Odessa - legendary city of the former Soviet Union. City of romance, art, humor, poems, theaters and museums. Odessa is a very special city, - city with its own very special culture.
Our city is our life!

Odessa is situated in Eastern Europe, at the Black Sea coast. It is a very important port and one of the most beautiful cities in the Republic of Ukraine and Europe in all. The city itself is full of historical, architectural, cultural and scientific interest, proud of its past and its traditions.

Odessa is a wonderful center of literature, design, art and industries. The population of Odessa is over million.

:During the second Russia-Turkish War of 1789 Russian troops under the command of General Deribas took the Turkish fortress of Khaji-Bey (in honour of this event one of the main streets in Odessa is named after the general). In 1794 Catherine the Great ordered the construction of a naval harbour which was built in 1795. Knaji-Bey was then renamed in Odessa.

The rapid growth of the town was due largely to the expansion of foreign trade,which in turn was due to Odessa's advantageous geographical position - on the shores of the Black Sea near the mouths of the Dnieper, the Bug, the Dniester and the Danube- and to the development of railway communications.

By the late 19th century Odessa had become an important cultural centre. Such famous architects as Thomas de Thomon, F.Boffo and A.Bernardazzi designed the city's buildings. The Opera House, which is still in use today and is considered one of the finest buildings in the city, was built by F. Fellner and G. Gellmer.

Looking on to the city from the side of the port you are faced with unique ensemble of Primorsky Boulevard, which is formed from the Potemkin Stairway. It was named in honour of the revolutionary uprising on the battleship Potemkin in 1905.Also the Monument to the Duke de Richelieu and two buildings with concave facades, which were built in 1826-29 by the architect A. Melnikov.

The bronze monument (by I.Martos) to the Duke de Richelieu, Governor General of the Novorossiisk territory and Governor of the City of Odessa, which was erected in 1826, is one of the oldest monuments in Odessa.

From the foot of the monument the stone steps of tne Potemkin Stairway descend. Built between 1834 and 1841 by F. Boffo these steps are 142 metres rise and wide 30 metres.

In 1823-24 the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin lived in Odessa. Here he wrote the first charter of his novel in verse Eugene Onegin and several other shorter poems too.

The population of Odessa suffered badly during the Great Patriotic War. For 69 days in 1941 the city was heroically defended, but then it had to be abandoned to the invaders. A two and a half year period of occupation set in during which a grim partisan war was fought against the fascists the centre of which were the famous Odessa catacombs. In commemoration of the heroic struggle of the soldiers and civilian population, Odessa was awarded the title Hero-City.

The heroic exploits of the defenders of Odessa are recalled in the Monument to the Unknown Sailor, which was erected in Central Park and the monumental 20-metre obelisk, built in honour of the soldiers and sailors who died in the defence and liberation of Odessa.

Before retreating from Odessa the Nazis burnt the town, blew up its industrial enterprises and mined the buildings that had not been destroyed by fire. But after the war the city was quickly rebuilt.

Today Odessa is the administrative centre of the Odessa Region. The city has a highly developed industry and the biggest mechanized port on the Black Sea. Ships come here from all over the world.

Many famous scientists like Nikolai Pirogov, the surgeon, Ilya Mechnikov, the biologist, Dmitri Mendeleyev and Nikolai Zelinsky, the chemists, Otto Schmidt, the mathematician and Arctic explorer, and many others whose names are linked with the University of Odessa have lived and worked here.

Our city is constant in its old traditions and customs in medicine too. The Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy,which was founded in Odessa in 1936, is now world famous. Odessa has 14 higher educational establishments, including the Odessa State University, which is one of the oldest in the Ukraine, 25 secondary specialized educational establishments and more than 20 research institutes.

There are Maritime Academy, Odessa State Polytechnic University, and Medicine University here.

For many years Odessa has played a major role in the development of culture. Many famous Russian and Ukraine artists have performed here and such great musicians as Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rubinstein have conducted the orchestra at the city theatre. The Odessa Conservatoire has produced such world-famous names as David Oistrakh (violin) and Emil Gilels (piano). Many famous painters have come from the Odessa College of Arts, including Franz Rubo,who painted the world-famous Sevastopol Panorama, Isaac Brodsky, the portraitist and Mikhail Grekov.

Odessa is also known for its theatres and museums. Altogether it has six theatres, a circus, a philharmonic society, a film studio, nine museums and a picture gallery. Odessa has a number of interesting early 19th-century architectural monuments including the former City Duma (Council), the Old stock Exchange, the Vorontsov and Naryshkin palaces built by F. Buffo.

An excellent climate has made Odessa one of the finest holiday resorts in the Ukraine. More than 900,000 our and foreign tourists per year come to Odessa either to simply enjoy the sea and air or to take advantage of the medicinal qualities of the local mud and silt from the Odessa sources.

Every year Odessa is made a more pleasant and attractive place to live in, visit and enjoy!

It is situated not far from Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, only 489 km to reached it along the Saint-Petersburg-Kiev-Odessa highway.

Welcome to Odessa!