World heritage status for Odesa

Since January 2023, Unesco has formally recognised Odesa as a world heritage site. It describes the city as a ‘stand-out testimony to multicultural and multi-ethnic traditions of eastern European cities of the 19th century.’

The application was approved following the submission of recognition by President Zelenskyy in October 2022. Additional protective status has been granted as the city is also included in the list of world heritage sites in danger. Unesco’s decision was based on giving Odesa ‘reinforced technical and financial international assistance’.

The area around Odesa has been inhabited since the sixth century BC. The city as we know it today was founded in 1794 by Empress Catherine II to provide protection and access to a warm sea port.

The planning and architectural character of Odesa stems from rapid construction completed during the 19th century, when the benefits of its location became widely recognised. The central core of the city is laid out on a grid system, with tree-lined streets and rectangular blocks. The buildings, primarily stone or brick with render, are often finished in bright colours and ornate decoration. Much of the influence stems from the Italian architects, engineers and builders who moved to the area to build it.

Odesa’s most prominent and significant buildings and places include the port itself, which stretches for several miles, the Opera House and the Odesa Passage to the Palais-Royal House. Below ground are the city’s 200-year-old catacombs, a network of limestone mines that sheltered criminals and, in the second world war, partisans.

‘Odesa, a free city, a world city, a legendary port that has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts, is thus placed under the reinforced protection of the international community,’ says Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay. ‘While the war continues, this inscription embodies our collective determination to ensure that this city, which has always surmounted global upheavals, is preserved from further destruction.’

This article originally appeared in the Institute of Historic Building Conservation’s (IHBC’s) Context 176, published in June 2023. It was written by Louise Priestman, senior conservation architect with Wighton Jagger Shaw Architects.

--Institute of Historic Building Conservation