Odesa is a city young by the standards of the world—230 years old as of this writing. But her story stretches far beyond the day Catherine the Great decided to plant a port on these shores.
Long before 1794, this coastline saw the footsteps of Cimmerians, Scythians and ancient Slavs. They settled here for one reason: the bay, a body of water that refused to freeze even in the hardest winters. There wasn't much else to keep people; the land was harsh, dry and barren, with a climate too hot in summer and too humid in winter.
In the 7th century BC, the Greeks arrived. By the 9th century AD, the Tiverians and Uliches lived in the area, and the Genoese built a pier in the 13th century, calling it Ginestra—a nod to the gorse plants that clung to the Black Sea steppes. The Tatar tribes swept in later, only to be pushed back by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century. What followed was a brief period of decay under Turkish rule. Khadzhibey, as Odesa was once called, became a backwater.
Catherine the Great sought Black Sea dominance. The Ottoman Empire fortified the coast, but Gudovich's Cossacks stormed Yeni-Dunya in 1789. By 1791, Moscow controlled the land, including Khadzhibey. Catherine ordered a new harbor, and the city was founded in 1794.
The Spanish nobleman José Pascual Domingo de Ribas y Boyons, better known as Joseph Deribas, drove the first piles into the foundation. The rectangular grid of streets was drawn by Franz de Volán, a Flemish military engineer, with a clever design that used the sea breeze to clear the streets of dust. On that day, Sept. 2 (Aug. 22 in the old style), Odesa began to take shape.
Legend says that Catherine named her new city after an ancient Greek colony, Odesa, but in the feminine form. And the switch from Khadzhibey to Odesa wasn't smooth. To solidify the new name, guards would stop travelers at the city gates. If they said they were headed to Khadzhibey, they were whipped and told, "To Odesa! To Odesa!"
European Square (formerly Catherine Square) free of colonial monuments. (© Photo by Nataliia Benet)
Odesa was a wild mix of cultures from the start. The Duke de Richelieu, who took over as governor, transformed the settlement into a thriving port. His hand is visible in every detail—the broad streets, grand squares, and a harbor ready for the world. Under his rule, Greeks, Jews, Italians, Bulgarians and others came, each bringing their customs and languages, creating a melting pot unlike any other in Europe.
So when you walk through Odesa's streets, remember this is a city built by dreamers—some practical, others bold. Every stone speaks of ambition, conquest and a wild, cosmopolitan spirit that still lingers today.
