, the constructions have disrupted the natural water exchange,
and beach bathing areas have practically turned into sewage ditches,
where swimming and being on the shore are dangerous due to the seeding
of dangerous bacteria in the sand. More than 250,000 E. coli cells were
found in one liter of seawater, and the maximum number of bacteria in
one liter of seawater at the popular Arcadia beach reached 2.4 million
cells.
Ancient times
The first signs of people on the territory of modern
Odessa and its surroundings refer to the Upper Paleolithic era (58-38
centuries BC). In the 5th century BC c. on the site of the modern center
of Odessa, there was an ancient Greek settlement - "Harbor of Istrian".
The remains of this colony were found under the modern Primorsky
Boulevard at a depth of 1.5 meters, as well as on other streets of the
city. In addition to this settlement, there are also about twelve other
ancient Greek colonies on the territory of Odessa. In addition to
others, on the opposite shore of the Odesa Bay was the settlement of
"Isiakon Harbor". The rivalry between the inhabitants of these colonies
was determined by the fact that between them passed the border of the
Greek city-colonies of Olbia (in the northeast from the Issiakon harbor)
and Istria (in the south from the Istrian harbor). In the second half of
the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century BC. Olbia came into conflict with
the neighboring Greek colonies, Chersonese and Istria. The reason for
the war was the dissatisfaction of the rulers of Olbia with spheres of
influence in this region. At that time, the port of Istrian was a border
outpost of Istria, so due to the war, this settlement fell into
desolation at the end of the IV century BC. e., and the port of Isiakon
existed for another two centuries. The decline of the Greek colonies was
also caused by the invasion of the Hun nomadic confederation in 375 AD.
The arrival of nomads on these lands completely destroyed the local
population and turned these lands into a Wild Field, where there was
practically no population.
XIV-XV centuries
Around the 14th
century, the local steppe was dominated by the Nogai Horde, which later
joined the Golden Horde. In Horde times, in the 14th century, the
Genoese factory "Ginestra" appeared in the city of the former Greek
colony, which traded with nomads. The Genoese bought mostly grain and
slaves in the Northern Black Sea. At the same time, according to
scientists, the Kuyalnytsky and Khadzhibey estuaries began to move away
from the Black Sea, resulting in the formation of a natural embankment -
"Peresyp". This could not but affect the economic condition of the
region, because in the following years a lot of salt was mined at these
two estuaries. In the early 1320s, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became
one of the main enemies of the Golden Horde.
In 1324, all the
lands between the Dnieper and the Dniester, including the territory of
the modern city, came under Lithuanian rule.
In 1399, after the
Battle of Vorskla, the influence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the
Northern Black Sea coast gradually declined.
During the reign of
Vytautas, the Kotsyubiy fortress and the trading port near it were
founded. The first written mention of this settlement dates back to
1415.
In 1442, the fortress was granted to the Polish noblemen
Buchachski, then the owners of crown Podillia. At the end of the 15th
century, the Lithuanian-Polish power on these lands weakened and they
again fell into desolation.
XV-XIX centuries
In 1484, these
lands were conquered by the Ottoman Empire, and the local population
consisted mainly of Tatars. In 1765, the Ottoman authorities rebuilt the
old Lithuanian fortress, naming it "Yeni-Dunya" (translated from Ottoman
- "New World"). It was located between the modern Potemkin Stairs and
the Vorontsov Palace on Primorsky Boulevard. Zaporizhzhya Cossacks led
by Semen Halytskyi, Peter Kalnyshevskyi, etc., repeatedly stormed this
fortress. In 1774, the fortress was captured for the first time by the
combined Cossack-Russian troops. However, according to the
Kyuchuk-Kainardzhii peace treaty, it was given to the Turks.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, the fortress came to the
attention of Alexander Suvorov's troops, who were on their way to
Bendery. It was taken at dawn between 4 and 5 o'clock on September 14
(25), 1789 by the advanced unit of General Ivan Hudovich's corps. The
detachment was commanded by Count Jose de Ribas. The Black Sea Cossack
Army led by chieftains Zachary Chepiga and Anton Golovaty took an active
part in the battle for Khadzhibey.
On June 7 (May 27) 1794, the
Russian empress Catherine II signed a rescript on the establishment of a
military harbor and a merchant harbor in Hajibeya. The purpose of the
new port on the Black Sea was to expand trade ties with Europe. The city
development project was entrusted to the Dutch military engineer, Franz
de Vollan. Construction of the port facilities and the main cathedral
began on September 2 (August 28) 1794 under the leadership of José de
Ribas. This day is still celebrated in Odessa as the day of the city.
Khadzhibey's new name — Odesa, first appeared in a document dated
January 21 (10), 1795. Already from the first years of its foundation,
the city became the main port through which grain was supplied from the
Russian Empire to other countries of Europe and Eastern Asia. To a large
extent, this was facilitated by the arrival of Armand Emmanuel du
Plessis (Duke de Richelieu) as the Governor-General of Novorossiya and
the Mayor of Odesa. During his stay in these positions, the population
of the port city grew fifteen times. Also, during the Duke's
administration of the city, the first commercial bank, stock exchange,
foreign consulates, etc. appeared here. During the administration of
Louis de Langeron, in 1819, the Odesa port was granted porto-franco
status, which allowed the right to import and export goods duty-free.
This made it possible to develop foreign trade and improve economic
conditions in the city. At the same time, Prince Mykhailo Vorontsov, who
at that time held the position of Governor-General of Novorossiya and
Bessarabia, managed to attract the attention of many aristocrats and
rich people from all over the empire to the city, thanks to which the
city became one of the largest industrial centers of the country. In
1820, the first city newspaper was published, and in 1825, the
archaeological museum was opened. Many educational institutions and a
public library were also opened in those days.
In 1830, the city
public library was founded (since 1941, the Odesa State Scientific
Library named after M. Gorky). At that time, the collection numbered 5
thousand books, it was the second in the Russian Empire (after the
imperial library in St. Petersburg) and the first public library in
Ukraine. From 1907 to the present, the library is located in the
building, which was built in 1904-1906 according to the project of the
architect F. P. Nesturkh. Many prominent personalities worked in the
library, who headed it at different times. These are the historian M. N.
Murzakevych, professor V. O. Yakovlev, writer M. F. Deribas and his son,
local historian O. M. Deribas, author of the book "Old Odesa". A
particularly important role in the development of the library was played
by its director from 1896 to 1920, professor of Novorossiysk University
MG Popruzhenko, who created the historical essay "Odesa City Public
Library. 1830—1910", and the curator of the library in 1897—1917 was
Count M. M. Tolstoy, an honorary citizen of Odessa. The unique fund of
the oldest book collection of Ukraine currently includes about 5 million
publications in almost 100 languages. Thanks to the presence of a
significant number of rare documents, materials (over 200,000) and
manuscripts, the library was included in the world catalog "Museums of
Book and Book-making. International Directory. — M., 1987". In 1865,
Novorossiysk University (since 1945 — Odesa University named after 1.1.
Mechnikov) was established in Odesa on the basis of Richelieu Lyceum
(the first director of which was Transcarpathian Ivan Orlai) with three
faculties: history-philology, physics-mathematics, and law, which for a
long time it was the only university in the south of Ukraine. The
initiative in opening the university belongs to M. I. Pirogov.
In
the second half of the 19th century, the most prominent leaders of the
city became: Count Paul Demetrius Kotsebu, Hryhoriy Marazli and Mykola
Novoselskyi. Under the leadership of Count Kotsebu, the roadway in the
center of Odesa was replaced with cobblestones, kerosene lamps appeared
instead of street lights, the first water main in the city was built,
the first railway line was opened, etc. Paul Demetrius also paid a lot
of attention to the development of education and science. During his
presidency, the Richelieu Lyceum turned into the Novorossiysk
University, and many schools and colleges were also founded. Unlike
Kotseb, Hryhoriy Marazli paid more attention to the appearance of the
city. That is why, during the leadership of the Greek mayor of the city,
the Alexander Park, a column monument to Alexander II was built, the
first racecourse was opened, electric lighting was introduced, and
children's and eye hospitals, several synagogues, cheap canteens,
shelters, public schools were built in city and suburbs. By the 100th
anniversary of its founding, in 1894, Odesa ranked fourth in the empire
in terms of population and level of economic development, after St.
Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw.
The collapse of the empire and
the Ukrainian revolution
On the day of the start of the First World
War, July 19 (August 1), 1914, a multi-thousand-strong patriotic
demonstration took place in Odessa, which gathered on Cathedral Square
and passed through the central streets of the city. In October 1917,
Odesa entered the Ukrainian People's Republic as part of the Odesa
administrative-territorial unit, but its political and legal status in
the Ukrainian state was debatable.
After the proclamation of the
Ukrainian People's Republic, on November 30 (December 12) to December 1
(December 13) 1917, a Bolshevik uprising broke out in Odesa, which ended
with the victory of Ukrainian troops. In January 1918, the Bolsheviks
seized power in the city, creating the Odesa Soviet Republic on February
7 (20), 1918, however, it lasted only until March 13 of the same year
after the arrival of Austro-German troops in the city. After the arrival
of the troops, products and equipment began to be taken out of the city.
However, after the beginning of the German revolution, the troops were
forced to leave Odessa. Soon, 30,000 British-French troops landed in the
city to support Anton Denikin's 10,000-strong "Volunteer Army" arriving
from Ekaterinograd. In December of the same year, the army of the
Ukrainian Directory approached Odessa. Thus, there were three different
authorities in different parts of the city: the Entente, the "Whites"
and the Directory.
At the beginning of the next year, with the
help of partisans and the dissemination of Bolshevik propaganda to
foreign troops, the city was occupied by the "Reds", who almost
immediately nationalized all the city's banks, but this did not help to
overcome mass hunger and unemployment. With the help of the Entente
troops remaining in the squadron raid, Denikin's troops managed to
re-establish their authority in the city. However, Soviet power was
finally established in Odesa on February 7, 1920.
Soviet period
In the first years, after many military confrontations that took place
in Odessa, the city was in decline. To a large extent, this was
facilitated by the policy of the authorities, due to which the
intelligentsia of the city began to leave the country en masse. The
first years under Soviet rule were marked by the opening of a number of
cultural, educational and scientific institutions. In the late 1930s,
mass shootings of people arrested by the NKVD took place near Odessa.
During the Second World War, Odesa was near the front. The defense
of the city lasted 73 days, from August 5 to October 16, 1941. All this
time, the city was bombarded 12-15 times a day. The evacuation of the
city was unsuccessful, part of the Soviet troops did not know about the
retreat and were captured. On October 15-16, NKVD groups blew up a large
number of buildings, including a dam, which caused the Peresyp district
to flood and the civilian population to die. On October 16, Romanian
troops entered the city. Subsequently, the Soviet authorities issued a
special award - the medal "For the defense of Odessa", and gave Odessa
the title of "hero city". The NKVD and Soviet partisans were not the
only underground forces in occupied Odessa. At the end of 1941, the
Southern "marching group" of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
arrived in the city. Three and a half years later, on April 10, 1944,
Soviet troops of the Third Ukrainian Front, under the command of a
native of Odessa, Rodion Malinovskyi, liberated the city during the
Odessa Offensive Operation.
During the following years, work was
carried out in the city to restore buildings destroyed during the war.
By 1948, all the most important port and industrial facilities were
rebuilt in Odessa. As of 1975, the city's housing stock was a record
number of square meters — 12 million, which is twice as much as in 1940.
Also at that time, new city districts emerged: South, South-West,
North-East and Tairov.
Independent Ukraine
The end of the 20th
— the beginning of the 21st century
In 1991, on December 1, the
All-Ukrainian referendum on the declaration of Ukraine's independence
was held. According to the results of the referendum for the entire
Odesa region, out of 1,412,228 respondents (75.01%) voted for the
declaration of independence — 1,205,755 (85.38%), against — 163,831
(11.6%), and 42,642 ballots were invalid
Many industrial
enterprises were forced to close with Ukraine's declaration of
independence, others are working only at part of their capacities. The
reason for this is the breakdown of economic ties with the former Soviet
republics of the USSR, insufficient support from the authorities, as
well as the inability to work in new economic conditions.
In
2014, a series of conflicts between Euromaidan and Anti-Maidan activists
took place in Odesa.
In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic,
the tourist flow to Odessa decreased by 37.5%.
Russian-Ukrainian
war
On April 23, 2022, Russian troops bombarded Odessa with cruise
missiles. They destroyed both the city's military infrastructure and
residential buildings, killing eight people (including a three-month-old
baby) and wounding another eighteen people. In addition, the Russians
destroyed more than 1,000 m² of the cemetery.
On May 2, 2022,
high-precision Russian missiles hit a residential building in Odessa,
killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding a 17-year-old girl. On May 7,
Russian troops bombarded Odessa with six strategic aviation missiles,
again damaging the airport and a civilian enterprise in a residential
area of Odessa. On May 9, the Russians bombarded Odessa with 9 rockets
and killed one person. The head of the European Council had to hide in a
shelter. On May 12, Russian troops damaged the Vorontsov Palace during
another shelling of Odessa.
Vsevolod Zmienko is a corporal general of the Army of the Ukrainian
People's Republic. A prominent military figure of the UNR Army, one of
the organizers of the military special service of the State Center of
the UNR in exile. During his stay in exile in Poland, he worked at the
General Staff of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, during
1928-1936 he headed the intelligence and counter-intelligence units.
Oksana Bayul is a Ukrainian figure skater
Ihor Belanov - Ukrainian
Soviet football player, striker, winner of the "Golden Ball" in 1986,
vice-champion of Europe-1988, winner of the Cup of Cups-1986
Mykhailo
Boychuk is a Ukrainian artist, monumentalist painter, founder of the
original school of Ukrainian art "Boichukism"
Hristo Botev is a
national hero of Bulgaria, public figure, poet and publicist
Marko
Bezruchko is a Ukrainian military figure, corporal general of the UNR
Army, the creator and one of the commanders of the so-called "Miracle on
the Vistula" - a military operation to repel the offensive of the
Russian-Bolshevik invaders near Warsaw, which saved Poland's
independence in 1920.
Zelman Waxman is an American biochemist, winner
of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine
Volodymyr Zhabotinsky
is a Jewish writer and publicist, one of the leaders of the Zionist
movement; co-founder of the state of Israel and its armed forces.
Danylo Zabolotny — Ukrainian microbiologist, epidemiologist, President
of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, founder of the Institute of
Microbiology and Epidemiology in Kyiv
Oleksandr Roitburd is a
Ukrainian artist, director of the Odessa Art Museum (2018-2021),
representative of the New Ukrainian Wave.
Ilya Mechnikov is a
Ukrainian and Russian scientist, one of the founders of comparative
pathology, evolutionary embryology, immunology and microbiology
Vira
Kholodna is an outstanding Ukrainian film actress of the silent film
era.
Isak Babel is a Russian writer of Ukrainian Jewish origin.
Valery Zaluzhnyi is a Ukrainian serviceman, general, Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov is a
Ukrainian military officer, Major General, head of the Main Intelligence
Directorate of the Military Intelligence Service during the
Russian-Ukrainian war.
Oleksandr Dovzhenko is a Ukrainian Soviet
writer, film director, dramaturg, artist, a classic of world cinema.
Borys Necherda is a Ukrainian sixties poet.
Petro Nilus is a
Ukrainian painter, art critic, in exile in France since 1920.
System
The Odesa City Council consists of 64 deputies elected by
the city community for a term of 5 years. According to the results of
the 2015 local elections, the city council is divided into the following
deputy groups and factions: Trust the works (27 deputies), Petro
Poroshenko's "Solidarity" bloc (12), Opposition bloc (7), Serhiy
Kivalov's Ukrainian Maritime Party (5), Opposition platform — For life
(5) and non-factional (8). The executive power in the city is headed by
the mayor and the executive committee. 25 departments are subordinate to
the latter, each of which is responsible for a certain area of city
life: urban planning, economic policy, financial policy, housing and
infrastructure, etc. In the course of local elections in 2014, Gennadiy
Trukhanov was elected mayor of Odesa, who was re-elected to the same
position in 2015. The Odesa Regional State Administration and, in
particular, its head, have great political influence in Odesa. He, as a
representative of the President of Ukraine, manages the executive power
not only at the level of Odesa, but also on the territory of the entire
region. On November 27, 2020, Serhii Rafailovich Hrynevetskyi was
appointed to this position. There is no single city-wide judicial
authority in Odesa, instead there are 4 district courts, the
jurisdictions of which extend to the relevant administrative districts
of the city.
Administrative division
Administratively, Odesa
is divided into 4 districts: the historical center and east — Primorsky
district, the south — Kyiv district, the west — Malinovsky district, and
the north — Suvorovsky district. Until January 1, 2003, in addition to
the current districts, there were four more districts in the city:
Zhovtnevy (until November 14, 1961, Stalinsky), Illichivsky, and Central
(until May 21, 1958, Voroshilovsky); until June 13, 1958, there was a
Water Transport district (it was part of the Stalinsky and Central
Districts). In addition, many residents of the city use the historical
names of places in Odessa: 1st Outpost, 2nd Outpost, Arcadia, Bolshevik,
Blizhni Mlyny, Bugaivka, Velikiy Fontan, Odrada, Dalni Mlyny,
Deribasivka, Kryva Balka, Kuyalnyk, Lenposyolok . Some of them are
reflected today in street names.
Odesa is one of the main economic centers of Ukraine, which combines
the largest seaport, developed industry, resort and recreation complex,
transport, financial and social infrastructure. The main economic
functions performed by Odesa at the level of the international division
of labor are transport and foreign trade. The city is the only fully
formed local territorial and industrial complex in the Black Sea region
of Ukraine. The city is equipped with a highly qualified workforce that
speaks foreign languages. This makes it possible to develop business in
Odessa with high standards and requirements for labor resources. As of
October 1, 2013, 756.2 million US dollars were invested in the economy
of Odesa, which is 44.7% of the total volume of investments in the Odesa
region. As of 2013, the total revenue of the Odesa city budget was
₴2,632,408. In August 2013, the average salary in the city was ₴3,381.
On October 1, 2014, registered unemployment was 0.46%.
A
developed network of highways, the location of the city near the rivers
Dniester, Southern Bug; as well as the large seaports of Odesa,
Chornomorsk and Yuzhne - in combination with the international airport
"Odessa" and the railway, create favorable conditions for receiving,
processing, storing and transporting cargo, as well as processing
powerful passenger flows. More than 460 joint ventures with foreign
capital work here. The total volume of products sold by the city was:
15.6 billion in 2008, 14.6 billion in 2010. Currently, the following
enterprises are the undisputed leaders in their industries: "Oil
Refinery", Stalkanat, Telekart-Prylad, etc., Odesa Machine-Building
Plant.
Since the time of the Ukrainian People's Republic, Odesa has become
one of the centers of international cooperation of Ukraine. At the
beginning of the 20th century, there were three consulates general in
the city: of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Austro-Hungarian and German empires, as well as the consulates of the
United States of America, the Kingdom of Spain and the Third French
Republic.
Currently, there are 22 sister cities and 12 partner
cities in Odessa. Even the streets of the "Southern capital" are named
in honor of some of the sister cities, in particular, the streets of
Varna, Genouezka, Marselska, Szegedska, Liverpool Lane, etc. At the same
time, in the Hungarian city of Szeged, a neighborhood was named after
Odessa. The city also has eight general consulates: the Republic of
Bulgaria, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Greece, the People's
Republic of China, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation,
Romania and the Republic of Turkey and fourteen honorary consulates: the
Republic of Austria, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the French Republic,
the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Norway , the Republic of Latvia,
the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Lithuania, the Federal Republic
of Germany, the Republic of South Africa, the Syrian Arab Republic, the
Republic of Montenegro, the Slovak Republic and the Republic of
Slovenia. In addition, the consulates of Georgia, the Republic of
Moldova, and Arab, Georgian, Armenian, Israeli, Polish, and French
cultural centers and the European Union Border Assistance Mission to
Moldova and Ukraine operate in the city. On May 22, 2012, the first
diplomatic club in Ukraine was opened in the city, which should help
diplomats and representatives of other countries living in Odessa to
hold meetings and solve the most important political and diplomatic
issues. Odesa is also a member of the organizations: "Eurocities" and
"League of Historical Cities".
Communal economy
The city monopolist in water supply and drainage
services is the utility company "Infoksvodokanal", which in December
2003 was leased by the city authorities for 49 years to another company
- "Infoks" LLC. Water for Odesa is supplied from the Dniester River,
which is 41 kilometers from the city, the city's water supply networks
are 1.3 thousand kilometers long.
Street lighting is carried out
in Odesa by the utility company "Odesmisksvitlo". The supply of
electricity to urban consumers is carried out by Odesaoblenergo JSC, the
largest energy supply company in the south of Ukraine. The supply of
thermal energy is carried out by the municipal enterprise "Heat Supply
of the City of Odessa". PJSC "Odesagaz" is engaged in the supply of gas
to residents of the city. Garbage removal is carried out in the city by
three companies: "Ecograd", "Eco-Renaissance" and "Soyuz".
Service Industries
As of February 1, 2014, Odesa has 1 five-star, 15
four-star, 7 three-star, and 51 other hotels. The city has a large
number of restaurants. As of 2010, there are 648 restaurant business
establishments in Odessa: restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc. The most
famous of them are: cafes "Fanconi 1872", "Pechescago", restaurants
"Bulvar", "Cafe-bookstore", etc. The following food chains are also
represented: McDonald's, Puzata Khata, Pizza Celentano, etc.
The
city has a well-developed retail infrastructure. The retail network
consists of 14,670 facilities. There are some European and many national
supermarket chains in the city; the following networks are very popular:
"Auchan", "METRO", "Silpo", "Tavria V", "Furshet". The most famous city
bazaars are "Pryvoz Market", "New Market".
The city has a
developed social infrastructure. There are 10 theaters, 9 cinemas. There
are 126 community-owned general educational institutions operating in
the city. About 1,500 sports facilities are available to residents:
tennis courts, football fields, sports halls, swimming pools, shooting
ranges, etc. There are 168 gas stations in Odessa. Both Ukrainian and
foreign banks have about 359 branches and 589 ATMs in the city. The city
health care system is represented by 61 medical and preventive
institutions.
In 2011, according to "Focus" magazine, Odesa took
first place in the ranking of Ukrainian cities in terms of standard of
living.
Transport
Odesa is one of the most important transport
hubs of Ukraine and has a developed transport infrastructure. The
following types of transport are developed: sea, air, rail and road.
International highways M05, M14, M15, M16, M27 pass through the city
(these roads are part of the European routes E58, E87, E95 and E581),
thanks to which the city is connected to Kyiv, Chisinau, Mariupol and
other foreign and Ukrainian cities. Three international transport
corridors also pass through the city - the European Corridor No. 9, the
transport flow Gdansk - Odesa, "TRACECA". Transit car flows bypass the
city by a bypass road, but this does not solve intra-city transport
problems. They are primarily caused by traffic jams, weather conditions
and the unsatisfactory condition of the road surface. The problem of
Odesa's urban transport is also that the city's public transport system
is underdeveloped and in poor condition. Among the reasons that led to
this is an imperfect legal system, as well as the absence of any
electronic systems that could facilitate the entire system of passenger
transportation. Also, the city does not have a public transport
timetable, which also causes problems in intra-city public transport.
Trams, trolleybuses, buses, shuttle taxis, taxis, funiculars and boats
operate in Odessa.
Odesa Sea Trade Port is one of the largest in
Ukraine. The technical capabilities of the port allow processing up to
25 million tons of dry and 25 million tons of bulk cargoes every year.
It is connected with more than 600 ports from 100 countries of the
world. The passenger complex can serve up to 4 million tourists per
year. There are also two ferry crossings in the port - one to Turkey,
namely Istanbul, the other to Greece. In the center of the city, there
is a railway station. Odesa Railway is the main transport network in the
south of Ukraine, which serves about 700,000 passengers and sends more
than 2 million tons of cargo every month. From the local train station,
you can get to the northernmost point of Moscow (Russia), the
easternmost point of Kostyantynivka, the southernmost point of Izmail
and the westernmost point of Przemyśl (Poland) without transfers. On the
southwestern outskirts, 7.5 km from the city center, there is Odesa
International Airport. This resort ranks third in Ukraine in terms of
passenger traffic. The airport is connected by air lines with more than
60 cities of the world and serves 111 regular flights per week. The city
is connected by airlines to major cities in Europe and Asia, resorts in
the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
The Odesa Catacombs, the Odesa Botanical Garden, and the Odesa Zoo are located among nature conservation objects of national importance in the city. Among the objects of local importance are 33 botanical monuments of nature and 13 parks-monuments of garden and park art.
As of 2011, preschool education coverage is 70% among all children
(last year — 60%). In particular, among 5-year-old children, this figure
is almost 100% (last year it was 89%). According to the same data, as of
2010, there are 152 preschool institutions in the city, where 26,247
children study. However, there are not enough places in Odesa
kindergartens for all those who wish, which is why parents have to stand
in line in order for their child to receive an education. Odesa is a
large center of higher education and academic and industry science.
The city also has 136 secondary educational institutions, 25 higher
education institutions of the I-II accreditation levels and 19 higher
education institutions of the III-IV accreditation levels, 11 of them
have national status. About 130,000 students study at all higher
education institutions. Among the city's most famous higher education
institutions are I. I. Mechnikov Odesa National University and Odesa
National Polytechnic University, each of which covers many specialties
and works in the fields of humanities and technical sciences,
respectively. One of the leading institutions of higher education in
Ukraine in the field of jurisprudence is the National University "Odesa
Law Academy". In 2019, 15 Odessa higher education institutions out of
nineteen were represented in the TOP-200 higher education institutions
of Ukraine.
The most prominent academic institutes of Odessa are:
O. V. Bogatsky Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the National
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Institute of Market Problems and
Economic and Environmental Research. Among other scientific institutions
of the city, the following should also be noted: Institute of Marine
Biology; Odesa Archaeological Museum of the Department of Hydroacoustics
of the Sevastopol Marine Hydrophysical Institute; radio astronomy
observatory "Uran-4" of the Radio Astronomy Institute, etc. There are
also many research and design institutes and other organizations working
in various fields of science in the city and its surroundings. Among the
famous scientists who worked, were born or studied in Odessa, there are
many prominent figures: Erast Andrievskyi, Oleksandr Bogomolets, Mykola
Gamaliya, Georgy Gamov, Valentin Glushko, Mykola Zelinskyi, Dmytro
Znoyko, Petro Karishkovskyi, Serhii Korolev, Oleksandr Lyapunov, Leonid
Mandelstam, Petre Melikishvili, Dmytro Mendeleev, Ilya Mechnikov, Mykola
Pirogov, Ivan Sechenov, Vasyl Tairov, Igor Tamm, Konstantin Ushinsky,
Volodymyr Filatov, etc.
Theaters and music
Odesa is one of the Ukrainian cultural centers.
This city has many theaters and museums that have many years of history.
Many cultural figures were also born and raised in Odessa - pianists
Emil Gilels and Svyatoslav Richter, violinist David Oistrakh, singers
Leonid Utyosov and Valery Obodzinsky, composer Oskar Feltsman, actors,
writers, artists. Theatrical arts occupy a prominent place in the
cultural life of the city. The most prominent and famous theater is the
Odesa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. The outstanding
composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky visited it, famous singers performed on its
stage: Fedor Chaliapin, Enrico Caruso, Leonid Sobinov, Isidora Duncan
danced, etc. In the 1920s, the Odesa Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama
Theater named after V. Vasylka Currently, performances based on the
plays of the best Ukrainian and world playwrights are staged there -
Panteleimon Kulish, Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovianenko, Ivan Kotlyarevskyi,
Moliere, Bertold Brecht, etc. In contrast to the Ukrainian theater,
there is also the Odesa Regional Academic Russian Drama Theater in
Odessa, which was founded in 1874 and is the oldest theater in the south
of Ukraine. Prominent personalities such as Sara Bernard, Eleonora
Douzet, Benoit Coquelin, as well as Ukrainian masters Panas
Saksaganskyi, Maria Zankovetska, Marko Kropyvnytskyi, etc., performed
here. There are also other theaters, in particular, the Odesa Theater of
the Young Spectator of the city of Yuri Olesha was founded as a mobile
theater, and it worked like that for a long time. Only ten years after
its foundation, this theater institution received premises and is
currently located in the building next to the Russian Drama Theater.
However, despite the name, the performances are performed not only for
children, but also for young people and adults. What is important is
that the Odesa Regional Puppet Theater was founded at this theater,
which later became an independent institution. The youngest of the
Odessa theaters is the Odessa Academic Theater of Musical Comedy named
after M. Vodiany, who was transferred to Odesa from Lviv. The first
success of the musical comedy was the operetta "White Acacia", written
by Isaak Dunaevsky. The leader of the theater was Mykhailo Vodiany, who
later received his name. Currently, the repertoire of the Odessa musical
comedy includes performances of all genres: operettas, musicals, rock
operas, etc. The city also operates a Circus, which was founded in 1894.
A special place in the cultural life of the city is occupied by the
Odesa Philharmonic, which is located in the building of the former New
Exchange. With the arrival of Soviet power, in order to overcome
"bourgeois nationalism", the building became the main venue for concerts
of the city orchestra. During the existence of the Philharmonic,
prominent musical personalities performed on the stage: Volodymyr
Vysotsky, Oleksandr Goldenweiser, Mykola Malko, David Oistrakh, Leonid
Utyosov, Dmytro Shostakovich, etc. Also in Odessa there is:
Odesa
Municipal Theater of Wind Music named after People's Artist of Ukraine
O. Salik was created by the Odesa City Council in December 2003 as a
communal enterprise;
the "House of Clowns" theater, which opened on
March 8, 2003 in the premises of the former "Druzhba" cinema;
The
Jewish Cultural Center "Beit Grand" is a center for everyone who is
interested in various creative studios, who goes to plays, concerts and
exhibitions, as well as for those who are looking for a place where one
or another cultural event can be held.
The first Odessa cinematographer was Myron Grossman, who founded the
first Odessa film studio in 1906. During the period 1907-1915, he shot
about fifty documentary subjects for film magazines. In 1912, he founded
the first film studio "Mirograph", which released several comedies,
adventure films and films on Jewish themes. The last shots with the
participation of the great actress, the star of the silent film Vira
Kholodnaya, were filmed at "Mirograph". All city film studios were
united into a film studio during the Soviet regime. Oleksandr Dovzhenko
began his directing career in Odessa. His films "Zvenigora", "Arsenal"
are classics of world cinema. Among the most popular films of the Odesa
Film Studio are "Spring on Zarichnaya Street" by Felix Mironer and
Marlen Khutsiev, "Ten Negroes", "Dangerous Tours", "Green Van" by
Oleksandr Pavlovsky and others. In 1927, Vyacheslav Levandovsky created
the first Ukrainian animated film (animated film) "The Tale of the Straw
Bull". There is also a local animation studio in the city, which is one
of the largest animation studios in Ukraine. During its 20 years of
existence, this animation studio has released 2 full-length animated
films, more than 50 multi-clips and more than 1000 commercials for TV
channels and TV shows. Among the figures from Odesa, such people as
Viktor Dobrovolskyi, Marko Donskoi, Mykhailo Razumnyi, Andrii Sova,
Leonid Trauberg, Leonid Utyosov and others became famous in cinema.
Also, Odesa has a fairly developed system of cinemas. Currently,
there are ten cinemas operating in the city: "Cinema City", "Moscow",
"Rodyna", (Motherland) "Golden Duke", "Zoryanyi", "Auto Cinema" and two
Multiplex cinemas "and Planeta Kino". Until recently, the oldest cinema
in Odessa, "Kino-Utochkino", existed on the main street of the city, but
due to lack of funds, it was decided to rebuild it into a restaurant and
night club. Cinemas "Zoryany", "Rodyna" (Fatherland) and "Moscow" are
part of the chain of cinemas "Odesa-Kino", whose owner, media magnate
Artem Vozniuk, pursues a pro-Russian and Ukrainian-phobic policy,
resisting the introduction of Ukrainian dubbing in cinemas. The city
also has a representative of the largest operator of multi-complex
cinemas in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Israel, "Cinema
City International". The cinema "Cinema City" has the largest number of
halls among all its competitors - seven.
About thirty museums work in Odessa.
The Odesa Archaeological
Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is one of the
oldest in Ukraine (founded in 1825), which also works as a research
institute;
The Odesa Art Museum is one of the most developed art
museums in Ukraine and has almost all types of art in its collections:
painting, graphics, sculpture, decorative and applied art, and contains
the works of Russian and Ukrainian masters of icon painting from the
16th century to the present day, including more than 10 thousands of
original works. It is located in the very center of Odessa, in the
ancient Naryshkin palace, built in the 1820s in the best traditions of
Russian classicism;
The Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art is
one of the best museums of its kind in Ukraine, located in the former
yard of the largest merchant Abaz;
Odesa Literary Museum - covers the
history of literary Odesa for two centuries, as well as about 300 famous
writers are presented in 24 halls, founded in 1977. The Sculpture Garden
of the Literary Museum is considered a visiting card of Odessa. About
90-100 thousand tourists visit it annually.
The Greek Cultural Fund
"Filiki Eteria" is a museum of the national liberation movement of
Greece, which began in Odessa with the founding of a secret organization
of the same name;
Military-historical museum of the Southern
operational command;
Memorial of the Heroic Defense of Odesa — 411th
Battery;
Museum of the History of the Jews of Odesa
"Migdal-Shorashim";
The Holocaust Museum in memory of the victims of
fascism tells about the tragic fate of the Jews of Transnistria (the
territory between the Southern Bug and the Dniester), about the role of
the Romanian-German occupiers and collaborators in the destruction of
the Jewish population, about the courage of those who saved Jews during
the years of occupation;
Odesa Historical and Local History Museum;
Odesa Sound Museum of Vasyl Pinchuk;
Museum of contraband;
Chocolate Museum;
Odesa Municipal Museum of Personal Collections
named after A. V. Bleschunova;
Museum of the History and Development
of the Ukrainian Cossacks;
Museum-apartment of Leonid Utyosov;
Odessa Underwater Historical Museum;
Museum of Catacombs "Secrets of
Underground Odessa";
Odessa Museum of the Navy;
Museum named after
F. P. De-Volana - the Odesa port museum is located in one of the old
buildings on the Langheronivsky Uzvoz, which before the revolution
housed "barjans" - overnight homes for the port's homeless loaders;
Literary and memorial museum named after OS Pushkin - in the house where
he stayed for a month in one of the first hotels of the city - "Hotel du
Nord";
K. H. Paustovsky Memorial Museum;
Odesa House-Museum named
after MK Roerich is one of six museums in the world dedicated to the
work of the Roerich family;
Academician V. P. Filatov's Memorial
Building-Museum;
The Cinema Museum — located on the territory of the
film studio, tells about the cinematographic activity in Odesa from the
invention of the cinematograph to the present day;
Odessa Museum of
Football;
Museum of Human Anatomy;
The Museum of Interesting
Science is an interactive museum. designed for every visitor to be able
to touch everything and experience scientific experiments with their own
hands;
Odesa Museum of Numismatics;
The Museum of Modern Art of
Odessa was created by a young businessman, intellectual and
philanthropist Vadym Morochovsky based on the unique collection of works
by the masters of the "second wave of the Odessa avant-garde" by the
famous collector Mykhailo Knobel;
Museum of wax figures "At Baba
Uta";
Museum of cognac named after N. L. Shustova.
Odesa is one of the Ukrainian literary centers. However, unlike
another literary center of Ukraine, Lviv, which is famous for book
publishing, Odesa is a place where books were written more often than
published. At the beginning of the 19th century, the city was also
visited by many writers of the then Russian Empire: Konstantin
Batyushkov, Mykola Hnidych, Pavlo Morozov, Mykhailo Rosenberg, Pavlo
Svinin, Olimpiada Shishkin, etc. Odesa is largely associated with the
name of the creator of the modern Russian literary language, Alexander
Pushkin, who was in exile in Odessa for 13 months - from July 3, 1823 to
July 31, 1824. It was here that Pushkin wrote three chapters of one of
his most famous works, "Eugene Onegin", the poem "Bakhchisarai Fountain"
and began the poem "Gypsies", and also wrote about thirty lyrical poems.
After Pushkin wrote his poems about Odessa, this topic became popular in
the circles of the Russian intelligentsia. These were Volodymyr
Benediktov, Ivan Borozdna, Andriy Podolinskyi, Semyon Raich, Vasyl
Tumanskyi. In February 1825, the outstanding Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
came to the city. It was in Odessa that the Pole wrote about fifty
poetic works, including "Sonety krymskie", and also began to write the
poem "Konrad Wallenrod". In 1885, the famous Romanian poet Mihai
Eminescu was treated in a sanatorium in Odesa. Odesa was visited twice
by the outstanding Ukrainian writer, a classic of Russian literature,
Mykola Vasyliovych Gogol. In Odessa, Gogol prepared a new edition of a
four-volume collection of his works, and also worked on the second
volume of Dead Souls. It was during Mykola Vasyliovych's stay in Odessa
that his play "The Auditor" was staged in the local theater. At the
beginning of the 1920s, many future famous Soviet writers worked in the
Odessa newspaper Moryak. In particular, Isak Babel, Eduard Bagrytskyi,
Valentyn Kataev, Yuriy Olesha and Kostyantyn Paustovskyi.
"Southern Palmyra" became a small homeland for many diverse future
writers who were born there, in particular, Hanna Gorenko (later
Akhmatova), Alain Boske, Ivan Bryl (also known as Janka Bryl), Volodymyr
Zhabotynskyi, Yehiel-Leib Fainzilberg (also known as Ilya Ilf), Yevhen
Kataev (also known as Yevhen Petrov), etc. In different years, there
were many foreign writers in Odesa. In particular, Ivan Bunin, who lived
for many years in Odessa, Ivan Vazov, Maxim Gorky, who later described
this period of life in the future in the story "Chelkash", Oleksandr
Green, who saw the sea for the first time in Odessa, Teodor Dreiser,
Avetik Isaakyan, Oleksandr Kuprin, Volodymyr Mayakovsky, who mentioned
Odesa in the poem "Cloud in Pants", Oleksandr Movsisyan (also known as
Oleksandr Shirvanzade), who under the impression of being in the city
wrote the novel "The Artist" and started another - "Melania", Mendele
Moykher-Sforim , Oleksandr Ostrovsky, Yakiv Polonsky, who later
described his stay in Odessa in the semi-autobiographical novel "Cheap
City", Mark Twain, Leo and Alexei Tolstoy, who visited the city during
the Crimean War, Anton Chekhov, Korniy Chukovsky, Sholom Aleichem, who
wrote for the newspapers "Odesa News" and "Odesa Listok", as well as
domestic ones: Ludmila Vasylevska-Berezina (also known as Dniprova
Chaika), Volodymyr Korolenko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Ivan and Yuriy
Lipy, Ivan Nechui-Levytskyi, who described the life I of the Ukrainian
intelligentsia in Odesa at the end of the century in the story "Over the
Black Sea", Petro Nishchynskyi (also known as Petro Baida), the
Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka, Ivan Franko, etc. came three times.
Among the famous modern writers of Odessa, we can mention poets
Stanislav Stryzhenyuk, Boris Barskyi, Boris Khersonskyi and Anna
Yablonska, satirist Mykhailo Zhvanetskyi, etc. There is an international
book exhibition "Green Wave" and Ukrainian book festivals in the city.
The city of Odesa is described in a number of novels written in
different languages.
Although nowadays Ukrainians make up the majority of the city's
population, while Russians make up only a third, the city of Odesa has
been a multinational city for centuries. The combination of dozens of
different cultures in the city created its own unique, so-called "Odessa
language". However, according to some researchers, the Odesa language is
a combination of several different languages, primarily Russian,
Ukrainian, and Yiddish. Other researchers consider this language "the
Russian language of the Jews." In recent years, the number of people who
speak Odessa has been steadily decreasing. For some reason, this was
influenced by the large number of emigrants to the USA and Israel. Some
of the most famous popularizers of this dialect were: writers Isak
Babel, Ilya Ilf, Yevhen Petrov, singer and film actor Leonid Utyosov, as
well as satirists Mykhailo Zhvanetskyi, Roman Kartsev, etc. In the 19th
century - at the beginning of the 20th century, there was such a
profession as a bindyuzhnyk in Odessa. Usually, this was the name of
port porters, or a person who rules horses in a hired crew. This
profession and the people who worked as bindyuzhny became the heroes of
many literary works, movies, etc. In many respects, the Odesa
bindyuzhniks are highlighted in culture approximately like the Lviv
batyars. But, in contrast to batyars, who were considered non-standard
people, adventurers, bindyuzhniki denoted uneducated people engaged in
hard work.
It is also believed that Odesa is the capital of
humor. In many ways, this stereotype lives on thanks to such humorists
as Mykhailo Zhvanetsky, Viktor Ilchenko, Roman Kartsev, who became
famous thanks to the famous humorist Arkady Raikin. In addition, there
is an annual humorous festival in Odessa - "Humorina". Odesa, from the
beginning of its existence in the Russian Empire, was a place of
combination not only of Russian and European cultures, but also of
political elites. So the fate of such famous political figures as Serhiy
Witte, Mykhailo Vorontsov, Herman Pyntia, Armand Emmanuel du Plessis,
Duke de Richelieu, Mikheil Saakashvili, etc., as well as many famous
Ukrainian politicians, such as: Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksiy Goncharenko,
Eduard Hurwitz, Valentyn Symonenko, etc.
In Soviet times, Odesa organized two significant festivals. The most
famous, largest and one of the oldest festivals in the country is
"Humorina", an annual festival of humor and satire, which has been held
on April 1, the day of laughter, since 1973. The frightened authorities
of the Ukrainian SSR and Odesa, after the festival reached the all-Union
and international level in 1976, banned "Humorina". It was revived
during Perestroika in 1987. In 2013, the organizers of this festival
will celebrate the 40th anniversary of "Humorina". In 1988, 1990, and
1994, the Golden Duke film festival was held (in 1987, the trial film
festival "Odesa Alternative" was held). The main prize of the festival,
the statuette "Golden Duke" by the Odessa sculptor Mykhailo Reva, is
also the main prize of the Odessa International Film Festival
(2010-present).
In the 1990s, new festivals began to appear.
Among those that were founded in the 90s and are still ongoing are:
International Rock Festival "Pike Vests" in honor of the founder of the
Odesa Rock Club, guitarist and founder of the rock band "Bastion" Ihor
Hankevich, the author of the song "A Walk in Odessa" (1991), "Two days
and two nights of new music" (1995), a music festival of experimental
music by Ukrainian and foreign authors, as well as a biker festival of
rock music "Goblin Show".
From 2001 to 2011, the international
"Jazz Carnival in Odessa" was held. Since 2011, after a change of
concept, it is held as Odessa JazzFest.
In 2010, several
festivals of a new generation appeared in Odesa at the same time - the
chamber but original silent film and modern music festival "Silent
Nights", held in the open air at the pier of the Sea Station, as well as
the large-scale Odesa International Film Festival, which immediately
aroused great interest among moviegoers and resonance both in Ukraine
and abroad. If "Silent Nights" specializes more in silent cinema, OMCF
has established itself as an art-mainstream festival: cinema of a high
artistic level, intended for a wide audience. The organizers of the film
event have set quite ambitious goals — to turn OMCF into one of the main
film forums in Eastern Europe and call it the "Eastern European Cannes."
Every year, this festival holds both paid and free screenings, as well
as retrospectives and premieres of films. In addition, several
competition programs for Ukrainian, Russian, short cinematography, as
well as the main prize, "Golden Duke", for the best film, are active at
the OMCF.
Since 2013, the Mayak Fest hardcore/punk festival has
been held every summer, which gathers dozens of leading bands and
hundreds of hardcore and punk fans. At the festival, you can trace the
subcultural atmosphere, which is expressed in punks, hardcore,
skinheads, etc. The cuisine of the festival is vegan.
During the
winter holidays, Odesa hosts the festivals "Christmas on Deribasivska"
and "Generous Christmas" (January 7). The holiday program is about the
same as in other winter events: a holiday concert with New Year's and
Ukrainian songs, contests and a program for children, New Year's treats
and mulled wine, a touch of humor and fun. Attendance at such street
events is free.
Today, the city is the center of the Odesa Diocese of the Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, the Diocese of the UOC MP (ROC in Ukraine), the
Exarchate of the UGCC, the Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, as well
as the community of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Jewish. In addition,
there are Protestant and Muslim communities in the city. Among the most
famous religious buildings of the Orthodox Church are:
Transfiguration Cathedral Cathedral;
Holy Dormition Cathedral;
St.
Archangel Michael women's monastery;
St. Illina Men's Monastery;
St. Iversky Men's Monastery;
Holy Assumption Patriarchal Men's
Monastery;
Holy Trinity Cathedral, an Orthodox church built by the
Greek community of the city;
Church of the Icon of the Most Holy
Theotokos of All Sorrowful Joys.
Odesa Church - St. Paul's Cathedral.
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Church of
St. Peter the Apostle
Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew
the First-Called UGCC.
The Brod Synagogue, also known as the Or
Sameach Synagogue, is one of the oldest functioning synagogues in
Ukraine.
The Arab cultural center in Odesa has every chance to
become an architectural monument over time. The mosque is located in the
building of the Arab Cultural Center. The building was built in Moorish
style in 2001 at the expense of Syrian businessman Kivan Adnan. A new
mosque is also being built.
There are about 34 necropolises in
Odessa, but only five of them are open for burials. The most famous is
the Second Christian Cemetery, where many famous people are buried.
During the Soviet rule, most of Odessa cemeteries were destroyed,
including religious ones, such as the First Christian Cemetery, the
First Jewish Cemetery, and others where the most prominent residents of
the city were buried in the past.
Since the capture of these lands by the Russian Empire, Odesa
actively developed not only economically, but also in urban planning. In
particular, the first plan of the city was developed at the end of the
18th century by the famous engineer Franz de Vollan. The city plan
developed by Vollan envisaged the establishment of a central part of the
city with a clear system of streets and blocks of equal length and
width. From the first half of the 19th century, massive construction
began in Odessa. In the 19th century, the city experienced several
architectural stages, characterized by different styles. In particular,
classicism (Transfiguration Cathedral, Richelieu Lyceum, Holy Trinity
Cathedral, Circular Building, etc., architects — Francesco Boffo,
Alexander Digby, Thomas de Tomon, Giovanni and Francesco Frapolli,
Francois Chal), Empire (Old Exchange, Vorontsov Palace , Duke de
Richelieu monument, Marazli building, Potemkin stairs, Dormition
Cathedral of the Assumption Monastery, Felix de Ribas House, Saban
Barracks, etc., architects — Caetano Dallacqua, Giorgio Torricelli,
Nikifor Cherkunov, Wilhelm Schmidt), Palladianism (Palais Royale,
buildings on Theater Square, the building of the Archaeological Museum),
Neo-Gothic (Bzozovsky Palace, Brod Synagogue, New Exchange, Marazli
Dacha, Church, Main Odesa Synagogue, Church of Peter and Paul
(destroyed), architects — Oleksandr Bernardazzi, Franz Boffo, Felix
Gonsiorovskyi, Josyp Kolovich , Adolf Minkus, Franz Morandi, Mykola
Tolvinsky), etc.
The climate had a great influence on the
appearance of the city. In particular, this applies to the wide use of
limestone, shell stone as a building material. It helped the inhabitants
from the scorching heat, it was also used for this purpose in the
construction of porticoes, loggias, covered galleries, etc. At the end
of the century, a mixture of different styles became popular, as well as
neo-baroco, modern, etc., which were depicted in the Passage, the
"Imperial" and "Velika Moskovskaya" hotels, the Russov and Blumberg
houses, the building of the Opera House, the building of the Odessa
Synagogue, etc.
The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a
frantic demand for a new architectural style, constructivism (the
buildings of the Institute of Cold, the Institute of Eye Diseases named
after V. Filatov and the boarding school named after P. Stolyarskyi, the
"Londonskyi" hotel, etc., architects - Oleksandr Dubinin, Noah
Kanevskyi, Faifel Troup' Yansky). In many ways, the large number of
buildings in the style of constructivism, as well as the Stalinist
empire, is connected with the repeated bombing of the city during the
Second World War. In particular, this is how the railway station was
rebuilt, and a large number of "Khrushchevs" were built. As a result of
the fact that at the end of the century, many residents of the city did
not have enough apartments, several "sleeping" microdistricts were built
from the same type of panel houses, such as the village of Kotovsky,
Tairov, Cheremushki, etc. The Odessa and Black Sea hotels, the main
building of the port, were also built. Among the modern buildings, the
residential complex "Miracle City", the shopping center "Athena", the
building "Shah-name", the Arab Cultural Center, etc. should also be
noted. Among modern local architects, Dmytro and Mykhailo Povstaniuk,
etc., should be mentioned. Over the past two decades, Odesa has suffered
significant losses from the development of the historic center with
modern residential buildings and business centers. For example, Greek
Square was almost completely destroyed. Arcadia is completely destroyed,
French Boulevard is intensively built up.
On the outskirts of the
city, "cave houses" that belonged to the stone-mason Cossacks of the
18th century have been preserved.
The most popular team sport in Odessa is football. The most popular
Odessa football club Chornomorets repeatedly won sports trophies both in
the USSR and in Ukraine, and also took part in international
competitions of the highest quality. In addition, "Chornomorets" has
become a sports symbol of the city. It should also be noted the amateur
football club "Richelieu", which is the current record holder of the
championship of Ukraine among veterans. The history of football in
Odessa begins in 1884, when members of the city's athletic club, natives
of Great Britain, built the city's first indoor football field, which
was located opposite the modern film studio on French Boulevard. In
addition to OBAK, the following sports clubs should be noted: Mestran,
Sporting Club, Sheremetyevo Sports Club, Maccabi Jewish Sports Club,
etc. Already in 1910, a football league was founded in Odessa, which was
part of the All-Russian Football Union. In the also popular sport of
basketball, the city also has its significant representative in the
Ukrainian championship - BC "Odesa", which has repeatedly brought gold
medals to its native city. In women's volleyball in Odesa, the club
"Ginestra" is well-known, in the ranks of which volleyball professionals
have been participating in competitions of the highest level for many
years.
The main sports facility of Odesa is the Chornomorets
stadium, which seats 34,164 spectators. In addition, the city has
stadiums "Spartak", "SKA", etc.
The city also has a hippodrome,
which is the oldest in Ukraine. In addition to equestrian competitions,
it also hosted the first airplane flights in the Russian Empire: pilots
Mykhailo Yefimov (March 21, 1910) and Sergey Utochkin (April 13, 1910).
The Black Sea city has also repeatedly given countries of different eras
excellent athletes in a wide variety of sports. Among them are many
Olympic champions of Ukraine and the USSR. In particular, Gennadiy
Avdeyenko, Mykola Avilov, Oksana Bayul, Tetyana Gutsu, Yakiv Zheleznyak,
Yevhen Lapinsky, Mykola Milchev, Viktor Mikhalchuk, Nadiya
Mushta-Olizarenko, Margarita Nikolayeva, Viktor Petrenko, Serhiy
Petrenko, Eduard Sibiryakov, Yulia Ryabchynska, Yuriy Cheban, Olga
Shkurnova. Among others:
Utochkin Sergey Isayovych is one of the
first test pilots in the Russian Empire. Popularizer of aviation at the
beginning of the 20th century, football player, cyclist, tennis player,
boxer, wrestler, participant in sailing regattas, etc.
Mykhailo
Ivanovich Rybalchenko is a Soviet cyclist of the 1930s, a three-time
champion of the USSR, the only person whose pre-war and still
unsurpassed sports achievement was entered into the Guinness Book of
Records.
Yukhym Petrovich Heller is a Soviet and Russian chess
player, a grandmaster since 1952, a contender for the world championship
in 1950-1970.
Belanov Ihor Ivanovich is a Soviet and Ukrainian
football player, winner of the "Golden Ball" in 1986 (one of the most
prestigious football awards in the world), winner of the Cup Winners'
Cup in 1986, vice-champion of Europe in 1988.
There are many
interesting, extreme water sports in Odessa: kayaking, diving,
kitesurfing, wakeboarding.
Odesa's climate is characterized by mildness and a large number of
sunny days. In summer, thanks to the breezes, even on hot days it is
more comfortable here than in the neighboring steppes. Healing mud of
estuaries and mineral springs attract many vacationers to Odessa. The
Odesa resort area stretches for dozens of kilometers along the coast and
estuaries and is one of the oldest and most popular in the country.
Kuyalnytskyi estuary is popular - a unique natural laboratory with
healing salt water and mud mud. Kuyalnik is one of the oldest mud
resorts in the country. The city has many different places for
recreation: bowling clubs, go-karting, roller rinks, ice rinks, a
circus, a zoo, yacht clubs, etc. Odesa has significant tourist potential
and prerequisites for its development. Along the entire coast of Odesa,
there are beaches: Luzanivka, Langheron, Vidrada, Delphin, Arcadia, a
group of beaches of Veliky Fontan, Lustdorf, as well as many sanatorium
beaches and holiday homes. The largest dolphinarium in the country
operates on the "Lanjeron" beach.
Hotels and sanatoriums
Odesa
is known for its sanatoriums, resorts, boarding houses, etc. For the
most part, such institutions are located in once sparsely populated
seaside areas, such as Maly, Srednyi and Velikiy Fontanas, Arcadia and
Lustdorf. Among the well-known sanatoriums, the following institutions
can be noted: sanatorium named after Gorky, "Odesa", "Odesa", "White
Acacia", "Red Stars", "Magnolia", named after Chkalov and
"Lermontovsky". Among the well-known resorts that exist in the city or
near it, one should note the resorts located in the villages of Zatoka,
Serhiivka and Chornomorske, in the villages of Hrybivka and
Karolino-Bugaz, as well as the resort "Kuyalnik", located near the
estuary of the same name. There are many hotels in Odessa. As of
February 1, 2014, Odesa has 1 five-star, 15 four-star, 7 three-star and
51 other hotels. Some of them have a century-old history. Such famous
personalities as Robert Louis Stevenson, Ivan Aivazovsky, Henri Barbus,
Georges Simenon stayed there. Among such hotels, we can mention
"Bristol", "Great Moskovskaya", "Imperial", "Londonsky", etc. Among the
hotels that were founded recently, we can first of all note: "London",
"Mozart", "Odesa", etc.
Other
Odesa in art
The theme of the
"Southern capital", as Odesa is called, has repeatedly entered the works
of various artists - artists, writers, architects, musicians, etc. Thus,
the first poem about Odessa with the same name was published in 1806 in
the St. Petersburg magazine Lyceum. Its author was an unknown person who
signed himself as "P. F. B."
Alexander Pushkin was one of the
first to describe Odessa in literature. During his exile in 1823-1824,
Pushkin lived in the city, where he wrote three chapters of one of his
most famous works, Eugene Onegin, vividly describing Odessa and the
European spirit of Odessa at that time. In addition, the writer wrote
about thirty lyric poems, many of which were dedicated to the city.
The action of Sergei Eisenstein's silent feature film "Battleship
Potemkin" (Mosfilm, 1925), which was repeatedly recognized as the best
or one of the best films of all time and peoples according to polls by
critics, filmmakers and the public, takes place in Odessa in June 1905 ,
when the crew on the battleship "Knyaz Potemkin Tavriyskyi" revolted.
The famous scene of the shooting on the Potemkin Stairs has become a
classic of world cinema. On July 11, 2015, the commemorative sign of the
European Film Academy (European Film Academy, EFA) was unveiled on the
Potemkin Stairs. This sign secures the title "Treasure of European Film
Culture" for the Potemkin Stairs. The press release of the European Film
Academy states that "The Potemkin Stairs are undoubtedly one of the most
famous historical places in the world of cinema." Such signs were
previously installed in four places: in Lyon (France) on the house where
the Lumiere brothers were born; scientific and methodical office-museum
of Sergei Eisenstein in Moscow; Bergman Center in Forjo (Sweden) and
Tonino Guerra World in Pennabilla (Italy).
At the end of the 19th
century, the Ukrainian writer Ivan Nechuy-Levytskyi described the life
of the Ukrainian intelligentsia at the end of the century in Odesa in
the story "Over the Black Sea", and in the work "Mykola Dzhera" he
provides details that are closely related to the city. In particular,
the main character of the story is a serf who runs away from his
lordship and goes to the Black Sea to join local fishermen.
Odessa landscapes became a leading theme in the works of Ukrainian
painter Volodymyr Litvinenko.
Recognition
On May 1, 1945, the
city was awarded the title of "Hero City".
In 1998, Odesa became the
first city among the countries of the former Soviet Union to receive the
"Flag of Honor of the Council of Europe" award. It is awarded to those
cities that "spread the European ideology". But only on December 28,
2006, the award was handed over to the local authorities.
In 2009,
Odesa received another award of the Council of Europe - "Table of the
Council of Europe", which is the second most important award of this
organization.
In February 2010, the analytical and research center
"Institute of the City" named Odessa the best Ukrainian city in terms of
the quality of life of the population.
In the same year, "fDi
Magazine" recognized Odessa as the fourth in the ranking of the most
attractive European cities. Only representatives of the EU — Amsterdam,
Riga and Vilnius — overtook the Ukrainian city.
In 2011, according to
the magazine "Focus", Odesa took the first place in the ranking of
Ukrainian cities in terms of standard of living.