Monument to the founders of Odessa
In 1990, a monument to the founders of Odessa was erected on Yekaterininskaya Square in Odessa on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the city in memory of their significant contribution to the development of the city. Sculptures of Catherine II, de Volan, de Ribas, Zubov Potemkin are installed on the monument.
In 1794, Catherine II, by her rescript, authorized the construction of a port and a city in the town of Hadjibeya. To do this, Vice Admiral Osip de Ribas had to convince the Empress for a long time of the expediency of building a new port to protect the territory in a possible war with the Turks. The plan of the port and the city was drawn up under the leadership of Franz de Vollan and subsequently implemented. In 1795, the city was renamed and it got its current name Odessa. According to the main version, it was named after the ancient Greek colony of Odessos, which used to be located in these parts.
In 1890, the city council 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, the decision was made and a competition was announced for the best monument design. The competition was won by the project of the architect from Odessa Y. 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 was 57,000 rubles, the model of the monument was made by sculpture professor M. P. Popov, the foundation was built and the figures were cast by sculptors B. V. Eduards and Leopold Mentone. After the revolution, the monument to the founders of Odessa was dismantled and taken to the Museum of local lore, and then the sculpture of the Empress was severely damaged. In 1865, a monument to the sailors of the battleship Potemkin was erected at this place.
It was decided to restore the monument to its former location 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 Leonid Kuchma stopped all work. In 2007, the City Council put forward a project to restore the historical appearance of Catherine Square, according to which the monument to the founders of Odessa should be returned to the place of the monument to the Potemkinites. Photographs of those times, historical documents, as well as a sketch by Y.M. Dmitrenko, which was somewhat different from the erected monument, were used for restoration.
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.
