Ukraine formally submitted a request for the historic center of Odesa to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the designation is vital to defend Ukraine's cultural legacy from Russia, which he referred to as a terrorist state. RFE/RL takes a look at some of Odesa's landmarks.
Ukraine Urges UNESCO To Add Odesa To World Heritage List
- By RFE/RL
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Founded in 1794 by the Russian Empress Catherine the Great as a military and commercial port for the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, Odesa is the only Ukrainian city that has preserved its 18th- and early 19th-century structures.
The Monument to the Founders of Odesa, also known as the Monument to Empress Catherine the Great, stands above the city square.
The Monument to the Founders of Odesa, also known as the Monument to Empress Catherine the Great, stands above the city square.
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Constructed in 1887, the Odesa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet is the city's oldest theater and one of its most recognizable landmarks.
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Built in the Neo Baroque style by Austrian architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, it features niches of historical composers, as well as Alexander Pushkin -- considered by many to be Russia's greatest poet.
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Another iconic building is the former Abaza Palace, constructed between 1856-1858 by architect Ludwig Otton. The palace is now home to the Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art.
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The historic Russov House was originally built as a tenement house in 1900 by entrepreneur and philanthropist A.P. Russov with the architect L.M. Chernigov and V.I. Schmidt.
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The Odesa Passage was considered the best hotel in southern Russia -- until the Bristol Hotel opened up nearby. It was constructed in the late 19th century in the Art Nouveau style and is currently a shopping arcade and hotel.
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The ceiling of the Odesa Passage.
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Some of the sculptures in the Odesa Passage.
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Constructed between 1898 and 1899, the Bristol Hotel is a mixture of Renaissance Revival and Baroque Revival Victorian with Neoclassical statues. The architects were Alexander Bernadazzi and Adolf Minkus. During the Soviet era, the hotel was renamed Hotel Krasnaya ("red" in Russian) for the red banner of the revolution.
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The Statue of Graf Vorontsov by sculptor Friedrich Brugger was established in 1863 in Sobor Square in honor of Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, field marshal and general-governor of the Novorossiya region.
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The Odesa City Garden, founded by Felix de Ribas in 1803, is the oldest park in the city.
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Atlantes holding the globe on their shoulders by sculptor Tobiya Fishel at the historic Falz-Fein House. The historic building, constructed in 1901 by architect Vlodek in the Art Nouveau style, is another popular attraction.
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A passerby walks past the historic Odesa House of Scientists, an institution established to unite scientists from various scientific institutions in the city in 1923. The building is housed in the former palace of the Counts of Tolstoy. It was taken over by the House of Scientists in 1934.
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The Grand Hotel Moscow was constructed between 1901 and 1904 in the Art Nouveau style by a Moscow businessman.
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The Libman House, built between 1887 and 1888 by architect E.Y. Mesner, was famous for its bakery as well as its café and billiard hall.
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Details at the historic Libman House
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Under the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories are obliged to refrain from taking any deliberate measures that might directly or indirectly damage World Heritage.
