Destination Ukraine. Trip to Odessa

Odessa city is being the administrative center of Odessa region with its over 1 million inhabitants population (Odessa is the only city in Ukraine which has so many nations (200) living in it) and satellite cities of Illyichevsk and Yuzhny is an important industrial and trading complex.

The city is situated on the Black Sea north-western seashore (The Black Sea and foreign investments make Odessa the 2nd largest resort in Ukraine) on the trading routes from the Central and Northern Europe to the Close East and Asia crossing. Developed highways network, city location near the Danube, the Dniester, the Southern Bug, the Dnieper rivers, as well as large seaport of Odessa, with Odessa international airport and railway create the unique favorable conditions for loads accepting, processing, saving, and transporting and the powerful passenger flows processing.

Catherine the Great founded Odessa in 1794. In 1764 the Empress formed the territories newly acquired in the southwest other empire into a province called New Russia. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91, Don Josef de Ribas (Spanish) stormed the fortress of Yeny-Dunai at Khadzhibei. De Ribas and his close collaborator, a Dutch engineer named Franz de Volan, recommended Khadzhibei as the site for the region's principal port. Its harbor was deep and nearly ice-free. Breakwaters, on the model of those found at Naples and Livorno could be cheaply constructed and would render the harbor safe even for large fleets. The Governor General of New Russia, Prince Platon Zubov one of Catherine's favorites gave decisive support to the latter proposal. In 1794, Catherine gave it her approval. She immediately sent money to de Ribas and de Volan to build a harbor. This new settlement was given the name Odessa.

The unique position of Odessa as a vital trade link between the West and the East, and the growth in importance of Russia's external trade through the Black Sea in the 19th century made way for the establishment of a big trade port center for the development of Odessa into an advanced European city. By its hundredth anniversary (1894), Odessa occupied the 4th place in the Russian Empire in size and economic power - after St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw.

Since Odessa has got a lot of educational establishments, theaters, museums, libraries and other cultural and educational profile establishments, the city is known all over the world and is considered to be both the economical and the cultural center of Ukraine.

Many world-famous musicians, writers and artists lived and worked here, not every city has so rich a cultural biography as Odessa does. The mixture of rich architecture, warm hospitality, and beautiful nature is the secret of Odessa’s popularity, and success as one of the leading Ukrainian resorts.

Moderately continental and comparatively dry climate with a short mild winter and long hot summer (more than 290 sunny days in the year) make Odessa the largest resort on the coast of The Black Sea.

Winter is short and mild with an average temperature of around freezing point. Falling snow and temperatures below minus 5 Celsius are rare. Summer is long and hot with an average temperature of 25 Celsius. Temperatures above 35 Celsius are quite often.

A mild climate, plenty of beaches, and the Black Sea attract thousands of tourists to Odessa throughout the year, earning it the title of "Southern Palmyra". Odessa is the southern gate of the state and the most important Ukrainian seaport. Odessa is also well known for its rich history, beautiful buildings, and inexhaustible humor.