Odessa catacombs: the secret of underground Odessa

Odessa catacombs in their popularity can be compared with the Potemkin Stairs and Deribassovskaya Street. In the 1930s, XX century. there was a sharp need for building materials for the construction of infrastructure in Odessa. It was decided to extract limestone, which was in abundance near Odessa. Over 30 years, the catacombs gradually increased and as a result, the total length of the tunnels in the 90s amounted to more than 2.5 thousand km.

The catacomb system includes various cavities, for example, mysterious caves, bunkers and long tunnels. The study of Odessa catacombs began in 1846, and continues to this day. In Soviet times, almost 50 catacombs were examined and 45 objects were photographed. On the walls in underground caves were found unusual drawings that are more than 100 years old. The miners made these images using red ocher and green chalk.

During the Second World War, Odessa catacombs served as a shelter for Soviet soldiers, in particular partisans. There are many legends about the catacombs, the bottom of which says: in the quarries near Nerubaysky there is a short man, covered with wool, who feeds on bats. According to the second legend, in the 30-40s of the last century, a resident of Nerubaysky, the captain of a cargo ship, saved a Portuguese ship that was in distress off the coast of Spain. The authorities thanked the captain by handing him a model of the ship, which was poured out of pure gold. The ship was hidden in one of the unknown parts of the catacombs. With the outbreak of World War II, the captain went to the front, where he died. He could not pick up the treasure.

In Odessa, runs the thematic museum "Secrets of the underground Odessa." Museum visitors can visit the underground labyrinth system of the quarry, see where they mined stone for the construction of Odessa.

In our opinion - a great place for excursions. Odessa catacombs have an extremely mysterious and interesting history.