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History of Deribasovskaya Street

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Deribasovskaya at night from artorb.com History of De Ribas and Deribasovskaya Street Deribasovskaya was named after Frenchman Iosiph Mihailovich De Ribas. De Ribas, along with Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov fought to liberate the Odessa region and was a central participant in the foundation of the city. De Ribas was only twenty in 1769 when on the way back from Ireland he met Count Orlov. Clever and well bred, De Ribas made a good impression on the count and he invited him to Russia. In 1772 De Ribas enlisted in a volunteer in the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In 1780 he was transferred to the army as a commander of a regiment. (Click here for more information on De Ribas) Before the assault on the Ottoman fortress of Izmail, four founders of Odessa met onboard the ship: Iosiph Mihailovich De Ribas Duke Armand Emmanual Richelieu, Odessa's first mayor Count Alexander Fiodorovich Langeron, Odessa's second mayor Franz De Volan, Dutch engineer who assisted De Ribas in the overseeing of the building of Odessa, Another plaque honoring De Volan is found at the middle of the Langeronovskaya stairs Late on the night of September 14, 1789 the castle Eni-Duni was captured by De Ribas's regiment with the help of Ukrainian Cossacks. Spanish by origin, De Ribas always kept his Naples citizenship while serving in Russia. De Ribas was a firm supporter of Odessa. No foreign specialist were used in the construction of Odessa/Khadjibei, and all work was entrusted to Russians. De Ribas created special building plots, dividing Odessa region into 30,7000 plots, for special towns and provinces. De Volan oversaw the distribution. To develop the land quickly it was declared that those who settled in Odessa would be free from taxes and be given a loan to build a house. De Ribas first lived in a small house on Polskaya Street (Польская). He later built a two story home with a garden. This street which the house was built on is now modern day Deribasovskaya. In 1798 De Ribas moved to St. Petersburg, taking the job as the director of the Forestry Department. De Ribas died in December 1800. In 2005-2006 Odessa city authorities negotiated with the city authorities of Saint Petersburg about transferring the grave of Joseph de ribas to Odessa; however the Russian side disagreed.[1] Pushkin lived on Deribasovskaya for a short time at Reno hotel, dined at Otton's restaurant, and frequently visited Richelieu institute, Deribasovskaya 16. The Deribasovskaya Street is mentioned in books by writers Katayev, Kucher, Simonov, and Smolich, Tolstoy, Yanovsky.

De Ribas monument

De Ribas monument

Down a slight hill, at the eastern start of Deribasovskaya Street is a bronze jovial life sized statue of De Ribas . Deribasovskaya Street is named after him.

[edit] Geft Memorial plaque Nikolai Arturovich Geft Memorial plaque Deribasovskaya 3 (Дерибасовская 3) The plaque explains: 1911-1944 In this building Nikolai Arturovich Geft, a legendary intelligence scout, lived from 1943 to 1944. Nikolai Arturovich Geft was a Soviet reconnaissance officer who secretly returned to Odessa in 1943. Geft befriended some of the Germans at the ship repair yard and became an engineer. Geft helped sabotage many of the ships as they were being repaired. His group distributed leaflets and helped free partisans from Nazi prisons. As the Nazi's retreated Geft's group prevented the Nazi's from destroying the shipyard. Geft's group was never discovered. In August 1944 Geft died in action in Poland (There is a memorial plaque where Geft studied at Lva Tolstovo 9 (Льва Толстово))

Doctor Zamenhof Statue

Deribasovskaya 3 (Дерибасовская 3)

Doctor Ludwig Zamenhof Statue

Doctor Ludwig Zamenhof was the inventor of the international language Esperanto. A sculptor and admirer of Zamenhof who lived in this apartment created this statue. Zamenhof created a language which was supposed to unite the people of the world. The residents take pride in this statue, touching up the paint, and claim with pride that their courtyard is the only one in the world with a statue of Zamenhof in it.^[2]

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Zamenhof Wikipedia on L. Zamenhof
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto Wikipedia on Esperanto

[edit] Lenin's brother's home Lenin's family Deribasovskaya 4 (Дерибасовская 4) Lenin's brother, Dmitri Lenin (Dmitry Lenin) lived in this building from 1901 to 1903. He was active in the communist party and a medical officer. He helped smuggle in from abroad and distribute his brother's newspaper "Iskra" in Southern Ukraine.

Kandinsky plaque

Deribasovskaya 17

Memorial plaque on Ukranska Lasunka Restaurant (Ласунка)
Deribasovskaya 17 (Дерибасовская)
(Corner of Rishelevskaya)

The memorial plaque reads:

In this building the artist Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky lived in 1901.

• Wikipedia on Wassily Kandinsky (Russian: Василий Кандинский): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandinsky

Former Richelieu Institute

Deribasovskaya 16 courtyard

Richelieu Institute in the 1850's

Deribasovskaya 16

Deribasovskaya 16 (Дерибасовская)

This two story building, formerly the Richelieu Institute was founded in 1817. Pushkin visited often. His poetry, officially banned in the country for its political overtones, was hand copied and passed from student to student of the institute. Today it is several nondescript stores. The institue was named after Odessa's first mayor, Duke Armand Emmanual Richelieu.

Dmitry plaque

On the building is a memorial plaque: Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev taught here, in Odessa Richelieu Liceum, in 1855-1856. In Odessa Mendeleev worked on the relationships between the crystal forms and the chemical composition of substances. Later he worked at the University of Saint Petersburg (1867-90) as a chemistry professor, a post that he resigned from in protest against the administration's treatment of student petitions for reform. Mendeleev greatest contribution to chemistry was that he arranged the chemical elements on the periodical table of elements, based on their atomic weights. He also predicted the existence of three elements before scientists discovered them.

Mickiewicz plaque

The second memorial plaque states:

In this building great Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz lived in 1825.

Adam Mickiewicz (Belarusian: Адам Міцкевіч) was exiled from Poland for his participation in revolutionary activities. He was originally supposed to teach in the institute, but at first there was no teaching vacancy, and then the czarist authorities decided he should not remain in the south.

• Wikipedia on Mickiewicz: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Mickiewicz

Odessa Catholic Church

Odessa Catholic Church

Catholic Church
Gavannaya 5 (Гаванная 5)
(Just North of Deribasovskaya (Дерибасовская) and Dom Kenegy book store)
Tel: 23-89-90

More photos of Deribasovskaya

Stairs on the right of De Ribas monument	Stairs	Stairs up from Polsky street (Польский спуск)
	Delapitated park along Polsky/Deribasovskaya stairs	Catholic church	Catholic church
Catholic church mural	Corner of Gavannaya and Mayakovskovo	Plaque at corner of Gavannaya and Mayakovskovo	Deribasovskaya 3 with Geft plaque
Doctor Ludwig Zamenhof Statue from Odessa.com	Zamenhof Statue	Zamenhof Statue	Zamenhof Statue
Zamenhof Statue	Zamenhof Statue	State bank Deribasovskaya 8 (Дерибасовская 8) This bank is on the south side corner of Deribasovskaya and Rishelevskaya (Ришельевская)	Roof of Black Sea Fishing Association "Antarktika" Deribasovskaya 14 (Дерибасовская 14)(North side corner of Ekaterininskaya street (Екатерининская))
Sign for Black Sea Fishing Association "Antarktika"	Deribasovskaya 14	Deribasovskaya 14	Deribasovskaya 16
Deribasovskaya 16	Deribasovskaya 16 courtyard	Deribasovskaya 16	Deribasovskaya 16
Deribasovskaya 17 Kandinsky plaque	Deribasovskaya 18 courtyard	Deribasovskaya 18	Shopping center Evropa next to Deribasovskaya Mcdonalds. In the basement is a Grocery Store.
Gavannaya 10 plaque	Gavannaya 10	2002 Soviet-era Painting inside Antarktika, now removed	2002 Boat structure on Deribasovskaya, now removed
Pedestrian Zone for Deribasovskaya Street at Rishelevskaya Street	Ornamental rocks blocking street traffic at Deribasovskaya Street and Rishelevskaya Street

Notes

1. ^ ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Рибас,_Хосе_де
2. ^ Karakina, Yelena; Tatyana Samoilova, Anna Ishchenko (2004). Touring Odessa. BDRUK publishers. ISBN 966-8137-01-9 . p. 25-26

External links

• Deribasovskaya panorama [Flash required]

Continue your virtual tour by walking to Grecheskaya Square and book store