Monument to the founders of Odessa
In 1990, in Odessa on Yekaterininsky Square, on the 100th anniversary of the city, a monument was erected to the founders of Odessa in memory of their significant contribution to the development of the city. The monument houses sculptures of Catherine II, de Volana, de Ribas, Zubov Potemkin.
In 1794, Catherine II, with her respript, authorized the construction of the port and city in the town of Hajibey. To this end, Vice Admiral Osip de Ribas had to convince the empress for a long time of the advisability of building a new port to protect the territory in a possible war with the Turks. The port and city plan was drawn up under the direction of Franz de Vollan and was subsequently implemented. In 1795, the city was renamed and it got its current name Odessa. According to the main version, he was named after the ancient Greek colony of Odessa, which used to be located in these parts.
In 1890, the city government held a meeting on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city, at which K. M. Minchiaki proposed to erect a monument to the founders of the city. A year later, a decision was made and a competition for the best design of the monument was announced. The competition was won by the architect's project from Odessa Yu. M. Dmitrenko. On the day of the celebration of the anniversary of the city - on August 22, 1894, the monument was solemnly laid. The cost of the project amounted to 57,000 rubles, the model of the monument was made by the professor of sculpture M. P. Popov, built the foundation and cast the figures sculptor B. AT. Eduards and Leopold Menzion. After the revolution, the monument to the founders of Odessa was dismantled and taken to the museum of local lore, then the sculpture of the empress was severely damaged. In 1865, a monument to the sailors of the battleship "Potemkin" was erected on this site".
They decided to restore the monument in its former place during the collapse of the Soviet Union, but this did not lead to anything. In 1995, the Odessa City Council decided to restore the monument, but President of Ukraine L. D. Kuchma stopped all the work. In 2007, a project was put forward at the City Council to restore the historical appearance of Catherine Square, according to which the founders of Odessa should be returned to the site of the monument. For restoration, they used photographs of those times, historical documents, as well as the sketch of Yu.M. Dmitrenko, which was somewhat different from the erected monument.
On October 27, 2007, the monument was inaugurated. After that, Catherine Square became one of the main attractions of the city. By the way, in 1901, at the Paris Architectural Exhibition, Catherine Square was recognized as one of the best in Europe.
