Odesa has long been a commercial and tourist center of Ukraine. It is a beautiful European resort city that still preserves its unique culture. Learn more about modern Odesa with us

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Odesa is known for its warm sea, humor, and rather specific accent. Great poets created and worked in the city, satirists wrote their interesting stories, and the Odesa Film Studio gave the world many favorite movies. 

Like every port city, many different nations lived together in Odesa - Greeks, Italians, Ukrainians, Turks, Albanians, and Jews. This is probably why Odesa is so colorful and attractive. 

What else is Odesa famous for? We have collected the most interesting facts. 

Cobblestone is a historical heritage

Odesa paving stones are a real historical heritage. Each stone was delivered from Naples, from under Vesuvius. Pushkinskaya and Deribasovskaya streets still have these tiles.

Exchange of streets

Odesa has a street named after its sister city, Genoa. In turn, Genoa, Italy, has a street named after Odesa - Via Odesa.

The distance to Genoa is also indicated on the sign of the twin cities in Odesa near Dumska Square: it is 1706 kilometers away.

The phrase "Not a fountain!" comes from Odesa

Many people know this phrase and use it to this day. However, it was born in Odesa. There used to be drinking water fountains in Odesa, but later markets started selling unfiltered water and used this phrase to find customers. 

Left-hand traffic on several streets

Almost throughout Odesa, cars drive on the right-hand side of the road, but on Italian Boulevard and Vysokyi Lane, left-hand traffic rules apply.

For the first time in the empire

It was in Odesa that asphalt was laid for the first time in the former Russian Empire in 1838, and later the first sewerage system in the empire was laid, and the ambulance was also only in Odesa.

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Rare historical values

The Odesa Archaeological Museum houses a gold coin of Prince Volodymyr, the first gold coin of Kyivan Rus. 

The world's second bacteriological station

In 1886, Ilya Mechnikov and Mykola Gamaleya organized the first bacteriological station in Ukraine and the second in the world (after Paris).

The most unusual lighthouse

On the tower of the house number 5 on Preobrazhenska Street is the newly built Odesa Lighthouse, which works in tandem with Vorontsov Lighthouse and helps ships entering the port. If the ship is on the right course, both lighthouses on the course line can be seen simultaneously visually above each other. Due to the difference in height, it is possible to clearly determine in which direction to adjust the course. The lighthouse is 54.9 meters above sea level.

Europe's longest balcony

The balcony is located on a corner building at the intersection of Ekaterininskaya and Grecheskaya streets. This is the so-called Mavrokordato residential building, built in 1905 by architect Yuri Dmitrenko. The balcony completely and continuously frames the building on the third floor. 

The smallest square in the world

There is Ostap Bender Square in Odesa, and it occupies only 5 m². The smallest square in the world is located on Deribasovskaya Street around the monument to the 12th chair.

Monument to Darth Vader

The artist Oleksandr Milov has remade the monument to Lenin in an original way, and now a sculpture of the character from the legendary Star Wars stands at 28 Stovpova Street. The monument is the only monument in the world honoring Darth Vader.

Monument to Steve Jobs

The monument to Steve Jobs was erected in Odesa in 2012 by students of the State Academy of Technical Regulation and Quality in front of a dormitory on Novoselsky Street. It was unveiled on the first anniversary of Jobs' death. The sculpture is equipped with a device that distributes Wi-Fi. 

Sigmund Freud's most famous patient lived in Odesa

One of Sigmund Freud's most famous patients, the "Wolf Man," once lived at 20 Marazliyevska Street. Serhiy Pankeyev suffered from zoophobia, loved to torment animals, and had nightmares. Over time, this man began to think of himself as a wolf. He was treated by a famous Austrian psychoanalyst and became one of his five most famous clinical cases.

The 12 Chairs has been filmed 18 times

The novel "12 Chairs" by Odesa writers Ilf and Petrov has been filmed 18 times around the world. Each country took into account its own realities: in Brazil, the main character was a girl, in America, she was a flea-racing trainer.

A fickle street in Odesa

One of the most fickle streets is Akademichna Street. During its existence, it has changed its name as many as 9 times.

Odesa has its own dog breed

Odesa has its own breed of dog called Odis. Its name means: Odesa Domestic Ideal Dog. The dog has a very energetic temperament and is cheerful.

Precious beaches

A jewelry hunter can find up to 2 kilograms of jewelry on the beach of Odesa after the season is over.

Own gangster jargon

There were many gangs in the city and they invented their own language so that the police did not understand what they were talking about.

Odesa cuisine

 Odesa's cuisine is a symbiosis of several cuisines: Jewish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Moldovan and Greek.

The world's first fountain of perfume

The world's first Fountain of Perfume was opened in Odesa. Every hour, the fountain sprays the scents of 21 fragrances in turn. 

The history of Odesa is interesting and unusual, capable of captivating and surprising even the most demanding tourists.

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