UKRAINE
ODESSA - THE HARBOUR CITY
the largest harbour of ukraine is odessa (also spellt odesa), located on the north-western shore of the black sea. it was founded 1794 by the russian empress catherine the great. both freight and cruise travel are handled. in the 19th century it florished considerably, and a lot of 'european' architecture was set up.the most-known and most-visited feature are the "potemkin stairs", which were built 1837-1841 and are 142 m long, meant to be an "impressive entry" from the harbour to the city center. a film about the revolution in russia by sergei eisenstein, 1925, focussed on the battleship potemkin, was in parts filmed right there.
many of the empire-style buildings show the city's (former) wealth - and contain a lot of notable sculptures.
ODESSA - THE MUSIC CITY
actually odessa is more than a harbour city - it's a place of culture, and above all, of music. for example, the art museum presents paintings of musicians (even a clarinet player). and the hotel, which has a set of lovely wallpaintings, includes a guitarist.however, the grandest thing is of course the opera house, opened 1887. inside is certainly opulent architecture, and regarding the music sound this venue is rated as one of the best theatres in the world! if doubting - an outstanding presentation of the eminent opera "carmen" (story: merimee; music: bizet) made clear why this is such a famous place.
