Odessa Catacombs

Entry into the catacombs

The Odessa Catacombs are about 2500 kilometers long tunnel system that extends below Odessa and far into the outskirts.

history

When today's Odessa was laid out in the 19th century, sandstone and limestone were taken from the ground as cheap building materials to build new houses from. Over the decades, these mines were up to 60 meters deep and arranged on three levels, and were driven further and further and now form the catacombs and tunnel systems of Odessa. The catacombs also cut through natural karst cavities. Only a small part of these catacombs can be visited today. In the incompletely mapped system, to which there are a total of around 1000 access points, deaths occur again and again.

museum

About 17 kilometers outside Odessa ( about 25 minutes by taxi on the European route 95 ), near the town of Nerubajske (Нерубайське) is the "Museum of Heroic Partisans ". Here is one of the few openly accessible entrances. Parts of the labyrinth laid out on several levels can be viewed from here. During the Second World War , a group of partisans hid here during the Battle of Odessa . They fought against the Romanian occupation forces and their German supporters. Among other things, the former sick camp, a kitchen and the command post of the Soviet partisans are shown.

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  Entrance to the 'Heroic Partisans' Museum

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  Interior of the museum

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  Partisan kitchen

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  Command post of the Odessa partisans

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  Infirmary of the Odessa partisans

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  Monument in honor of the partisans of Odessa

literature

The Russian writer Valentin Petrovich Katajew published his novel "За власть Советов" ("For the rule of the Soviets", published in German under the title: "In the Catacombs of Odessa") in 1949. In this he describes the period of the occupation of Odessa in World War II from the perspective of the partisans.

Web links

Commons : Odessa Catacombs  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Tourist information of the city of Odessa in English
• Excavations of the Natural History Museum in Kiev , accessed on July 5, 2011.
• The Odessa Catacombs: The Excursions (Russian), accessed August 17, 2011
• "World" article on a catacomb inspection , accessed September 28, 2015.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Odessa Tourism Website ( Memento from April 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 46 ° 32 ′ 48 ″  N , 30 ° 37 ′ 50 ″  E