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Founded in 1794 by Katherine the Second with the purpose of establishing a mighty seaport, fortifying southern borders of the Russian Empire, Odessa has surpassed Her Majesty expectations. Soon Odessa has become one of the biggest and wealthiest cities of Russia. By European standards, Odessa is a young city. 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."Attracted by Porto Franco business conditions and benevolent climate, migrants and merchants from European and Asian countries, made a beautiful and prosperous home in Odessa. Since then the city was doomed to flourish, thanks to good business sense, positive and optimistic vision and sharp wit of its inhabitants. Neither bureaucrats, nor wars or famine, even Soviet regime, could not exterminate a special spirit of the city.
Nowadays it is one of the biggest cities and largest seaport of Ukraine. Odessa occupies territory of 160 sq. km. The climate is moderately continental and comparatively dry, with a short mild winter and long hot summer. 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. Since Odessa region is drawn out along the meridian, the climate in the narrow – 30-40 km. – stretch along the coast is practically ideal, with the soft tang of the sea mixing with the scent of the steppes.
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. 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 and emergency numbers.
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