Odessa's Age of Enlightment
The territory on which the Black Sea port of Odessa stands was seized from the Ottoman Empire in 1792. Russian Empress Catherine the Great founded the city by decree two years later and is commemorated by this grand statue. Influenced by the thoughts of the contemporary Enlightment and emulating her ancestor of almost a century earlier, Peter the Great, Catherine commissioned architects from Naples and France to develop the city. The result is that Odessa has a very Mediterranean and cosmopolitan appearance - its classical architecture reflecting the ideals of the Age of Enlightment. Odessa in that respect makes an interesting comparison with other cities developed in the 18th century, such as Bath, UK; Nancy, Lorraine, France; and its virtual contemporary (also conceived by a Frenchman), Washington DC.
Odessa's Age of Enlightment
The territory on which the Black Sea port of Odessa stands was seized from the Ottoman Empire in 1792. Russian Empress Catherine the Great founded the city by decree two years later and is commemorated by this grand statue. Influenced by the thoughts of the contemporary Enlightment and emulating her ancestor of almost a century earlier, Peter the Great, Catherine commissioned architects from Naples and France to develop the city. The result is that Odessa has a very Mediterranean and cosmopolitan appearance - its classical architecture reflecting the ideals of the Age of Enlightment. Odessa in that respect makes an interesting comparison with other cities developed in the 18th century, such as Bath, UK; Nancy, Lorraine, France; and its virtual contemporary (also conceived by a Frenchman), Washington DC.