Odessa is located between the ancient Greek cities of Tyras and Olbia whereas ancient Odessos was further west along the coast, at present-day Varna, Bulgaria. It was named after the ancient Greek city of Odessos, which was mistakenly believed to have been located here. The settlement was known as Khazhibei (Crimean Tatar: Hacıbey) until in 1795 it was renamed in compliance with the Greek Plan of Catherine the Great. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine about a million people lived in the city and it was a major tourism centre.
Odessa’s oil and chemical processing facilities are connected to the Russian and other European networks by strategic pipelines. Together they represent a major transport hub integrating with railways. Another notable port, Chornomorsk, is located in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odessa. The city of Odessa hosts both the Port of Odessa and Port Yuzhne, a significant oil terminal situated in the city’s suburbs.
Some buildings are built in a mixture of different styles, including Art Nouveau, Renaissance and Classicist. Its historical architecture has a style more Mediterranean than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. In 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odessa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a period of 25 years.ĭuring the 19th century, Odessa was the fourth largest city of Imperial Russia, after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Warsaw. During the Soviet period, it was the most important trading port in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. From 1819 to 1858, Odessa was a free port-a porto-Franco. In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Russian empress Catherine the Great. After a period of Lithuanian Grand Duchy control, Hacibey and surroundings became part of the domain of the Ottomans in 1529 and remained there until the empire’s defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1792. A more recent Tatar settlement was also founded at the location by Hacı I Giray, the Khan of Crimea, in 1440 and was named Hacibey (or Khadjibey) after him. Long before the Tsarist establishment of Odessa, an ancient Greek settlement existed at its location.
Odessa is sometimes called the “pearl of the Black Sea”, the “South Capital” (under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union), “The Humour Capital” and “Southern Palmyra”. The city is also the administrative centre of the Odessa Raion and Odessa Oblast, as well a multiethnic cultural centre. Odessa is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. Long before the Tsarist establishment of Odessa, an ancient Greek settlement existed at its location. Map of Odessa 1850 / Map via Wikimedia Commons
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