397 M. STEAMBOATS (agents at Constantinople, see pp. 538, 539; at
Odessa, p. 565). =1.= _North German Lloyd_ (Mediterranean & Levant
Service, RR. 23, 24, 77, 80), to Odessa (and Batum) every other Sun.
evening in 1½ days (48 or 32 marks).—=2.= _Russian Steam Navigation &
Trading Co._: (a) by the direct Alexandria line (p. 491) from
Constantinople Mon. (from Odessa Thurs.) foren., in 29 hrs. (80 or 50
fr.); (b) Two circular lines to Syria and Egypt (p. 466), each every
other Thurs. or Frid. aft. (from Odessa Sat.), in ca. 1½ days (same
fares); (c) Anatolian Line (p. 571) from Constantinople every other
Sat. (from Odessa Mon.) aft., in ca. 1½ days (68 or 42 fr., without
food).—=3.= _Austrian Lloyd_ (Odessa and Nikolayev Line) from
Constantinople every other Sat. aft. viâ Burgas (p. 562) and
Constantza (see above), in 2½ days (fares, 1st class 78 fr., 2nd
class, without meals, 30 fr.). On the return trips (3¼ days) the boats
leave Odessa on Wed. aft. and call at Constantza and Varna (p.
562).—=4.= _Società Nazionale_, Lines X & XI (Genoa to Odessa), from
Constantinople Thurs. aft. (from Odessa Frid. even.), sometimes
calling at Burgas or Constantza, in ca. 1½ days (fare 60 or 47
fr.).—=5.= _Messageries Maritimes_ (Marseilles to Odessa), from
Constantinople Mon. (from Odessa Wed.) in 3 days (60 or 40 fr.).
For Russian money, see p. 565.—Russian time is that of E. Europe (p.
537).
For _Constantinople_ and the voyage through the _Bosporus_, see p. 536
and pp. 557–560.
The direct boats steer to the N.N.E. across the Black Sea (p. 561) all
the way to the _Gulf of Odessa_ (p. xxxiv). Opposite the mouths of the
Danube and about 26 M. from the coast-town of _Kilia_ we sight, on the
left, the _Isle of Serpents_ (Ruman. _Ins. Serpilor_, Greek _Fidonisi_),
a bare islet of limestone rock, with a lighthouse, belonging to Rumania.
The flat coast of Bessarabia, with its numerous lagoons (Russ. _Liman_);
is visible only in clear weather.
On the _Dniester Liman_, or great lagoon of the _Dniester_, lie the
towns of _Akkerman_ (the ancient _Tyras_) and _Ovidiopol_ and the
lighthouse at the mouth of the _Zaregrad_, beyond which we approach the
abrupt edge of the great steppe of S. Russia, which is intersected by
deep defiles known as Ovrági or Bálki. Important landmarks are the
_Kovalevski Tower_, once the water-tower at Lustdorf (p. 568), and the
lighthouses on the promontory of _Bolshoi Fontan_, at the Great Fountain
(p. 568).
Nearing the _Harbour of Odessa_ we have a good view of the whole
sea-front of the city and of the series of villas (datshas) between the
Great Fountain and Cape Lansheron. The steamer passes the _Vorontsóv
Lighthouse_ on the outer mole (p. 566) and then anchors in the
‘quarantine harbour’.
=Odessa.=—ARRIVAL BY SEA. The examination of passports and luggage,
which not even the passenger bound for more distant places escapes,
occupies a considerable time. If the steamer is not berthed at the
quay passengers are landed by small boat (40 copecks, with baggage 50
cop.; in stormy weather 60–75 cop.) at the Platonovsky Mole (Pl. E, 4,
5). Passengers going straight on by railway should take a cab direct
to the main railway-station (70 cop., with pair 1 roub. 40 cop., incl.
luggage; see p. 565).
The =Main Railway Station= (Grande Gare; Pl. D, 7, 8) is the terminus
of through EXPRESS TRAINS from Berlin viâ Oderberg, Cracow, Lemberg,
Podvoloczyska, and Shmerinka (41 hrs.; fare 130 or 82 marks) and viâ
Alexandrovo, Warsaw, Brest, Rovno, Kasatin, and Shmerinka (42 hrs.;
fare 122 marks 95 or 75 marks 90 pfennige), and from Vienna viâ
Oderberg and Podvoloczyska (35½ hrs.).
=Hotels.= *LONDON (Pl. b; D, 5), Nikoláyevsky Boul. 11, with sea-view,
R. from 2½ roub., B. 60 cop., déj. (11–3) 1, D. (3–8) 2 roub.; *ST.
PETERSBURG (Pl. c; D, 4), corner of Yekateríninskaya and Nikoláyevsky
Boul., also with sea-view, R. from 2½, B. ½, déj. (11–1) ¾, D. (1–7)
1¼ roub.; *BRISTOL (Pl. i; D, 5), corner of Púshkinskaya and
Kondratenko Sts., R. 1½–15 roub., B. 60 cop., déj. (11–2) ¾, D. (1–8)
1–2 roub.; *YEVROPÉISKAYA (Pl. d; D, 5), Púshkinskaya 4, commercial,
R. from 1½, B. ½, déj. (11–1) ¾, D. (1–7) 1¼ roub.—HÔT. DE PARIS
(Paríshskaya; Pl. f, D 5), Púshkinskaya 8; HÔT. PASSAGE, cor. of
Deribássovskaya and Preobrashénskaya (Pl. C, 5), etc.
[Illustration: ODESSA]
[Illustration: ODESSA]
=Restaurants= at the *_London_, *_Yevropéiskaya_, *_Bristol_, and _St.
Petersburg_ hotels; also _Alexander Park_ (p. 568), in summer only,
with beautiful view; _Nikoláyevsky Boulevard_ (p. 566; in summer),
déj. 60 cop., D. ¾–1 roub.; _Exchange_ (p. 568), D. 60 cop.; _Bruhns_
(luncheon rooms), Deribássovskaya 16 (in the court).
=Cafés.= _Fanconi_, corner of Yekateríninskaya and Deribássovskaya
(Pl. D, 5; newspapers); _Robinat_, Yekateríninskaya, near Nikoláyevsky
Boul. (Pl. D, 5); _Liebmann_, corner of Preobrashénskaya and
Deribássovskaya (Pl. C, D, 5); _Palais Royal_, Lansherónovskaya (Pl.
D, 5), café-restaurant, D. 50 cop.
=Cabs= (Isvóshtshik). To the Main Railway Station, with luggage, 35
cop.; to or from the Quarantine Harbour, with luggage, 70 cop.; drive
in the town 20, per hour 50, each addit. ½ hr. 25 cop.; to Lansherón
30 cop.; to the Small, to the Middle, and to the Great Fountains 75
cop., 1 roub. 10, 1 roub. 50 cop.—_Carriage and Pair_ (‘phaeton’) cost
double the above mentioned fares.
=Tramways= (horse) from the _Main Railway Station_ (Pl. D, 7) through
Rishelyévskaya, Lansherónovskaya, and Khersónskaya to the _Hospital_
(Pl. B, C, 3); from the _Old Churchyard_ (Pl. C, 8) to a point below
the _Voyénny-Spusk_ (Pl. D, 4), every 5 min.; from corner of
_Preobrashénskaya_ and _Malaya Arnaútskaya_ (Pl. C, 7) to the _Little
Fountain_ (p. 568), every 10 min. in ¾ hr. (with branch to _Arkadia_);
from corner of _Kanátnaya_ and _Skóbelevskaya_ (Pl. E, 6) to
_Lansherón_ (p. 568), every 10 minutes.—=Electric Tramway= from the
_Greek Bazaar_ (Pl. 2; D, 5) to _Lansherón_ (p. 568), every 3
minutes.—=Steam Tramway= from _Kulikóvo Póle_ (Pl. D, 8) to the _Great
Fountain_ (p. 568), every 25 min., in ¾ hr. (15 cop. to the Middle
Fountain, 20 cop. to the Great).
=General Post & Telegraph Office= (Pl. 24; C, 4, 5), Sadóvaya 8 (poste
restante upstairs, to the left). Foreign letters 10, post-cards 4 cop.
=Banks.= _Imperial_ (Pl. 1; D, 6), Shúkovskaya 9 (open 9.30–3);
_Chayés_, Rishelyévskaya; _Crédit Lyonnais_, corner of Rishelyévskaya
and Lansherónovskaya (Pl. D, 5; 10–4).—=Money.= The Russian roubel,
divided into 100 copecks, is worth about 2_s._ 2_d._—MONEY CHANGER.
_Gruber_, Deribássovskaya (Pl. D, 5).—=Booksellers.= _Becker & Wedde_,
_Berndt_, both in Deribássovskaya.
=Sea Baths= at Lansherón (stony), the Fountains, Arkadia, Lustdorf
(more open sea), and other places.
=Consuls.= British Consul-General, _Ch. S. Smith_, Kanatnaya 31.—U. S.
Consul, _J. H. Grout_, same street, No. 33; vice-consul, _A. W.
Smith_.
=Police Headquarters=, Preobrashénskaya 38 (Pl. 23; C, 5).
=Steamboat Agents.= _North German Lloyd_ and _German Levant Line_,
McNabb, Rougier, & Co.; _Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co._,
Lansherónowskaya 5; _Austrian Lloyd_, Regir; _Società Nazionale_,
Vitale & Gallian; _Messageries Maritimes_, C. Muntz.
=Theatres.= _Town Theatre_ (Pl. 29; D, 5), Theatre Square, operas and
dramas; _Sibiryakóv Theatre_ (‘Theatre’; Pl. C, 4), corner of
Khersónskaya and Kónnaya, for operas and plays.—PLEASURE RESORTS.
_Hôt. du Nord_; _Alexander Park_ (p. 568); _Arkadia_ (p. 568); _Little
Fountain_ (p. 568).—_Circus Truzzi_ (Pl. 4; C, 4), also a theatre of
varieties.—_English Club_ (Pl. 6; D, 5).
=English Church=, Remeslennaya 15 (Pl. D, 6, 7).
SIGHTS (one day or less). Nikoláyevsky Boulevard and Monument of
Catharine (p. 567); drive through Yekateríninskaya, Preobrashénskaya,
Deribássovskaya. and Púshkinskaya (as far as the Exchange); Alexander
Park (p. 568) and Lansherón (p. 568).
_Odessa_ (154 ft.), in the province of Khersón, is the chief commercial
and industrial place on the Black Sea and the fourth-largest town of the
Russian Empire (pop. 500,000, including at least 175,000 Jews). It is
the seat of an archbishop of the Greek church and of a modern Russian
University, and it is the headquarters of the 8th army-corps. It lies in
46°28′ N. lat. and 30°45′ E. long, and extends for a distance of about 4
M. over the elevated and treeless steppe. The winter climate is
consequently very severe (mean temperature in Jan. 25° Fahr., July 73°,
annual mean 49°). Its wide and well-paved streets, crossing each other
at right angles and generally planted with trees, make it one of the
most regularly laid out and most handsome cities in Russia. Attractive
parks have been as it were wrested from the barren soil by dint of
untiring perseverance and unstinted care.
The rescript in which Catharine II. ordered the foundation of the town
was dated May, 1794, and its foundation-stone was laid by Admiral J.
de Ribas in August of the same year. The new city, which sprang up on
the site of the small Tartar and Turkish village of _Chadshibéy_, was
probably named after the Sarmatian harbour of _Odessos_ which is said
to have lain in this neighbourhood. From 1817 to 1859 Odessa was a
free harbour. It was greatly improved by the efforts of two of its
governors, the Duc de Richelieu (1803–14) and Prince Vorontsóv
(1823–54). During the Crimean war the town was attacked unsuccessfully
by the British and French fleets in 1854, and the blockade by Turkish
war-ships in 1876–7 was equally fruitless. The excesses of the
revolution of 1905 were nowhere more ghastly than at Odessa.
The =Harbour= (347 acres in area), which in winter has sometimes to be
kept open by ice-breakers, consists of an outer harbour (154 acres) and
five inner basins. Effective protection against all sea-winds is
afforded by a breakwater (1334 yds. long), the quarantine mole (1120
yds. long), and the so-called roadstead mole (710 yds. long), forming a
continuation of the last. The so-called _Quarantine Harbour_ (Pl. E, F,
5) is for foreign vessels; the _New Harbour_ (Pl. E, 4), between the
Platonovsky and New moles, and the _Coal Harbour_ (Pl. D, E, 4) are for
Russian traders; the _Practical Harbour_ (Pl. D, 3, 4) is for coasting
vessels. To the N. of the town, opposite the suburb of _Peressyp_, where
a second breakwater and new docks are projected, lies the _Petroleum
Harbour_.
Opposite the New Mole (Pl. E, 4) is a massive _Flight of Granite Steps_
(193 in number) ascending to the level of the town. It is adjoined by a
wire-rope elevator (3 or 2 cop.).
The finest feature of this part of the town is the *=Nikoláyevsky
Boulevard= (Pl. D, E, 4, 5), a broad street ¼ M. in length, which
stretches along the margin of the plateau above the harbour, commanding
an unimpeded view of the sea. It is bounded on one side by a series of
handsome buildings, on the other by four rows of trees and pleasant
grounds. In spring this is the rendezvous of the fashionable world, just
as the Deribássovskaya (p. 567) is in winter. Towards the N. the houses
end with the _Vorontsóv Palace_. The _Imperial Palace_ (Pl. D, 5) is
also the residence of the general in command of the Odessa Military
District. At the entrance to the Yekateríninskaya a bronze statue of the
_Duc de Richelieu_ (Pl. 32; see above) was erected in 1826.
A little to the S.W., in Catharine Square, rises the _Monument of
Empress Catharine II._ (Pl. 31; D, 4), by Dmítrenko and Popóv (1900).
Round the pedestal bearing the bronze statue of the empress are figures
of Prince Potémkin (in front), Count Súbov (on the right), Col. de
Volant (left), and Admiral J. de Ribas (at the back). The monument is 35
ft. high.
From this point the Yekateríninskaya, one of the main streets of the
city, leads towards the S. Just beyond the Theatre Square (see below) we
turn to the right and follow the DERIBÁSSOVSKAYA (Pl. C, D, 5), a short
street with the finest shops in Odessa, skirting the _Deribássov
Garden_, to the—
SOBÓRNAYA SQUARE (Pl. C, 5), with its pleasure-grounds and fountain. On
the W. side of the square rises the _Cathedral of the Transfiguration_
(Pl. 13), founded in 1794, in length 114, in breadth 46 yds., and 164
ft. high. It has a dome, rising over the centre, and a tower 266 ft.
high. In the interior, to the right of the main entrance, is the tomb of
Prince Vorontsóv (d. 1856; see below).—In the grounds to the N. of the
church is a bronze statue of _Prince Vorontsóv_ (Pl. 22; p. 566), by
Brugger (1863).—On its E. side the square is skirted by the
_Preobrashénskaya_ (Pl. C, D, 7–4), the longest street in the town.
To the N. of the Sobórnaya Square diverges from the last-named street to
the N.W. the Khersónskaya, with the building of the _New Russian
University_ (Pl. 30; C, 4), which was opened in 1865 and contains
archæological, natural history, and other collections (open on Sun.
12–2).—At the N. end of the Torgóvaya (Pl. B, C, 4, 5) is the _Rússov
Picture Gallery_, with modern Russian paintings (shown on application).
At the end of the Sadóvaya is the NEW BAZAAR SQUARE (Pl. C, 4), where a
market is held daily. The _Market Hall_ is overshadowed by a massive
building of 1847, the large _Sryétenskaya_ or _Novobasárnaya Church_
(Pl. 18), with five domes.
We return by Deribássovskaya to the THEATRE SQUARE. The handsome =Town
Theatre= (Pl. 29; D, 5) was erected by the Viennese architects _Fellner_
and _Hellmer_ (1887).
A few paces to the W. of Theatre Square, at the S. end of the
Nikoláyevsky Boulevard (p. 566), rises the TOWN HALL (_Dúma_; Pl. 7, D,
E, 5), an edifice in the Greek style, with a portico of twelve columns.
Adjacent are a fountain with a bronze bust of the poet _Alexander
Púshkin_ (1799–1837; p. 570) and a cannon from the British man-of-war
‘Tiger’, sunk in 1854.
In the square in front of the Dúma is the _Museum of Antiquities_ (Pl.
3; D, 5), with objects found at the Greek colonies on the Black Sea.
From the Dúma the PÚSHKINSKAYA leads to the _Main Railway Station_ (p.
564). To the left, at the corner of the Kondratenko Street, is the
_Exchange_ (Pl. 5; D, 6), a tasteful erection by Bernadazzi (1899).
To the E. of the E. end of the Kondratenko Street, above the Quarantine
Harbour (p. 566), lies the =Alexander Park= (Pl. E, 5, 6; restaurant,
see p. 565), a popular resort where open-air concerts take place in
summer in favourable weather. The _Monument of Alexander II._, a tall
column of labradorite, commemorates a visit of that monarch in 1875.
About ½ M. farther out is _Lansherón_, a sea-bathing place (tramway, see
p. 565).
From Lansherón a series of villas (datshas) and private gardens extends
along the sea to the _Little Fountain_ (tramway), with a
garden-restaurant (band) and good sea-bathing, _Arkadia_ (tramway;
band), the _Middle Fountain_ (steam-tramway, see p. 565; excellent
beach), and the _Great Fountain_ (reached from the terminus of the
steam-tramway by cab, 20–30 cop.), a village with the extensive
_Uspénskiy Monastery_, the goal of an annual pilgrimage. These three
villages take their name from a spring which once supplied Odessa with
water.
Still farther to the S. is the German colony of _Lustdorf_ or _Olgino_,
with vineyards and frequented sea-baths (tramway from the Great Fountain
in 20 min., fare 20 cop.; cab 1½–2 roub.).
See also _Baedeker’s Russland_ or _Baedeker’s Russie_ (not yet
published in English).