100 interesting facts about Odesa

Odesa is associated with the sea, warm weather, unique architecture, and its heroes. It is also associated with many stories and legendary discoveries. Let’s learn some facts related to the history of Odessa.

The name Odesa is rooted in the period when the Greek colony Odessos was settled on this territory
François de Wollant designed urban planning in such a way that the city would face the seaside
The first building in the city was built on August 22, 1794, on Lanzheronovskaya Street for Volkonsky
The first church was St. Nicholas Church which later became the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour
Stone paving is a real heritage of Odessa that solved the problem of impassable roads. Each stone was delivered directly from Naples from under Vesuvius. The sections laid out by those stones are still preserved on Pushkinskaya and Deribasovskaya streets
After the cancellation of budgeting of port construction local merchants sent to Emperor Paul a present consisting of 3000 oranges. The ruler appreciated the gift and soon after the money was issued at interest for 25 years. This decision rescues Odessa and in memory of this transaction a monument to an orange was erected in Odessa
At the beginning establishment, Odessa suffered from a lack of drinking water fountains were installed in the city and were named Small, Medium, and Large. Thanks to them important parts of the city were provided with water. Later on when people got something of a low quality in the market they used to say “Not fountain!”. Since then this phrase has often been used by Odessites when they want to define something of low-quality
The year 1880 was marked by the opening of the horse-drawn railway. Its route started on Rishelievskaya and coursed along Pochtovaya, Kanatnaya streets and terminated at Beach Langeron
Implemented in “porto-franco” had lasted for 40 years improved the city’s economy and made it by 1830 the largest port on the Black Sea exporting wheat
Despite the fact that the traffic in Odessa is right hand there are some sections where it was changed to left hand. Those are Italian Boulevard and Vysoky Lane
In 1829, Odessa became the first city in the world where bleaching powder was used as an antiseptic against cholera.
In 1827 the first issue of the newspaper “Odessa Herald” was published.
In 1837, the city consisted of 47 streets, and by population 4th place in the whole empire after St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw
Odessa became the first city in the whole empire, where asphalt was paved
In 1873, a water pipeline from Dniester-Odessa was opened that solved problems with water
In 1877, Odessa became the first city in the Russian Empire where a sewage system was installed.
In 1886, Odessa was the first city in the empire and the second in the world where the bacteriological station was opened
In 1894, the first Russian asphalt track was built on Mikhailovskaya Square. The bicyclist competitions took place here
In 1908, the opening of the first Russian Air Club took place
Deribasovskaya is the pedestrian street that originally was called Gymnasium Street because of commercial gymnasia Volceathat was located here. In 1811, the street got the name Deribasovskaya
Odessa became the first city in the Russian Empire that had a car driving the streets. It was owned by a publisher of “Odessa Paper ” Vasily Navrotsky
The first Hebrew newspaper Gamelitz was issued in Odessa. It had an application Kol Mevaser which was the only Russian issue in Yiddish
In 1901, at a Paris Architect Forum was recognized as the best architectural complex of Odessa
In 1903, the first in the entire Russian Empire ambulance station was opened in Odessa
On September 24, 1910, the electrical tram line was opened.
In 1938, the zoo was opened which is the oldest zoo in Ukraine
Once, at the beginning of the 19th century, a landowner A. Teutul set a fire in his manor on a high hill at the shore. The sailors confused it with a landmark and wrecked near the shore. The landowner was shocked by the tragedy and soon the Odessa Lighthouse was built
Potemkin’s staircase was not named in honor of Duke G. Potemkin. The sponsor of the was Prince Vorontsov. He presented a nameless gift to his beloved wife. Only later after release of the film “Battleship Potemkin” odessites began calling it Potemkin. It got its name officially in the 1950s
Odessa shopping center “Passage” was recognized as a magnificent architectural construction in Russia. There were warehouses in its basement from where the goods were delivered to stores with the help of wagonettes on rails
The first mayor of Odessa Jose De Ribas spoke 7 languages, was of low stature (almost a dwarf), and received the Maltese cross from Catherine for his achievements. His services in the battle under Ismail were described in Don Juan by Byron
Jose De Ribas wasn’t the only one to make a considerable contribution in Odessa’s development. His brother Felix founded the City Garden bringing trees from Uman and Tulchin
There is no tree growing on Lanzheronovskaya Street except one old oak tree whose branches are decorated with a chain
In 1919, the first Ukrainian national film studio was opened in Odesa. Many famous films were shot in this studio
The only museum of cinema exposition works in Odessa. Here are stored many items such as the glove of Vera Kholodnaya, a coat and a hat of Vysotsky, and the first camera of A. Dovzhenko
The novel “12 Chairs” by Odessa writers I. Ilf and E. Petrov 18 times in different parts of the world. The first screen adaptation of L. Gaidai took place in 1971, and five years later, in 1976, M. Zakharov’s film with A. Mironov was released. Almost every foreign screen adaptation was preliminarily adjusted to local realities. In Brazil, the main character was a woman, in America it was a flea race trainer. Even the number of chairs was changed
For the filming of the movie “Liquidation” about post-war Odesa, a really rare object was taken – a tram issued in1932 that was brought from Kharkov
The shooting of “Electronic” was carried out in Odessa and the central character lived on29, Kanatnaya street
The first photographers of the city were Philip Haas and Kubat Dietz which was confirmed by ads in “Odessa Gazette” in 1843. The first photographic classes were founded in 1894
В честь города-побратима – Генуи, в Одессе названа улица – Генуэзская, но и в итальянском городке есть улица ViaOdessa.
In the late 19th century the family of merchants Hoffmann sold the tiara Saitfern of great historical and material value to the Louvre. But after a while, scientists started doubting its authenticity and they were right. The jewelry was created by Odessa Jew Rukhomovsky. He was awarded a medal for his work and the tiara became very famous and still belongs to the
The first golden coin of Kyivan Rus is stored at the Archaeological Museum. There are only 11 of them in the whole world
Once, at 40, Kanatnaya Street there was a Vysotsky tea-packing factory that was supplying tea directly to the Imperial Palace. This business is still carried on in Israel by the founder’s relatives
There are several houses without a wall in Odessa. They are located on Vorontsovsky Lane, Vera Inber Street, Vera Kholodnaya Square, and B. Khmelnytskyi Street. In fact, this is an optical illusion and there is a wall. It is just built at a 45 degrees angle
The monument to Lenin that was located in the Pressmash plant territory was to be demolished according to the recently adopted Ukrainian decommunization law. But thanks to the sculptor A. Milov it was quite harmonically turned into a monument to Darth Vader with a wi-fi hotspot
Preobrazhenskaya Street was renamed seven times. It had names Sredinnaya, Trotskaya, Soviet Army, and even of King Mihai
The Museum of Interesting Sciences on Shevchenko Avenue is an amusing place to spend time with the whole family. Here, the secrets of physics are revealed through principles of physics. For instance, visitors are offered to measure lamprophony, to learn the causes of the occurrence of tornadoes, to find a way out of the labyrinth
Initially, in the 30s of the 19th century, Privoz was part of the Old Market. Merchants used to sell their goods directly from carts
In 1913, the Odessa football team became the champion of the Russian Empire.
The world’s largest Georgy ribbon (² )was unfolded in Odessa in 2010. Its length equals the Potemkin Stair length
Cave houses built by Cossacks are still preserved to our times
Cozy cafe Fanconi is a landmark of Odessa that was visited by Pushkin, Kuprin, Gogol, Chekhov, Gumilev, Mayakovsky, and Utesov. In his memoirs, Leonid Utesov said that he once arranged an original auction exhibition where the fetters of Kotovskiy were put on sale
In 1910, a historic flight in Odessa sky took Mikhail Efimov and then one month later Sergey Utochkin. An was the first to fly over the bay on an airplane
A king of the crime world Mishka Yaponchik never approved of slaughter and the trespassers were punished severely. He also invented a “raider code” according to which lawyers, artists, and doctors were untouchable for the mafia
Odessa prison castle, built in 1826, looks like a big cross from a bird’s eye panorama
There is a square of Ostap Bender in Odessa. It is only 5 square meters in size and is located on Deribasovskaya Street
During the defense of Odessa (4.09 – 16.10 1941), the Yanvarsky factory manufactured about 60 tanks of unusual construction. They were made out of tractors lined with ship steel. They fired with two machine guns of 7.62caliber
An odessite Stepan Dzhevetsky has constructed a first submarine
Odessa funicular was launched in 1902 connecting the port with uptown. This lifting facility was constructed according to the project of engineer Pyatnitsky
The world’s first perfume Fountain was opened in Odessa for its 210th birthday by the Frenchman K. Lacarin. Each hour the fountain will spray perfumes specially selected by the perfumer. The collection consists of 21 perfumes
The tallest building in Odessa is the tower of the Arc-Palace – 106 m. The height record belongs to the television relay tower on Fontan – 175 m
Near the Opera, there is a house Navrotsky built of red brick. It was owned by the publisher of “Odessa Paper”.He felt reverence for art so he opened a shelter at his own cost where poor poets and writers could live for free on a broad basis
The oldest champagne factory in Ukraine is located on the French Boulevard in Odesa. It was founded by Heinrich Rederer in the late 19th century. One of the sparkling wine brands is named after him
A marble sculpture “Laocoon and Sons” is an identical copy of the one from the Vatican. The merchant Marazli was so much impressed by its beauty that he ordered a copy. Later it was given to the state and now it beautifies the Archaeological Museum courtyard
The fountain sculpture “Children and the Frog” on 6, Lanzheronovskaya Street is a well-known creation of the early 20th century. Many foreigners were willing to buy this sculpture so the sculptor Max Blond created a few more copies that now decorate Denver, Dijon, Dusseldorf, Zurich, and Odessa
The house “Blue Dream” located next to the Musical Comedy theatre is the place where comic Maxim Galkin lived at an early age
Humorina is a laugh festival that is held in Odessa from April 1, 1973. In 2012, 1,000 Japanese tourists visited this festival
Odessa has its own Walk of Fame opened in 2014 on Lanzheronovskaya Street. The first stars were dedicated to A. Akhmatova, I. Babel, K. Muratova, M. Zhvanetsky, L. Utesov, S. Richter
There is also a wax-figure museum in Odessa. It exhibits figures of famous people related to Odessa
The first monument in Odessa was dedicated to de Richelieu
The act of bravery of thousands of marines who threw weight behind Odessa in 1941and who did not allow to take the city by assault was eternalized in a Monument to the Unknown Sailor
Odesa is one of three cities whose residents set the Ukrainian records. One of the interesting records was a football marathon where 271 goals were scored. A can Veniamin from Moldavanka has titled the oldest cat but he passed away in 2016
Lutheran Church of St. Peter and Paul was built in 1827 by the German community. It was rebuilt in the late 19th century and after the revolution, war, and fire, it was restored recently
Misha Yaponchik – a king of the Odessa mob, became the prototype of a character in “Odessa Stories” by Isaak Babel. And Mikhail Vodyanoy played him in the operetta “At Dawn” in the 1980s
The first educational institution in Odessa was Vretto Private School which worked from 1800 to 1803
In the 19th century in Odessa, there was a school for young thieves under the protection of Sonka Golden Hand. The tests took place in Hospitalnaya / Zaporozhskaya streets in a particular way: there was a bell in boys’ pockets the sound of which indicated the failure
The Museum of Contraband at 6, Ekaterininskaya Street was founded in 2013. The museum exhibits seized contraband goods and the means of their transfer
The opening of Odesa’s first City Public Library took place on April 15, 1830. The decree on foundation was signed in 1829 but the opening was postponed because of plague epidemy
Women’s College for the deaf-mutes, founded in the late 40s of the 19th century, was the first institution of such kind
Richelieu Lyceum was founded in 1817 and its first principal was a friend of Richelieu Abbot Nicole
The first green eco-zone in Odessa consisted of undersized acacia and enringed the city
A legendary 411 battery is a whole military complex with its own electrical substation, water, aeration, heating, and food storage. In the period of defense, the Odessa battery made 220 firings and in the day of withdrawal 2 tons of tolite was blown up. Nowadays there is a memorial museum at this spot with a big exhibit of different types of equipment and weapons
Starokonny market is one of the most famous in the city. It was founded in 1833 for selling cattle. Nowadays they sell pets and birds from all over the world
Odessa catacombs with its hidden passages and labyrinths were used as perfect shelter by contrabandists undergrounders. Their total length is about 2.5 thousand km
A Museum of Chocolate on 14, Deribasovskaya Street attracts visitors with its unusual sweet sculptures. In 2009, Reuteurs named the museum second-best in the world
The founder of the beach “Arcadia” was Belgian Emile Cambieu who opened the first restaurant here
Palm Alley is a picturesque spot in Odessa, the real flower of the city that was opened in 2014. It was planted as a gift to Odessites to create a special atmosphere of a resort zone near the beach Arcadia
There are two legends explaining why Teshchin Bridge in Odessa has this name (a bridge of my mother-in-law). The first one claims it is because it wobbles in the wind and the second one states that city committee party president M. Sinitsa was interested in bridge construction to use it to visit his mother-in-law nowadays the lovebirds hang locks on it
A fairytale tunnel with pictures of plots of different fairy tales is located on French Boulevard. It is 200 m long and 20 m deep and it leads directly to the sea from the health resort “Magnolia”
Kanatnaya Street in Odessa was named after two ropeworks previously located there. Nowadays, the “Stalkanat” factory is a successor of one of them. Count Sabansky opened the largest bread shop on this street
Odessa is known for the odd names of streets. The most ridiculous are Charlatan Street, Scamped Work Street, Junkie Street, Watermelon Street, Grandma Street
Forbes magazine included Odessa Opera House on the list of the most remarkable sightseeing of Eastern Europe
The Museum of Anchors is an open-air museum located in front of St. Nicholas church. The display exhibits there are anchors lifted from the seabottom
An oak “Black Night” is a monument that has a passport with the specified date of planting (1820)
One of the two female captains in the USSR was Bertha Rapoport an Odessite of Jewish descent
The main lighthouse in the port of Odesa – The Vorontsov lighthouse together with the Lighthouse located on Preobrazhenskaya Street helps seamen to identify the right track to the port. They are visually located one above another and only their comparison allows to see the right way
The famous thieves’ slang “Fenya” was formed in Odessa among local Jewish gangsters. The Jews spoke Yiddish and Hebrew, and since policemen could not understand them the slang was gradually formed
One of the most respected occupations in Odessa in the 19th-20th centuries was a drayman
Odessa cuisine is unique having combined several culinary traditions: Jewish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Moldovan, and Greek. Odessites treat their guests with stuffed fish, vegetables and small vareniki, cabbage rolls, pancakes
February 2016, Odessites got into the Book of Records of Ukraine having made 5247 vareniki
The National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin for the 120th anniversary of the Odessa Opera Theater

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