About the city and region

The city was officially erected in 1795 as a Russion military stronghold on the ruins of Khadjibey and was given the name Odesa in January 1796, when its new name was first mentioned in official mass media. Neither the origin of the new name nor reasons for giving the other name are known, though the origin and the anecdotes and jokes about the city abound. According to one of such stories, when someone suggested Odess as a name for the new Russian port, Russian Empress Catherina II said that all names in the South of the Empire were already too "manish" and didn't want yet another one, so she decided to rename it to more 'feminine' Odesa. This anecdote is definietly a fairy tail, because there were at least two cities Yevpatoria and Feodosia whose names sound 'feminine' for a Russian; besides, Kzarina was not a native Russian speaker, and finally, all cities had female names in Latin. Another legend obtains the name 'Odesa' from the word myth: in the French language that at that time was mainly spoken by the aristocracy in Russia "much water' is 'assez d'eau'; if said in reverse, it sounds similar to that of the Greek colony's name (and water-related pun makes perfect sense, because Odesa, though located next to tremendous water basin, has limited fresh water supply). Regardless, a link with the name of the ancient Greek colony persists, so there might be some truth in the oral tradition.

The new city quickly became a major successful feature. Its early growth owed much to the work of the Duke de Richelieu, who served as the city's mayor between 1804 -1817. Having fled the well-known French revolution he had the struggled in Catherina's troops against the Turkish army. He is credited with designing the city and organising its amenities and infrastructure, and is considered one of the founding fathers of Odesa, together with another Frenchman, Count Lois Alexander Langeron who succeeded him in office. Richelieu has been commemorated as a bronze statue in 1828 by outstanding at that time architect and designer Ivan Martos.

Street of Richelieu and the Opera Theater in the 1890s.

In 1820 the city was transformed into a free port, a status it retained until 1860. It became home to an extremely diverse population of citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Armenia, Italy, France, and traders with many other nationalities hence many 'ethnic' names on the city's map, e.g., Frantsuszkiy (French) and Italianskiy (Italian) Boulevards, Grecheskaya (Greek), Evreyskaya (Jewish), Arnautskaya (Albanian) Streets remained till today. Its multinational nature was documented by the great poet of Russia A.Pushkin, who used to live in internal exile in Odesa. In his memoires he wrote that Odesa was a city where "you can smell Europe. French is spoken and there are European papers and magazines to read". Odesa's growth was interrupted by the famous Crimean War that started in 1836 and lasted for 3 years, during which the city was bombarded by British military forces. It soon recovered and the growth in trade made Odesa Russia's largest grain-exporting port. In 1866 the city was linked by rail with Kyiv and Kharkiv as well as to some Romanian cities.

Odesa became a home for large Jewish community during the whole XIX century and till 1897 Jews were counted to comprise some 40% of the city population. They were, however, repeatedly subjected to severe persecution. So called pogromy were carried during whole XIX century. Many Odesan Jews fled abroad, particularly to Palestina.

Places of interest:

• Catacombs and Museum of Partisan Glory
• Roerich museum
• Palace of Tolstoy
• Vorontsov Palace
• Novikov Palace
• Duke Pototskiy Palace (Fine Arts museum)
• Gagarin Palace(Literary museum)
• Jewish Heritage museum
• Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral

Odesa is a popular Ukrainian and foreign tourist destination, with many therapeutic resorts in and around the city. The city possesses beautiful nature and pleasant sandy beaches. So it is great connection of living in the city with rest in the sea. Odesa, Black sea and fabulous green parks with tremendous sandy beaches - everything you need for excellent life.

How to get there:
By air
Odessa International airport has flights to other large cities around Ukraine as well as some major cities around Europe and the former Soviet Union. Find out more about connections available http://www.kiyavia.com/eng/info/timetable/
By train
Hence, many travelers prefer to get there by the train from cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, or Lviv. Find train schedules in English at http://www.poezda.net/en/
By bus
In addition, there are relatively comfortable buses that reach Odessa from Kyiv and other cities.