Odessa Things to Do

Jose de Ribas, one of the founders and the first governor of Odesa, is aknowledged by the most prominent street through the heart of Odesa - Deribasovskaya Street and by two monuments - one in the City Founders monument, and the second - in the very beginning of the Deribasovskaya street.

The founder Jose de Ribas is depicted with the spade and the map of Odesa. The monument was erected to commemorate the city's second centenial. Residents of Odesa gently call it "a grass-hopper."

1 more image

After exiting the train station, your eyes inevitably will rest on this five-dome religious building with unusual decoration and mosaics, St. Panteleimon Cathedral and Monastery. The history behind this cathedral is Afonskoe podvorye (the Athos Town House) was established in 1876 next to the railway station as a stop over for Russian pilgrims traveling to Holy places - the Mount Athos, Constantinople and Jerusalem. The town house provided a shelter, food and helped with travel documents. Until 1917, thousands of Russian pilgrims had visited holy places every year.

The growing popularity of the place resulted in its enlargement, and in 1893 a three-storey cathedral was erected, two floors - to shelter pilgrims, and the third floor - for the church. Such a construction makes the cathedral a religious building beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Having survived the atheism of Soviet time, the Cathedral reopened in the 90ies, and in 1995 it has been converted into the monastery. Currently the cathedral is undergoing the renovation.

3 more images

In the middle of the Primorskiy Boulevard stands the monument to Duke Richelieu, the most admired and respected founder and an unspoken symbol of Odesa. Dressed in a Roman toga, the Duke is depicted walking with the parchment in left hand. The monument’s base is adorned with three bas reliefs symbolizing farming, trade and justice. The monument was built on donations from Odesa residents after they had heard about the Duke’s death in Paris in 1822. In 1828, when the monument was officially inaugurated, the whole city came to pay a tribute to the city’s most bellowed governor.

Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septemanie de Vignerot du Plessis, 5th Duke of Richelieu was a prominent French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration. During the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, he served as a ranking officer in the Russian Imperial Army, achieving the grade of Major General. In 1803, he was appointed as Governor of Odessa. Two years later, he became Governor-General of a large swathe of land recently conquered from the Ottoman Empire called New Russia, which included the territories of Chersonese, Ekaterinoslav and the Crimea.

In 1803, Richelieu took charge of “the refuse pit of Europe” which he successfully transformed into one of the prosperous European cities just in 11 years. During his governing, the city was exampled from taxes and has been experiencing the building boom. The major streets, religious buildings, schools, hospitals, theatre and market are just a few of his accomplishments. At the same time, his contemporaries described him a very down-to-the-earth and approachable man, who didn’t hesitate to burry city residents who died from cholera. By the time he was leaving Odesa, all 30,000 residents unanimously admired the Duke.

P.S. Odesans would not be themselves if they didn’t find something spicy even in the monument to the Duke. The recommended angle to view the Duke is from the left water manhole.

1 more image

The character of Ukrainian mothers-in-law have been vividly and picturesquely described in Ukrainian folklore and literature, and is a story of its own (the best first-hand evidence can be obtained from men married to Ukrainian women :) But nowhere in Ukraine, a mother in law was honored that much as Odesa.

In 1969, a high-ranking official of the Communist party, Mr. Sinitsa, ordered to build a bridge as a shortcut for his beloved mother-in-law so she could visit him without straining herself. This is NOT a joke.

And though the nature of love between mothers- and sons-in-law continues to puzzle, the bridge itself became the symbol of love. The newlyweds and just those in love come here to secure their love by placing a lock on the bridge’s steel railing and throw away the key. Some even engrave their original pledges like the one on the picture saying: Kirill+Sonya, love till the grave, and we don’t give a sh.. about the rest.

The bridge conveniently connects Primoskiy Boulevard with the “Old Odesa Corner” and is considered to be one of the longest bridges in the city.

The monument to the City Founders or as it is often called, the Monument to the Empress Catharine IIwas erected in 1900 to commemorate the city’s centennial. The monument depicts Catharine II, surrounded by François de Wollant, the city engineer, Jose de Ribas, the city gouverner who turned Odesa into a sea port, Platon Zubov and Grigoriy Potemkin, Catharine's favorites, who I am sure also had their significant input in the city’s development. In 1920, the monument was dismantled and sent to the local history museum. At some point, they even wanted to melt the statues into projectiles, but the imperial nature of the monument didn’t fit to the proletariat weapons. Eventually, the monument was replaced by another one, to Karl Marx, which was very much dislike and often vandalized. In 1965, Karl Marx was replaced by the monument to Potemkin's marines.

The reestablishment of the monument in 2007 created a lot of controversy. From one side, there were residents of Odessa, who wanted to bring back the historic monument that had been dismantled after the revolution. From the other side, there were Ukrainian patriots, who were against honoring the person, who abolished the Zaporizhian Sich (Ukrainian Cossacks Republic) thus destroying the leftovers of Ukrainian Independence. nevertheless, the monument is back to its original place and enjoys tourist attention even more than before.

2 more images

As with most cities, most cultures, just scratch beneath the surface or just use your eyes...

Hey! Cheer up! Look at my fun page which shows food and drink from Odessa and Yalta! Show it to your kids and ask them to see what they recognise! It's called 'Yummy in Ukraine!'

4 more images

Ah, the European architecture...

We saw lots of clean, well-maintained buildings ---but we were in the touristy area.

View my 'Buildinds in Odessa ---the down side' to see lack of money for some in the Ukraine.

4 more images

From our cruise ship, our tour party took to the elegant, European-styled streets of Odessa.
Yes, there are hints of Vienna and even Scandenavia...
Prymorsky Bulva is an avanue of trees which offer shade in which to sit and relax ---and people watch too!
There's Tyoschin Most which is a steel bridge. Look at all of the padlocks on it: they are lovers' trysts! It is called the mother-in-law's bridge because it helped a local official's mother-in-law to visit/leave without needed to take long diversions!
The Potemkin Steps are amazing ---but it is a shame about the blue hordings up the sides.
It's an interesting place with some fabulous architecture ---enjoy my 'Buidings in Odessa' page.