Odessa catacombs. Fascinating excursions in Odessa

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Who does not know Odessa with its inimitable humor, the famous Privoz market, the famous Moldavian woman and unusually beautiful nature? But in addition to these sights and bright characters, catacombs, the world's largest underground labyrinths, are of great interest to tourists.

Hero City - Odessa

This is the administrative center of the Odessa region, the largest port city on the Black Sea, a major cultural, industrial, scientific and resort center. In Odessa there is a junction of railways and highways. It ranks fourth in Ukraine in terms of population.

The city got its name in the 18th century. It was named after the colony of Odessos, located in the northern Black Sea region. It existed not far from the Odessa Bay.

This bright and sunny city is located on the shores of the Odessa Bay. Most of it, including the historical center, is located on a plain that rises 50 meters above the sea.

There are no sources of drinking water on the territory of Odessa and its immediate environs, so the city is supplied with water from the Dniester. The water pipeline stretched for forty kilometers through the water intake, which is located in the Belyaevka area. Not far from the city there are three large estuaries - Sukhoi, Kuyalnitsky, Khadzhibey.

During the Second World War, the defenders heroically defended the city for 73 days (from the beginning of August 1941). From the land, Odessa was defended by the Primorsky Army, from the sea it was covered by the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, supported by coastal artillery. The enemy, whose forces were five times superior to ours, broke through to the city from land on August 3. After the withdrawal of the troops of the Southern Front, Odessa remained behind enemy lines.

On August 20, the enemy army, consisting of 7 brigades and 17 divisions, launched a massive assault on the city. For a month, Soviet troops and the urban population steadfastly repulsed the powerful attacks of the enemy. The army managed to stop him at the main line, 10 kilometers from Odessa. 38 thousand citizens moved to the catacombs. They were determined to defend the beautiful Odessa.

Their forces delivered 45 kilometers of wire fences and gouges, dug 250 km of ditches, installed more than 40 thousand mines. These hardest works were carried out daily by 10-12 thousand exhausted and hungry women and teenagers. They built 250 barricades.

Crawler tractors were converted into tanks at Odessa factories, five armored trains, more than two thousand flamethrowers and mortars, 300 thousand grenades were manufactured.

On April 10, 1944, Soviet troops liberated the city. 30 thousand inhabitants of Odessa received medals "For the Defense of Odessa".

May 8, 1965 received the title of "Hero City"Odessa.

What are catacombs

These are former quarries that appeared after the extraction of limestone (shell rock). In Odessa, they have a huge length - more than 2500 kilometers. Considering that about 1700 km of them have been studied, it can be assumed that the map of the Odessa catacombs is not very accurate.

They stretch under the entire city, as well as under the villages of Usatovo, Krivaya Balka, Kuyalnik, Nerubaiskoye. There are a lot of entrances to the underground labyrinth, some are in the courtyards of houses, however, most of them are closed today.

Shell rock has always been used in the southern steppes of Ukraine for the construction of residential buildings, as it is an affordable and durable material. The first mines appeared in these parts at the beginning of the 19th century, when mass building of the city began. Shell rock was mined using scrap and special saws. First, horizontal adits were laid, and then deep wells (up to 40 meters) were dug. It was very hard work - the stone had to be carried up by hand, using a stretcher or using wooden wheelbarrows. Horses began to be used only in 1874.

Origin of the catacombs

These giant underground labyrinths are mostly (up to 97%) abandoned quarries. In addition, the dungeon system includes voids of natural origin - dilatation and karst caves, construction and exploration pits, bunkers, basements, storm sewers and other technical structures.

Odessa catacombs: history

Stone miningwas carried out so intensively that already at the end of the 19th century, the network of underground labyrinths began to cause inconvenience to the city. After the revolution of 1917, due to the collapse of many buildings, it was forbidden to extract shell rock within the city.

During the war

During the Second World War, the Odessa catacombs became a shelter for partisans. Unfortunately, they were also a trap for them. The story of some of the partisan detachments that were sent to the dungeons is tragic.

Odessa catacombs during the war were more convenient than traditional trenches, because they were ready-made places to rest between battles. It is hard to imagine what our warriors experienced in the dark labyrinths located under the city, which suffered from the onslaught of the enemy. Undoubtedly, the catacombs helped the defenders of Odessa defend the city.

According to veterans, these unique underground labyrinths are witnesses of military events, about which today we know, probably, very little. If these walls could talk, they would tell about the fortitude and courage of the defenders of the city. Almost all tourists visit the Odessa catacombs. Tours here are conducted by experienced and knowledgeable specialists who can tell a lot of interesting things.

Secrets of the catacombs

The history of these structures has not yet been fully revealed. It is known for certain that some shell rock workings are much older than the city itself.

Underground there are military bunkers and drainage tunnels. All of them form the Odessa catacombs. Not in labyrinthsservice dogs follow. Only the dog that grew up in it can leave the dungeon, and the rest are completely helpless.

Without knowing the plan of the labyrinths, getting out of them is almost impossible. A person who got here without food and light is doomed to a terrible death.

Many secrets of the Odessa catacombs are associated with the presence here of smugglers, homeless people and bandits who used them as shelter. Special operations carried out by the police, the Cheka, and then the police, usually ended in vain - for the criminal world, this place has become a home. Only traces of the life of these people were found here: clothes, human remains and numerous inscriptions on the walls, from which it breathes desperate hopelessness and fear.

According to statistics, a large rescue expedition is carried out in Odessa every six months. But there was not a single case when the search was unsuccessful, with the exception of the story when in 1975 student Alexei was lost in a local working. They searched for him for about a month, more than a hundred people were involved. People went to every corner, but no one could be found.

A typical rescue operation lasts approximately 36 hours. In complete darkness, with strong humidity and a temperature of +14 degrees, a person loses the sense of time. Interestingly, many who managed to be rescued after a day or two claimed to have sat in the labyrinth for no more than two hours. They are usually found at the bottoms, in dead ends where they fall in the dark, following hallucinations: women's voices, the sound of water, a feeling of freshair.

Today

In peacetime, the Odessa catacombs play a certain role in the life of the city. In some galleries, which are separated from the main labyrinth, there are warehouses, cellars for aging and storing cognac, communication points.

Tourists who visited the gallery, located on the street. Korolenko, were able to see the secret passage that connected the palace of the Grand Duchess Pototskaya with the sea coast. In with. Nerubaiskoye is a unique museum of partisan glory.

Scientific value

The catacombs of Odessa are of great scientific importance. For several decades, scientists have been collecting ecological, geological, historical and other information in the underground. For example, it became known that the longest gallery (14.6 km) is located under the Victory Park. The oldest, which dates back to 1812, is located under Bunin Street. The oldest Nordman cave was discovered in Nerubayskoye, in which the bones of hundreds of bears that lived here tens of thousands of years ago were found.