Attractions of Odesa region

The main exposition of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Museum of Local Lore is housed in a one-story building in the Empire style, built in the XIX century for the merchant and mayor Mykhaylo Femilidi.

In several halls visitors can get acquainted with the ancient and medieval history of the Northern Black Sea Coast, the history of the city of the XIX and early XX centuries, the nature of the region.

The original objects of life and art of Ancient Greece, numismatic collection, samples of oriental and Russian weapons are presented.

In the next building there is an ethnographic museum, which introduces the traditions of the peoples of the region.

The Greek Church of Saint John the Baptist in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi stands on the high bank of the Dniester estuary.

The first wooden temple was founded in the XIII-XIV centuries by Greek merchants from Trebizond. In its current form, the church was rebuilt in 1478-1480, during the Moldavian period, during the reign of Stephen III the Great. The funds for the construction were collected by the Greek community of the city.

According to legend, in the 14th century, Saint Ioann Suchavskyi, a great martyr who is considered the protector of Moldova, was buried on the territory of the Greek Church. The burial place is marked by a chapel to the right of the church. Later, the relics of the saint were reburied in Suceava in the present territory of Romania.

Despite its modest size, the Church of John the Baptist looks very massive and is a rare type of religious building in the architectural heritage of Ukraine.

The underground church of Ioann of Suchavskyi was built in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi over a stone well, where, according to legend, the Orthodox saint John of Suchavskyi was killed.

In 1330, the Orthodox merchant John from Turkish Trebizond, who traded in Akkerman, refused to convert to Islam, for which he was tortured by order of the governor of the Golden Horde. A chapel was built on John's grave, and the saint's relics were later moved to Moldavian Suceava (now the territory of Romania). Since that time, he is considered the heavenly patron of merchants.

A spring by the sea, which, according to legend, was often visited by Ioann, was named after him. The water from the Saint Ioann's spring is considered healing, and people come from all over for it.

The building was built in the style of classicism (architect Franz Boffo) for the Odesa Commodity Exchange. The main facade is decorated with 12 columns and sculptures. Later, the City Duma (now the Odesa City Council) was located here.

On the square in front of the Duma, an ancient 250-pound trophy cast-iron cannon from the sunken English steam frigate "Tiger" has been installed in memory of the Crimean War.

The monument to Pushkin, created in 1888 at the expense of the townspeople, was installed at the beginning of Prymorsky Boulevard with its back to the Duma (according to legend, this is how the townspeople expressed their attitude to the city authorities, who allocated not a penny from the budget for the monument).

The City Garden in Odesa is the oldest public park in the city and one of the main centers of the city's social life.

This is a small square with an area of ​​about 1.5 hectares at the end of Derybasivska Street, in the block between Derybasivska and Lanzheronivska, not far from Soborna Square. Founded in 1803 by Feliks de Rybas, the brother of the founder of Odesa, Yosyp Derybas, as a private kindergarten on his own plot of land, it was later transferred to the city.

The main decoration of the City Garden is a two-hundred-year-old fountain with a bowl made of Carrara marble. The Summer Theater of the City Philharmonic (1949, architect Rehina Volodymyrska), the music pavilion-rotunda (1943), as well as several original sculptures are located here: the monument to Leonid Utyosov, the monument to Serhiy Utochnik, the sculptures "Lion" and "Lion ", the monument to the "Twelfth Chair".

The Danube floodplains are a unique ecosystem where you can meet 563 species of various plants and more than 200 species of birds.

The territory of the Danube Biosphere Reserve includes delta islands upstream and downstream of the Danube, flowing north along the Danube, delta lakes and a two-kilometer strip of marine water along the coast.

Rafts are available for excursion trips organized by the reserve administration, as well as numerous private carriers. Popular excursions to water lilies, to the "Zero Kilometer" (where the Danube meets the Black Sea) and to the islands of the Old Believers with a treat of Danube fish soup and homemade Novak wine.

The information and tourist center of the Danube Biosphere Reserve is located near the Christmas Church (the so-called "second church"). There is a museum at the visitor center.

Derybasivska is a pedestrian street in the center of Odesa, celebrated by writers and poets. It was named after the first Odesa mayor Osip Derbas (Khose de Ribas).

At the very beginning of the street, there is a monument to Deribas, popularly nicknamed "the grasshopper". The street is built with low-rise buildings of the 19th century, the first floors of which are occupied by numerous shops, restaurants and cafes with outdoor summer areas.

Traditionally, major city events take place on Derybasivska Street, in particular the Humor Parade during the annual "Humorina" celebration on April 1. On other days, the street is open for walking, and there is a brisk trade in paintings and souvenirs. The fair town "Odesa Fair" with wooden houses selling street food and drinks is constantly operating.

There are several interesting sculptures in the park zone of the City Garden: a monument to Leonid Utyosov, a monument to Serhiy Utochnik, sculptures "Lion" and "Lioness", a monument to the "Twelfth Chair".

The Small Mosque is the oldest architectural monument of Izmail (XVI century), one of the few examples in Ukraine of medieval classical Ottoman architecture of its heyday.

The mosque is located near the Turkish fortress of Ishmael, taken in 1790 by Russian troops and the Black Sea Cossacks under the command of Oleksandr Suvorov.

A museum with a diorama "Siege of Izmail Fortress" created by artists Yevhen Danilevsky and Veniamin Sibirsky was opened in the mosque. The 20x8 m canvas depicts the decisive moment of the storming of the fortress.

Odesa cultural and health complex "Nemo" is located in the center of the city, on the beach "Lanzheron ".

Includes a dolphinarium, an oceanarium and a hotel. Opened in 2005 for International Children's Day.

The complex meets international standards, keeping marine mammals meets all conventions and requirements. The large demonstration hall is open in the warm season and can accommodate up to 900 spectators (closed in winter, it can accommodate 600 spectators). Visitors are offered swimming with dolphins, dolphin therapy sessions.

The exposition of the oceanarium consists of two departments. The aquarium features inhabitants of fresh and sea water, more than 100 species of fish and more than 50 species of invertebrates.

The basis of the exotarium was Serhiy Duz's long-term collection, which includes more than 40 species of amphibians and reptiles and more than 60 species of terrestrial invertebrates, as well as one of the best collections of tropical butterflies in Ukraine, which includes more than 1,000 specimens.

The ruins of the once luxurious palace of the Dubecky-Pankeyevs on the shore of the pond attract the attention of everyone who drives along the Chisinau highway through Vasylivka.

The estate in Vasylivka was founded in 1845 by Major General Vasyl Dubetsky. According to some sources, the construction of the palace was completed in 1854. It is possible that the architect was the author of the Potomkin Stairs, Odesa architect Frants Boffo. In terms of beauty, the manor house, as they say, was not inferior to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. It was surrounded by a park with fountains and exotic trees.

At the end of the 19th century, the manor was bought from the descendants of Dubetsky by the Tavry merchant Kostyantyn Pankeyev, who moved to Odesa from Kakhovka. His son Serhiy also lived here, who went down in history as the "Wolf Man", one of the most famous patients of the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

The palace building did not survive the revolution and the Soviet-Ukrainian war, but the ruins are well preserved.

School Ethnographic Museum "Ukrainian House" is located on the territory of Nerubaiske Academic Lyceum No. 1.

In the open air, an authentic Ukrainian mud house is presented here, which corresponds to the life of Ukrainian peasants of the 19th century. The center of the old house is a Ukrainian stove with a traditional painting of the Tree of Life at that time.

The exposition presents embroidered Ukrainian towels, various ceramic products and tableware brought from the east and west of the Odesa region.

Walking through the rooms of the museum, you can see how Ukrainians lived and what they did in the old days, how they spun on manual spinning wheels, how carpets, paths and other household items were made by hand.

The Experimentarium is the first branch of the Odesa Museum of Interesting Science. It opened at the end of January 2024 in the Atrium shopping center after the destruction of the main space of the Museum of Interesting Science on Shevchenko Avenue in the summer of 2023 by a Russian missile strike.

The museum team managed to save almost all of its exhibits, with the exception of special rooms, and after only 7 months, the Museum moved part of its exposition to a new location and continued its work as an Experimentarium with 23 exhibits of the collection. Now everyone who wants to can visit this space in the Atrium shopping center, which helps children to distract themselves from the war for 1.5-2 hours with scientific experiments.

If in other museums you can't even touch the valuable exhibits, then in the Experimentarium you can not only touch, check, feel and see everything in action. Both children and adults can conduct interesting experiments and unusual experiments.

The main task of the Experimentarium is to show schoolchildren and students that even the most difficult tasks and the longest formulas can be exciting, if you just look at them from a different angle.

The Experimentarium aims to teach subjects of the natural cycle: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, mathematics and many other fields of knowledge.

On April 12, 2024, the Museum of Interesting Science resumed its work at a new location in the Primorsky district of Odesa.

The Odesa Football Museum is located in the Chornomorets Stadium complex. Opened in 2012 after the reconstruction of the stadium.

The exposition tells about the history of Odesa football and FC "Chornomorets" since the founding of the club in 1936. Photos of all football players who played for the club, coaches, the first matches with the participation of the Chornomorets team are presented.

The form of players of different periods, boots, goalkeeper gloves, balls, etc. is of the greatest interest.

During the tour you can visit the bowl of the stadium, locker rooms, technical areas, conference hall.

A branch of the Greek Cultural Foundation (Athens) was opened in Odesa in 1994 in a historic building, where in 1814 a secret revolutionary-patriotic organization "Filiki Eteria" was established, which was engaged in preparing the national liberation movement in Greece.

The exposition also demonstrates the activities and life of the Greek colony in Odesa in the pre-revolutionary period.

The Izmail Memorial Park-Museum "Fortress" was created in 1991 to protect the historical territory of the Izmail Fortress of the XVI-XIX centuries and other architectural monuments of the city.

The administration and exhibition halls of the museum are located in an old one-story building in the city center. The exposition consists of one large hall and three rooms, which shows the history of the formation and development of the fortress of Ishmael, reflects the life of the medieval city.

In the courtyard of the museum there is a Park of Miniatures, which exhibits models of objects that took place in Turkish Ishmael in the XVI-XVIII centuries: a general view of the fortress, the Broska Gate, the stone bastion of Tabia, the Red Mosque in the Tatar districts, the Small Mosque diorama "Assault on the fortress of Izmail"), St. Nicholas Church, residential buildings, caravanserai, city fountain. The miniatures are made at a scale of 1:30.

A sightseeing tour of the main sights of the city of Izmail is offered.