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| PHÎÒÎ: SHUTTERSTOCK |
The third largest city of Ukraine was founded in 1794 by Jose de Ribas, a Russian admiral of Spanish-Irish origin, who fought under the command of Alexander Suvorov. In 1789, with a small regiment and artillery de Ribas attacked and seized the Khajybei Fortress that was considered impregnable, in 15 minutes. Later, Odesa was founded on the place of this Turkish fortress. Suvorov once said that if de Ribas had a good regiment, he could have seized Constantinople.
Admiral de Ribas is considered to be the first governor of Odesa, who made a great contribution in populating and developing the region. He lent his name to the main drag of this city – Deribasivska St, the most popular pedestrian area of Odesa. In 1801, when de Ribas had already lived in the St. Petersburg chancellery and the residence of the next governor Duke Richelieu located in the same building on Deribasivska. Duke Richelieu continued the development of Odesa ordering the landscaping and planting of a public garden with white acacias and chestnut trees that he personally planted. This garden was the first in the hot and arid turf of Odesa. Today, this garden is a green museum abundant with rare and old trees that are alive and blooming. It is believed that one of the poplars in the garden was planted by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
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| PHÎÒÎ: PHL |
Just as any theater begins with the cloakroom, Odesa begins with its central railway station. As soon as you get off the train, you will feel the unforgettable aura of a city in which Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Bulgarian and Jewish cultures are strangely intertwined.
Just five minutes away from the train station you will have a chance to check out the famous open air market Pryvoz. It is one of the symbols of this merchant city. After the recent reconstruction, the market’s face has changed considerably, but local shambled beggars that politely approach passers-by with the words “ladies and gentlemen” still look like characters from old jokes.
From Privoz you can take a walk down Rishelevska St., another one of the main drags in downtown Odesa all the way to Primorskiy Boulevard. This is something of a local Wall Street along which the largest banks and corporate offices in the city are located. Closer to the sea Rishelevska St. crosses Deribasivska, which is closed for traffic and accommodates a host of cozy street cafes and theme restaurants.
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| PHÎÒÎ: PHL |
The bronze statue of de Ribas is also located on this very street. He is holding a spade and an architectural plan of the city in his hands. The building located at No. 3 Deribasivska St. bears a plaque Dr. Leizer Ludwig Zemenhof, the founder of the artificial language Esperanto. On the intersection with Rishelevska St. you will find the famous Odesa Opera House, one of the most beautiful in the world. This is a true pearl of Odesa built in accordance with a blueprint drafted by Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer. It became the 13th opera house in Europe that they had designed. Ten minutes away from Deribasivska you will come to Prymorskiy Blvd. and see the famous Teshchin Bridge (Mother-in-Law Bridge). Legend has it that it was built after the WWII war by the mayor of Odesa at the time. Locals say the mayor’s mother-in-law lived at the other end of the ravine so the mayor built the bridge to have quicker passage to her house to enjoy his favorite pancakes.
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| PHÎÒÎ: PHL |
Legend or not, the bridge is truly unique: it is made entirely of reinforced concrete without any piers. Local residents discovered a funny way to entertain themselves using the bridge and called it the Swinging Bridge. During folk festivals the locals would gather in the middle of the bridge and start jumping in unison. After a while they would stop jumping, but the bridge would continue to vibrate and throw people up 5-10 centimeters up in the air. Needless to say, the local police are not too keen on this form of entertainment fearing that the bridge may collapse one day.
Five minutes away from the Teschin Bridge you will see another one of Odesa’s major landmarks – a monument to the first governor of Odesa Duke de Richelieu. The architectural landscape created by this monument, the old building on the square and the Potemkin Stairs is a hallmark of Odesa. The square is located in the very center of Primorskiy Blvd. and offers a fantastic scenic vista of the Black Sea, which is why it is always crowded by tourists. Local people call this place Duke.
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| PHÎÒÎ: UKRINFORM |
The Potemkin Stairs are to Odesa what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. They are not simply two hundred steps, but a true phenomenon. The stairs are 142 meters in length and around 24 meters in height and are considered the largest and longest set of stairs in Ukraine. The stairs had several names from Giant and Boulevard, but eventually the local authorities decided to name them after Count Potemkin. They became famous thanks to the film “Battleship Potemkin”, as one of the best scenes in the film was shot on these very stairs.
If you go down from the Duke monument to the Potemkin Stairs you will see the new marine terminal built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Odesa. The complex of facilities is simply magnificent! However, many local residents insist the Odesa Hotel spoils the view, which towers over the harbor. “This skyscraper does not allow us and our children to admire the sea,” the locals complain.
The most famous London Hotel in Odesa is considered the pride and joy of the city. This hotel built on Prymorskiy Blvd. at the end of the 19th century near the Potemkin Stairs is a legendary place. In their time, the Russian poets and writers Kuprin, Chekhov, Mayakovsky and Katayev and many more famous people have stayed here...
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| PHÎÒÎ: PHL |
Another must-see place is a garden near the Literature Museum with strange looking bronze sculptures, for example, Duke Richelieu wearing modern jeans or Russian Empress Catherine the Great holding a Ukrainian-Russian phrase book. If you rub the statue of the traditional character of local Jewish jokes Rabinovich behind the ear, it will bring you financial fortune. There is also a fabulous building located on Vorontsov Lane that puzzles many tourists. Indeed, it is an architectural illusion as from a certain angle it seems that is nothing more than a wall, but to the human eye it seems there are people floating on the curtains and windows. So, try and solve this puzzle.
I would stop telling you about the beauty and secrets of Odesa, though I can go on forever. But it is much better to visit Odesa personally, as even the most detailed story about the best places of this marvelous city does not give the same feeling. So, go and discover the Ukrainian pearl by the sea and take in a deep breath of the fresh maritime breeze.
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