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City, capital of Odessa region, in Ukraine, a
port on Odessa Bay of the Black Sea. Territory 160 square km.
Population 1,122,000
(1995). The third largest Ukrainian
city after Kiev and Kharkov, a major industrial, cultural, scientific,
and resort center in the Northern Black Sea region. Russians, Ukrainians, and
Jews predominate in Odessa's cosmopolitan population.
Distances between Odessa and
Other Ukrainian Cities
Moderately continental and comparatively
dry. There are more than 290 sunny days in the year.
Winter is short and mild with
an average temperature of around freezing point. Falling snow and temperatures
below minus 10 Celsius are rare.
Summer is long
and hot with an average temperature of 25 Celsius. Temperatures above 35 Celsius
are quite often.
Weather
in Odessa
By European standards, Odessa is a young
city. It was founded in 1794 by Catherine the
Great, when the Russian Queen
decided her empire could use a port on the Black
Sea. A colony from
ancient Greece may have once occupied the site of the city, and
Crimean Tatars traded there in the 14th century.
Odessa has quickly developed into a center of international
trade, industry, and science. By its hundredth anniversary (1894), Odessa occupied the 4th place in the Russian Empire in
size and economic power - after St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw. The city
suffered heavy damage during World War II, and many residents
were killed by the occupying German and Romanian armies. The extraction
of shell-limestone to construct those
buildings resulted in Odessa's labyrinthine
underground, from which partisans operated
during World War II.
Nowadays, Odessa is home to 1.1 million
people, and growing. Its development as a
seacoast resort community has contributed
to a population that has almost tripled over the last
hundred years.
A mild climate, plenty of beaches, and the
Black Sea attract thousands of tourists to
Odessa throughout the year, earning it the
title of "Southern Palmira."
More
information about history of Odessa
Odessa is the largest seaport
of Ukraine as well as an important rail junction
and highway hub. Odessa is a major industrial center. Grain, sugar, machinery, coal, petroleum
products, cement, metals, jute, and timber are the chief items of
trade at the port of Odessa, which is the leading Ukrainian Black
Sea port. Odessa is also a naval base and the home port of a
fishing and an Antarctic whaling fleet. The city's industries
include shipbuilding, oil refining, machine building,
metalworking, food processing, and the manufacture of chemicals,
machine tools, clothing, and products made of wood, jute, and
silk. The relatively mild climate of Odessa draws visitors to the
city’s many resorts. Large health resorts are located nearby.
More
information about economics of Odessa
Odessans are proud of their architectural
and cultural heritage.
Odessa has a university (est. 1865), an opera and ballet theater
(1809), a historical museum (1825), a municipal library (1830),
an astronomical observatory (1871), an opera house (1883–87),
and a picture gallery (1898), other museums and theaters. Besides
a university, students are attracted to several institutions of
higher education in the city, including medical schools, a marine
academy, and a music conservatory.
Famous men such as Mechnikov
(medicine), Bunin (writer),
and Pushkin (poet) made their home here at
one time or another. Local buildings
were done up in a variety of styles ranging from
Renaissance to Art Nouveau.
New
Architecture of Odessa
Odessa
possesses plenty of attractions - sites to see, fine arts, museums,
stores, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, casinos, etc. Here you can
find information about them,
together with other useful
information about city particularities, transportation, driving,
communications, safety and emergency numbers.
Odessa
Tourist Guide
Odessa
has a variety of different hotels which range between one and four stars. Here you can view
information about Odessa hotels.
Information
about accommodation in Odessa
Odessa has regular air connections with Vienna (Austrian Airlines and Air Ukraine
International, daily), Tel Aviv (ElAl), Istanbul (Turkey Airlines), Athens, Aleppo, Larnaka, Moscow,
Kiev, Kishineu, Yerevan, Tiflis as well as with some
other cities of Europe and Asia.
Trains connect Odessa
with Warsaw, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Berlin,
Moscow,
Saint–Petersburg, major cities of Ukraine and many
other cities of the former Soviet Union.
Buses go between Odessa
and Germany (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich), Greece (Thessalonica, Athens),
Bulgaria (Varna, Sophia) as well as major cities in Ukraine.
There is regular passenger ship
transportation between Odessa and Istanbul, Haifa and Varna.
Tickets
to and from Odessa
Only
credit cards that Odessa and other Ukrainian banks operate with are Visa,
MasterCard and EuroCard. There are no problems with cash exchange in Odessa
In addition, there are several ATMs in Odessa.
More
information about money and currency exchange in Odessa
Here you can find important
information for traveling to Ukraine.
Information about
Ukraine
Rules for Foreigners'
Stay in Ukraine
Ukraine Travel Information
from US State Department
Ukrainian Visa
Information
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