Description of the attraction
The monument to the founders of Odessa, or, more precisely, the monument to Catherine the Great and her associates, is located on Catherine Square in Odessa. The monument was erected in honor of the great empress Catherine II, who is considered the founder of the city and outstanding personalities from her entourage, who brought Odessa to prosperity, creating a real Pearl of the Sea from a small fishing town. For the first time, the monument was erected back in 1900, but after 20 years it was dismantled. And only after almost a century, in 2007, the monument was restored.
The history of the restoration of the monument was ambiguous, as was the role of Catherine II in the development of Ukraine. On the one hand, the Great Empress destroyed the Zaporozhye Sich and was a "real scourge" of the Ukrainian people. But on the other hand, it was by her decree of 1794 that she initiated the construction of a large commercial port on the Black Sea, and thus became the founder of Odessa. And in gratitude for this, the inhabitants of Odessa decided to erect a monument to Catherine II on the square of the same name. When the Bolsheviks came to power in Odessa, the monument was dismantled, they even wanted to melt it down for shells. However, due to chance, the figures remained intact, and for many years they were kept in the basements of the local history museum. And in the place where the monument stood, in 1965 a monument was erected to the rebellious sailors of the battleship Potemkin.
In 2007, it was decided to restore the monument with the support of a certain deputy of the City Council. The Potemkinites were transported to the Customs Square, and the monument to Catherine was erected to its original place. The monument consists almost entirely of the previous fragments; only the head of the empress has been restored. In addition to her, the complex includes figures of de Ribas, de Volan, Grigory Potemkin and Zubov. They all played an important role in the development of the city.
