Attractions of Odesa region

Ecopark "Kartal" was inaugurated in the Danube region in 2017 at the initiative of the Center for Regional Studies.

The park with an area of ​​about 100 hectares was located on the shore of Lake Kartal near the village of Orlivka, Izmail district. The main goal of the project is to effectively use the floodplains of the Danube - parts of the river valleys that are flooded during floods or floods, as well as the restoration of the water buffalo population, which is rare in Ukraine.

A herd of Asian water buffaloes imported from Transcarpathia was kept here for free grazing. For the convenience of visitors, a wooden path with a total length of 230 meters was laid on the territory of the ecopark.

However, during the abnormal drought of 2020, the exotic animals almost died of starvation, after which the buffaloes were evacuated from Orlivka. Soon, the "Kartal" ecopark, which at that time had managed to become the most famous and most successful tourist facility in the Reni community, also closed down.

The family winery "Kolonist" was founded in Krynychne near Bolhrad in 2005 by the Plachkov family with the aim of producing local premium wines. The winery was named after the Bulgarian colonists who settled this territory at the beginning of the 19th century. The founder and owner of the winery, Ivan Plachkov, is a descendant of this people who turned the scorched steppe into a flourishing and fertile land.

The production of Bessarabian wines was established here using classical technology and modern equipment. The company owns 21 hectares of young vineyards and 60 hectares of vineyards about 35 years old, which are located on the southwestern slopes of the largest freshwater lake in Ukraine - Yalpuh. Due to the sloping slopes, the vineyards receive double sunlight - from the sun and reflected from the surface of the lake, and are also well blown by winds. 33 hectares of vineyards, pruned using the Guyot and Cordon methods, grow on loamy soils rich in minerals with deep limestone deposits. These pruning systems ensure low yields and, combined with a special terroir, produce high-quality grapes.

The quality of production is ensured by the latest equipment from France, Germany and Italy and aging in traditional 100-year-old French oak barrels. The technology was developed by the famous Bordeaux oenologist Olivier Dogue. The Kolonist winery annually produces about 280 thousand bottles of wine of 10 varieties. There is a Wine Center with a tasting room where you can taste wines from the entire line of the "Kolonist" brand: Chardonnay, Sukholymanske, Traminer, Aligote, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet dessert, Cabernet dry, Merlot, Odesa black dry, Odesa black dessert, Odesa black aged.

At the Festival of Young Wine, tourists have the opportunity to join the harvest process, start it barefoot in "sharapans" to incendiary music. During each of the events, tourists have the opportunity to get acquainted with the local traditions of the multinational Danube Bessarabia.

One full day of stay at the winery during the festivals includes: a tour of the territory, vineyards, wine cellars, wine, oil and vinegar production, a tasting room with a fireplace; full board (local Bessarabian cuisine and "Kolonist" wine); during the harvest, the program includes picking grapes yourself and the opportunity to crush grapes with your feet to incendiary music; a professional wine master class and tasting of wines, oils and balsamic vinegar.

The "Kolonist" winery is a participant in the "Wine and Taste Route of Ukrainian Bessarabia" project.

Medieval Akkerman Fortress on the banks of the Dniester estuary in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi - one of the largest and best preserved in Ukraine.

Built on the site of the ancient city of Thira (archeological excavations are underway). Until the 10th century, there were probably fortifications of Slavic tribes of Tiverts and Ulychi.

The building of the Akkerman citadel belongs to the Genoese period of XIII-XIV centuries. The main fortifications of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress were built during the Moldavian rule (XV century). The total length of the walls is 2 km. Height of walls and towers from 5 to 15 m. 26 of 34 towers have survived.

In 1484 the Akkerman fortress came under the rule of Turkey, a mosque was built (the minaret is preserved). In 1789 the town of Akkerman was taken without a fight by the Don Cossacks of Matviy Platov together with the Buz Cossacks sent by Prince Potomkin-Tavriysky.

At present, the Akkerman Fortress architectural complex is managed by the Fortress utility company. An exposition of instruments of torture was opened on the territory, siege weapons were displayed in the yard. Music festivals and historical fencing championships are held.

The Armenian Church of the Assumption of the Virgin (Surb Astvatsatsin) has been preserved since the Middle Ages, when a large Armenian community lived in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.

The temple has a squat shape, because the Muslim authorities forbade the construction of Christian churches higher than mosques. Over the centuries, the Armenian Church was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. Ancient paintings and medieval marble slabs (khachkars) with carved inscriptions have been preserved on the walls, the earliest of which dates back to the 10th century.

The Armenian Church operated until 1940. Until recently, it was the base of an archaeological expedition. In 2013, the church was returned to the Armenian community.

On the territory there is a Sarmatian crypt of the 3rd century AD, made of stone slabs, found on the eastern outskirts of the city.

"Brynzarnya" is located on the territory of the Danube Biosphere Reserve, next to the resort area of ​​the village of Prymorske, not far from the town of Vylkove on the canals in the Danube Delta. It is the Bessarabian center of the global Slow Food movement, which encourages the development of regional cuisines, the use of environmentally friendly local products, and most importantly, the attitude to food as a ritual, when the whole family gathers at the table and all the most important matters are discussed over dinner.

"Brynzarnya" has created both the best conditions for the production of high-quality goat cheese, traditional for this place, and relaxation in an ecologically clean place. Goats are kept on free grazing next to protected areas with clean air and soil without chemicals.

Visitors can enjoy a story about the history of Bessarabia, goat farming, and a tour of the Bryndza Dairy. Tastings take place in the Lypovans (Old Believers') house-museum. After the tasting, guests have the opportunity to purchase local products and souvenirs.

"Brynzarnya" is a participant in the project "Wine and Taste Route of Ukrainian Bessarabia".

The City Garden in Odesa is the oldest public park in the city and one of the main centers of the city's social life.

This is a small square with an area of ​​about 1.5 hectares at the end of Derybasivska Street, in the block between Derybasivska and Lanzheronivska, not far from Soborna Square. Founded in 1803 by Feliks de Rybas, the brother of the founder of Odesa, Yosyp Derybas, as a private kindergarten on his own plot of land, it was later transferred to the city.

The main decoration of the City Garden is a two-hundred-year-old fountain with a bowl made of Carrara marble. The Summer Theater of the City Philharmonic (1949, architect Rehina Volodymyrska), the music pavilion-rotunda (1943), as well as several original sculptures are located here: the monument to Leonid Utyosov, the monument to Serhiy Utochnik, the sculptures "Lion" and "Lion ", the monument to the "Twelfth Chair".

The Danube floodplains are a unique ecosystem where you can meet 563 species of various plants and more than 200 species of birds.

The territory of the Danube Biosphere Reserve includes delta islands upstream and downstream of the Danube, flowing north along the Danube, delta lakes and a two-kilometer strip of marine water along the coast.

Rafts are available for excursion trips organized by the Danube Biosphere reserve administration, as well as numerous private carriers. Popular excursions to water lilies, to the "Zero Kilometer" (where the Danube meets the Black Sea) and to the islands of the Old Believers with a treat of Danube fish soup and homemade Novak wine.

The information and tourist center of the Danube Biosphere Reserve is located near the Nativity of Holy Virgin Church (the so-called "second church"). There is a museum at the visitor center.

Derybasivska is a pedestrian street in the center of Odesa, celebrated by writers and poets. It was named after the first Odesa mayor Osip Derbas (Khose de Ribas).

At the very beginning of the street, there is a monument to Deribas, popularly nicknamed "the grasshopper". The street is built with low-rise buildings of the 19th century, the first floors of which are occupied by numerous shops, restaurants and cafes with outdoor summer areas.

Traditionally, major city events take place on Derybasivska Street, in particular the Humor Parade during the annual "Humorina" celebration on April 1. On other days, the street is open for walking, and there is a brisk trade in paintings and souvenirs. The fair town "Odesa Fair" with wooden houses selling street food and drinks is constantly operating.

There are several interesting sculptures in the park zone of the City Garden: a monument to Leonid Utyosov, a monument to Serhiy Utochnik, sculptures "Lion" and "Lioness", a monument to the "Twelfth Chair".

The Small Mosque is the oldest architectural monument of Izmail (XVI century), one of the few examples in Ukraine of medieval classical Ottoman architecture of its heyday.

The mosque is located near the Turkish fortress of Ishmael, taken in 1790 by Russian troops and the Black Sea Cossacks under the command of Oleksandr Suvorov.

A museum with a diorama "Siege of Izmail Fortress" created by artists Yevhen Danilevsky and Veniamin Sibirsky was opened in the mosque. The 20x8 m canvas depicts the decisive moment of the storming of the fortress.

The diorama "Siege of Izmail Fortress" is a section of the Izmail Military History Museum.

Monument to Armand Emmanuel du Plessi, Duke de Rishelye, who was one of the most popular Odesa mayors.

The Duke de Rishelye, a Frenchman by birth, emigrated to Russia after the Great French Revolution of 1789. In 1790, he participated in the capture of Izmail, in 1803 he was appointed the city of Odesa, and then the governor-general of Novorossiya.

Richelieu began to be called Emmanuel Yosypovych. For him, Odesa received a temporary exemption from taxes and was actively built.

When the Bourbons returned to power in France in 1814, the duke left for his homeland, donating all his property to the Odesa Rishelye Lyceum.

After his death in 1822, fundraising began, and in 1828 a monument to Duke Rishelye was erected. Sculptor Ivan Martos created the duke dressed in a Roman toga with a scroll in his hand and three brass bas-reliefs symbolizing agriculture, trade and justice. Today it is the most famous symbol of Odesa.

Pranksters recommend looking at Duke from the water hatch to the left of the monument. From this angle, the scroll in Duke Rishelye's hand looks very ambiguous.

The Genocide Museum "Territory of Memory" in Odesa opened in 2024 by Odesa Holocaust Research Center. The institution is located in the place of the Central Post Office in the center of the city.

The exposition reveals the history of the appearance of the term genocide, the fate of its authorship by Raphael Lemkin, the essence of the concept of the crime of genocide in international law, the tragic pages of the Holocaust and the history of salvation, the themes of the Armenian and Roma genocide, the Holodomor in Ukraine, the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, the genocides of the 21st century. A separate location is dedicated to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The miniatures represent the railway station from which the Tatars were deported, the powder warehouses where Odesa Jews were burned, the episode of mass shooting and torture in Buch, the destroyed drama theater in Mariupol, Zmeyiny Island and the destruction of the Moscow cruiser.

The modern interactive exhibition space makes extensive use of multimedia digital technologies. A special emotional atmosphere is created with the help of point lighting. The multifunctional museum space includes a library and a discussion platform.

Vasyl Tayirov Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking was established on the outskirts of Odesa in 1905 as an experimental farm "Vinemaking station of Russian winegrowers and winemakers".

The initiator of its creation was the editor of the magazine "Herald of winemaking", an enthusiast of grape culture, Vasyl Tayirov. At the first stage, a small basement was equipped, and a library was assembled. In the period from 1910 to 1912, the construction of a complex of station premises was completed on the banks of the Sukhy Estuary. An experimental vineyard (3 hectares) was established and a seedling grafting workshop was built to develop viticulture issues.

In 1931, the station was reorganized into the Ukrainian Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking. For its 100th anniversary, a museum of grapes and wine was opened, which tells about the main directions of development of the domestic winemaking school.

The exposition presents Vasyl Tayirov's personal belongings, lifetime editions of scientific works, old laboratory equipment, gifts of the institute.

Excursions with tastings are held.

The Old Believer Church of the Kazan Icon of the Holy Virgin was built in Prymorske in 1903 by Old Believers-Lypovans, who form the basis of the village's population.

The church is single-domed, with an attached high bell tower. Much decorated. There is a wonderful iconostasis in the interior.

A monument to the legendary founder of the village of Lypovanske, from which the modern Vylkove originates, was installed on the city pier for the 250th anniversary of the city.

It was founded in the 18th century by Orthodox Old Believers from Lypovans who were hiding from the persecution of the reformed Russian Orthodox Church. It is believed that the traditions of seafaring in Vylkove were laid down by fugitive Zaporozhian Cossacks who also settled here.

The monument of the work of the Odesa sculptor Oleksandr Tokarev depicts a plastered pioneer with a cross in his hands, descending to the shore from a boat. The sculpture is installed near the wharf, from which excursions along the Vylkove canals and the Danube floodplains usually depart.

The Museum "Secrets of Underground Odesa" tells about the famous Odesa catacombs, on which stands the whole city. Their total length is estimated at about 2.5 thousand kilometers.

Most of Odesa's catacombs are underground quarries, in which the building stone rakushnyak, which was used to build most of the city's buildings, was mined. The system of catacombs also includes cavities of natural origin - karst and dilatancy caves.

At various times, the catacombs served as transshipment bases for smugglers, "raspberries" for gangs, places to gather underground, shelters for guerrilla and sabotage units, bomb shelters.

The museum in the dungeons on Moldavanka was established in 2013 by the military-historical club "Military Valor". Entering the catacombs, visitors are immersed in the past of the city. Here you can see the anti-nuclear bunker, go through the flooded part, visit the wild catacombs, visit the guerrilla parking lot and bandit raspberries and more.