Odessa (Одесса) Odesa (Одеса) |
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Counterclockwise: monument to Duke de Richelieu, Vorontsov Lighthouse, city garden, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Potemkin Stairs, Square de Richelieu
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Location in Ukraine | |||||
Coordinates: 46°29′8.6″N 30°44′36.4″E / 46.485722°N 30.743444°ECoordinates: 46°29′8.6″N 30°44′36.4″E / 46.485722°N 30.743444°E | |||||
Country | Ukraine | ||||
Oblast | Odessa Oblast | ||||
Municipality | Odessa Municipality | ||||
Port founded | 2 September 1794 | ||||
Government | |||||
• Mayor | Gennady Trukhanov | ||||
Area | |||||
• Total | 236.9 km2 (91.5 sq mi) | ||||
Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) | ||||
Highest elevation | 65 m (213 ft) | ||||
Lowest elevation | −4.2 m (−13.8 ft) | ||||
Population (2015) | |||||
• Total | 1,016,515 | ||||
• Density | 4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi) | ||||
Demonym(s) | English: Ukrainian: одесит, одеситка Russian: одессит, одесситка |
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Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||||
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||
Postal code | 65000–65480 | ||||
Area code(s) | +380 48 | ||||
Website | www.omr.gov.ua/en/ | ||||
1 Metropolitan area population as of 2001. |
Odessa or Odesa (Ukrainian: Оде́са, [oˈdɛsɐ]; Russian: Оде́сса; IPA: [ɐˈdʲesə]) is the third most populous city of Ukraine and a major tourism center, seaport and transportation hub located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. Odessa is also an administrative center of the Odessa Oblast and a multiethnic cultural center. Odessa is sometimes called the "pearl of the Black Sea," the "South Capital" (under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union), and "Southern Palmyra".
The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement, was founded by Hacı I Giray, the Khan of Crimea, in 1440 and originally named after him as "Hacıbey". After a period of Lithuanian control, it passed into the domain of the Ottoman Sultan in 1529 and remained in Ottoman hands until the Ottoman Empire's defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1792.
In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Empress Catherine the Great. From 1819 to 1858, Odessa was a free port. During the Soviet period it was the most important port of trade in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. On 1 January 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odessa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a period of 25 years.