Attractions of Odesa region

The Bolhad Historical and Ethnographic Museum was opened in 1961 on a public basis. In 1968 it received the status of a people`s museum. In 1989 it became the ethnographic department of the Odesa Historical and Local Lore Museum and was named the "Historical and Ethnographic Museum".

The museum's collections reflect the ethnography of the peoples of Southern Ukraine, in particular, the national costumes of the Bulgarians, Gagauz, Albanians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Jews, Romanians, Turks, as well as copper and clay utensils of the late 19th century are presented for viewing. Archaeological finds of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC are also exhibited.

A separate hall is dedicated to the history of the founding of the city of Bolhrad, which is inextricably linked with the name of the plenipotentiary governor of Bessarabiya, governor-general of the Novorossiya Territory, Ivan Inzov. The museum's exposition contains materials dedicated to this military and statesman.

Other sections present old postcards, photographs, souvenirs, jewelry, various tools and other exhibits that introduce the folk crafts and trades of the peoples living in Bessarabiya.

The museum building houses the Center for Bulgarian Culture.

The Bread Museum in Odesa was opened in 2008 on the occasion of its 10th anniversary by "Odeskyi korovai" on the basis of the bakery No. 4. In 2009, the museum received the status of a "People's Museum".

The museum exposition introduces visitors to the history of the development of bread baking in the Odesa region and the history of the creation and operation of the bakery enterprises "Odeskyi korovai".

The museum stores documents, photographs and other materials related to bread baking, about the activities of the bakery factories. Some of the materials are copies from the city archive, private collections of citizens and the local history museum. Thematic stands collect unique materials: decrees of the mayors of Odesa from the end of the 18th century, the Statutes of the bakery enterprise, old recipes and technologies for making bread, documents and photographs from the period of World War II and the post-war period.

The Museum of Bread systematically organizes thematic exhibitions: "Bread of War", "Easter Pastries", "Christmas Baking", etc.

Winery of the Marquise Christophe Lacarin, Chateau Lacarin is located in the middle of vineyards near the famous wine village of Shabo near Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. On this place once was the estate of Swiss winemakers who came in 1822 to revive Bessarabian viticulture and winemaking. Since then, the wine cellars and the utility rooms, which housed the tractor crew under Soviet rule, have been preserved.

Now “Chateau Lacarin” appears as a refuge of peace, far from the worries where nature wins: horses, goats, sheep graze everywhere, dogs run, cats bask in the sun. Marianna Lacarin, Christoph’s wife, prepares wonderful meals using natural products from the farm. And the winemaker himself, like a true Frenchman, enjoys spending time with guests at the table, talking about life, wine and business. And then leads them to his huge wine cellar, where he demonstrates the process of making wine and champagne, carefully making sure that the glasses do not remain empty.

Guests are also offered table d’hote-style lunches, which include a full range of traditional Bessarabian cuisine from local products.

Excursions with tastings are held in the warm season. In the rain and cold season - in a spacious living room with a fireplace decorated with paintings and antiques. Guests can enjoy a variety of wines accompanied by pate, goat cheese and homemade bread.

After the first tasting and communication with the winemaker, guests go to inspect the vineyard by UAZ cabriolet (if the group is small) or in the trailer of the tractor "Belarus". Upon return, guests go down to the wine cellar, where they continue to taste wine directly from the wine tanks. It is here that the Marquis de Lacarin tells and shows how he makes brut nature champagne, using the ancient French technology "Dom Perignon", and guests taste several types of champagne, helping the Marquis in the process of disgorging.

"Chateau Lacarin" is a participant in the project "Wine and Taste Route of Ukrainian Bessarabia".

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 City 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 Museum of Clean Drinking Water is located in the picturesque park of the city of Biliaivka in the premises of the House of Culture. The museum opened in 1985 thanks to the efforts of local enthusiasts - Hryhoriy Lyakhivsky, Albert Ulyanovsky and Fedir Kratofil.

It is in Biliaivka that the Dniester water treatment plant is located, which is the heart of the Odesa water supply system and supplies drinking water to Odesa and other regions of Southern Ukraine.

The exposition of the Museum of Clean Water is located in several halls. The first hall “History of the Dniester Station and the Odesa Water Supply System” tells the story of the construction of the Odesa Water Supply System, to which the Dniester Station supplies water. It contains unique materials from the entire history of the station, which are recorded in numerous photos, magazines and documentation. Visitors can view a mini-replica of the Dniester station, the “slow filter” chambers used here at the beginning of the 19th century, a 100-year-old water receipt, and a model of a steam engine from the legendary “Cuckoo”.

The “Ukrainian Svitlytsya” hall recreates the appearance of a traditional Biliaivka dwelling of past centuries - a reed roof, a stove, and authentic household items.

Among the exhibits in the “Boats of Biliaivka and the World” hall are a prominent Cossack seagull and a local 100-year-old boat on which Biliaivka residents went out onto the river in search of fish. The pride of the exposition is a world map, to which mini-replicas of all the famous national boats of the world are gradually being added (Italian gondola, Indian canoe, Chinese junk, etc.).

The “Gallery of Works of Local Masters” exhibition hall presents an exhibition and sale of works by local artists and sculptors. Here you can see the works of the world-famous artist Valeriy Syrov, who has lived and worked in Biliaivka for many years, sculptor Oleksandr Kovalenko, artists Lyudmila Shumlyanska, Oleksandra Bohachenko, Alla Koshovenko, Yevheniya Dombrova (Chorna), Oksana Serhiyenko. Some works can be purchased.

The "Time Capsule" exhibition hall houses a large collection of watches (over 200 exhibits).

The collection of the Museum of Clean Water in Biliaivka is constantly being expanded with new halls and exhibits. In 2022, a new exhibition “Water in Nature” was opened - an educational and scientific overview of the Dniester ecosystem and the ecological aspects of water.

The country's first Contraband museum was opened in Odesa by businessman and former military man Oleksandr Otdyelnov.

The museum is located in the basement of an old house on Evropeyskaya Street. The museum's exposition contains more than 150 items of confiscated contraband and illustrations of the methods of their illegal import.

In particular, you can see porcelain services with heroin inside, cocaine caches in various objects, car doors stuffed with cigarette packs, a model of an underground passage dug under the state border near Uzhhorod.

Visitors are also introduced to how smugglers used the Odessa catacombs.

ATTENTION! The Contraband Museum ceased operations in 2021.

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 Danube Biosphere 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 Nativity of Holy Virgin 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.

The diorama "Siege of Izmail Fortress" is a section of the Izmail Military History Museum.

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 on the Baraboy River attract the attention of everyone who drives along the Chisinau highway through Vasylivka. This manor house is called the "Wolf's Lair" because of the extraordinary figure of one of its former residents.

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.

The first snail eco-farm in the Odesa region, "Bessarabia Snails", was founded in 2016 in the village of Safyany near Izmail by local entrepreneurs Andriy Shyrenkov and Serhiy Shulha. The farm is located in an ecologically clean area, on the shore of Lake Safyany in the lower reaches of the Danube.

Edible snails of the European breed Helix aspersa Muller are grown here on natural feed, without using any chemicals. A full production cycle is organized here - from eggs to semi-finished products suitable for transportation and ready-made dishes that can be tasted right on the spot.

For guests of the eco-farm "Bessarabia Snails", excursions are held, during which they show the snail brood chamber in an old village house, where snails lay their eggs, as well as premises for breeding, growing and fattening snails.

The farm has a tasting room with a panoramic view of Lake Safyany, where you can taste snail dishes in cold weather. And during the summer heat, large open gazebos are better suited for tastings. If desired, visitors can organize fishing, hold master classes. There is a playground for children.

Ecofarm "Bessarabia Snails" is a participant in the project "Wine and Taste Route of Ukrainian Bessarabia".

The Embroidery Museum was created in her house by Nina Hryshchuk, a resident of the village of Nehrove. The museum's exposition is located in five rooms, which present embroidered paintings by famous artists, towels, napkins, sheets, carpets, and colorful pillows.

Nina Hryshchuk began embroidering at the age of 12. Her mother taught her to embroider. She passed on her skills to her daughter Olha and granddaughter Dariya. The craftswoman is happy to conduct master classes and share embroidery techniques with museum visitors.

The Embroidery Museum of the village of Nehrove is a branch of the Nadezhda Local Lore Museum.

The Novoselivka Village People`s Ethnographic Museum "Casa Perintyaske" was created in the village of Novoselivka in 2010 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the village's founding. It is a structural unit of the municipal institution "Novoselivka Village House of Culture".

The museum's exposition recreates the traditional life of a Moldovan village, since Novoselivka is a center where ethnic Moldovans live harmoniously and with dignity. Many documents and photographs are presented that tell about the history of the village and its prominent personalities, traditional household items, tools, antique products, etc.

Master classes are held on weaving national Moldovan carpets and rugs. Anyone can learn to weave carpets from woolen threads in various techniques and rugs from strips cut from fabric in the "nitsurka" technique on looms installed in the "Casa Perintyaske" museum.