Attractions of Odesa district

Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Ovidiopol was built in 1823.

It is known that even in Turkish times there was a Cathedral Orthodox Church of Nicholas the Wonderworker here. After the founding of Ovidiopol and the construction of the harbor, a new Nicholas Church was built next to the port, but it soon burned down.

The current Saint Nicholas Cathedral in the style of classicism was built on the same place. The Orthodox Water Rescue Society operated for him. Restoration has been carried out in recent years.

Saint Nicholas Church (or "Red Church") was founded in Biliaivka in 1887. It was consecrated in 1900 in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker.

The church is built of white stone and red brick, which is why it was called the "Red Church" among the people.

In 1937, the Soviet authorities tried to dismantle the building, but the Biliaivka residents defended the church and prevented its destruction. Currently, the church is undergoing repair and restoration work.

Saint Nicholas Church is a monument of local architectural significance. It is used by the Odesa Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Saint Panteleymon monastery is the largest in Odesa. It was created in 1995 on the site of the Athos courtyard, which was founded in Odesa by Greek monks from Athos in 1876 to receive pilgrims who came from Odesa to worship holy places.

Built from stone mined on Mount Athos and brought to Odesa. The five domes of the Saint Panteleymon monastery, unusual moldings and mosaics on the walls reflect a mixture of various architectural movements of the 19th century.

The Saint Panteleymon Cathedral is located on the third floor, representing the holy Mount Athos.

The Old Believer Church of the Reverend Paraskeva of Serbia in Myrne was built in 1874 instead of the old chapel of the Holy Intercession of the Mother of God.

In 1898, the church was extended and enlarged without proper permission, as a result of which the church trustees were sentenced to a fine, which was commuted to arrest.

In 1909, an iron fence was built.

Saint Paul's Church in Odesa is the cathedral of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, the main Protestant church of the city.

In 1824, the foundation of the church was laid according to the project of the architect Franchesko Boffo. The project turned out to be unsuccessful - the half-completed belfry and 10 columns on the front side soon fell. To complete the construction, other architects were involved, and in 1827 Saint Paul's Church was consecrated. It looked quite simple then, in a strict classical style, with a small tower above the altar part.

After the major reconstruction carried out in 1897 by the German architect Herman Shevrembrandt, the architecture and interior decoration changed a lot. Shevrembrandt gave the church features of the Gothic and Romanesque styles, based on the example of German churches. The 50-meter bell tower became the tallest building in Odesa at that time.

After the Second World War, Saint Paul's Church was used for decades as a sports hall and warehouse. In the 1990s, it was returned to the city's Lutheran community and restored.

The Transfiguration Cathedral is the main Orthodox church of Odesa, rebuilt from scratch in 2002 after it was blown up in 1936 by the decision of the Soviet authorities.

Contemporaries were impressed by the magnificence of the interior of the temple. After the reconstruction in 1903, the Transfiguration Cathedral was one of the largest churches in the Russian Empire and could accommodate up to 9,000 people. Its dimensions in plan were 90 by 45 meters, and the height of the belfry was 72 meters.

In 2005, the remains of the governor-general of the Novorossiya region Prince Mykhaylo Vorontsov and his wife were reburied in the restored church.

On the night of July 23, 2023, Russia launched a massive missile attack on the historic center of Odesa, as a result of which the Savior and Transfiguration Cathedral suffered significant destruction. A Russian rocket hit the central altar, as a result of which the cathedral building was partially destroyed, the three lower floors were covered, the interior decoration and icons were significantly damaged, and the service premises of the lower part of the Transfiguration Cathedral were completely destroyed.

The neo-Gothic building on a steep slope at the very beginning of Hoholya Street is called the Shah Palace in Odesa, because it was once rented by the Persian Shah.

The palace was built in 1851-1852 according to the project of the architect Feliks Gonsorovsky for the Polish nobleman Zenona Bzhozovsky, and the last owner was Count Yosyp Shenbek. Part of the premises was rented out.

From 1909 to 1917, the Persian Shah Mohammad Ali, who fled to Odesa from the revolution in Iran, lived in the palace. According to legend, with the beginning of the revolution in Russia, he also left the country, this time abandoning his harem.

During Soviet times, the "Shah Palace" housed the House of Folk Art. For some time, the restored building was occupied by the main office of the Maritime Transport Bank. Currently - the office of the transfer company "Eximnaftoprodukt".

The Museum of Sound in Odesa is an exclusive collection of historical rarities of sound equipment, an exhibition of audio equipment, an exposition of all generations of sound carriers, a club of live music and musicians, a professional sound recording studio, a school of sound engineers and DJs.

The collection was assembled by Odesa sound engineer Vasyl Pinchuk, head of the Odesa regional organization of the All-Ukrainian Union of Sound Engineers.

The exposition presents gramophones and gramophones, radios and tape recorders, vinyl records, film cassettes, audio cassettes, CDs, posters, posters, record labels - with the logos of numerous companies and record factories that changed each other throughout the century.

The "Starokonka" flea market in Odesa arose around the historic Starokinnyi bazaar, which was built back in 1832 for the trade of cattle and horses. It began to turn into a flea market from the mid-1930s.

Today, the Odesa flea market is spread over several blocks between Rozkydaylivska, Rizovska, Oleksandra Kutukaziya and Skisna streets. At "Starokonka" you can find antiques, household utensils, second-hand clothes, collectible coins, old books, various Soviet paraphernalia, etc.

The "Masks" theater in Odesa was opened in 2003 by the famous Odesa comedy troupe "Masks" in the premises of the former "Druzhba" cinema.

Performances of "Masks", based on the rich classical traditions of the Theater Del Arte, the Theater of the Absurd, comedians "Big Dumb", European clowning - are fireworks of fresh unbridled fantasy, embodied in the form of pantomime, choreography, drama, trick, where each actor develops his own unique image.

The theater has a "Masks" cinema, which shows the best arthouse and festival films every day. Creative parties and children's matinees take place in the art cafe "Mana-Mana Restaurant", the interior of which was created by the members of the "Masks Show" troupe.

A monument to the Black Sea Cossacks, who founded the city in 1789, was erected in the center of Biliaivka in 2008 to mark the 219th anniversary of the city.

Biliaivka emerged on the basis of several farms and was named Holovkivka in honor of the kosh court, colonel of the Black Sea Cossack army Anton Holovatiy.

The author of the monument is the famous Odesa sculptor Mykola Khudoliy.

The Church of the Transfiguration in Velykodolynske is an architectural monument of local importance.

The history of the temple begins in the middle of the 19th century. At that time, the German colony of Gross Liebenthal was located on the territory of the village of Velykodolynske. The church building is the former Evangelical-Lutheran German Church in the name of the Apostle Peter. Its construction was started by German colonists in 1845, and in 1846 the church was consecrated. Kirkha was considered an architectural masterpiece. It had octagonal columns, inside was Engelmann's organ.

In 1993, the abandoned church was handed over to the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. As a result of the reconstruction, its appearance has completely changed. In particular, the dome was built and the bell tower was rebuilt.

The Museum of the Ukrainian Book opened in the center of Odesa in August 2021, to mark the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, in the premises of the Mykhaylo Hrushevsky Regional Scientific Library.

The museum was created to preserve and popularize the best examples of Ukrainian book culture and include them in the world artistic context.

The museum's exposition includes copies of the originals of the Zborivsky Peace Treaty of 1649, the Hadyatsky Treaty of 1658, the Pereyaslavsky Articles of 1659, the Hlukhivsky Articles of 1669, the Kolomatsky Articles of 1687, and others.

On August 14, 2023, the Museum of the Ukrainian Book of the Odesa Universal Scientific Library named after Mykhaylo Hrushevsky was damaged as a result of a missile attack by the Russian army.

The Ukrainian Cossacks Development History Museum in Odesa was founded in 2006 by the Interregional Public Organization "Black Sea District. Zaporizhzhian Cossacks". The institution is located in a restored building of the 19th century in the central part of the city, on Peresyp.

In three halls on an area of 120 square meters, there is a permanent exhibition, which presents about 1,000 exhibits and various dioramas.

The "Ukrainian Cossacks Heroic" hall tells about the prerequisites for the emergence of Cossacks, the creation of Zaporizhzhian Sich, the liberation movements of the XVII-XVIII centuries, the destruction of Sich and the creation of the Black Sea Cossacks, the liberation of southern Ukraine from Turkish-Tatar influence, the role of Cossacks in the First and Second World Wars. The dioramas "Assault of the Turkish frigate by the Cossacks", "Settlement on Peresyp", "Assault on the Khadzhybey fortress", "Outpost on Shkodova Hill" are presented. The decoration of the exhibition is a copy of Illya Repin's painting "Zaporizhzhians writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan" by an unknown artist.

In the "Cossack life and works of art" hall, typical Cossack clothing, crockery of the 18th-19th centuries, ancient icons, as well as the works of the sculptor Petro Kravchenko are exhibited. The "Ukrainian room of the 19th Century" hall recreates the life of Ukrainian peasants and displays everyday items, including a collection of embroidered and home-woven towels and shirts from more than a century ago.

Museum employees organize tours of Cossack sites in Odesa, as well as thematic tourist and excursion programs with master classes.

The world-famous artist Valeriy Syrov has been living and working in Biliaivka, near Odesa, for many years.

Valeriy Syrov is a member of the Artists' Union, a participant in national and international exhibitions in Italy, Mexico, Japan and other countries. The master's works are kept in museums of Ukraine and private collections in Canada, Japan, the USA, and European countries. He works in various techniques, genres and styles: watercolor, graphics, monotype, painting, assemblage-collage, the author of a folklore series, where he painted the life of an entire town of fictional fairy-tale characters.

The artist is happy to welcome visitors to his studio and conducts master classes for them. Visitors to the studio have a unique opportunity to take a master class from the artist, discover their creative potential and learn "simple painting" in such techniques as watercolor and monotype.