ODESSA,Russian Port City,Dnieper_Dniester Basin,Antique_Historical Map

HISTORICAL RELIEF MAP CHART SHOWING TERRAIN, TOPOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONS

ODESSA, one of the most important seaports of Russia, ranking by its population and foreign trade after St Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw. It is situated in 46 28 N. and 30 44 E., on the southern shore of a semi-circular bay, at the north-west angle of the Black Sea, and is by rail 1017 m. S.S.W. from Moscow and io S. from Kiev. Odessa is the seaport for the basins of two great rivers of Russia, the Dnieper, with its tributary the Bug, and the Dniester (20 m. to S.). The entrances to the mouths of both these offering many difficulties for navigation, trade has from the remotest antiquity selected this spot, which is situated half-way between the two estuaries, while the level surface of the neighboring steppe allows easy communication with the lower parts of both rivers. The bay of Odessa, which has an area of 14 sq. m. and a depth of 30 ft. with a soft bottom, is a dangerous anchorage on account of its exposure to easterly winds. But inside it are six harboursthe quarantine harbour, new harbour, coal harbour and practical harbour, the first and last, on the S. and N. respectively, protected by moles, and the two middle harbours by a breakwater. Besides these, there are the harbour of the principal shipping companythe Russian Company for Navigation and Commerce, and the petroleum harbour. The harbours freeze for a few d.ays in winter, as also does the bay occasionally, navigation being interrupted every year for an average of sixteen days; though this is materially shortened by the use of an ice-breaker. Odessa experiences the influence of the continental climate of the neighboring steppes; its winters are cold (the average temperature for January being 232 F., and the isotherm for the entire season that of Kdnigsberg), its summers are hot (72.8 in July), and the yearly average temperature is 485. The rainfall is scanty (14 in. per annum). The city is built on a terrace 100 to 155 ft. in height, which descends by steep crags to the sea, and on the other side is continuous with the level of the black earth steppe. Catacombs, whence~ sandstone for building has been taken, extend underneath the town and suburbs, not without some danger to the buildings. The general aspect of Odessa is that of a wealthy westEuropean city. Its chief embankment, the Nikolai boulevard, bordered with tall and handsome houses, forms a fine promenade. The central square is adorned with a statue of Armand, duc de Richeiieu (1826), who was governor of Odessa in 1803-1814. A little back from the sea stands a fine bronze statue of Catherine II. (1900). A magnificent flight of nearly 200 granite steps leads from the Richelieu monument down to the harbours. The central parts of the city have broad streets and squares, bordered with fine buildings and mansions in the Italian style, and with good shops. The cathedral, founded in 1794 and finished in 1809, and thoroughly restored in 1903, can accommodate 5000 persons; it contains the tomb of Count Michael Vorontsov, governor-general from 1823 to 1854, who contributed much towards the development and embellishment of the city. The Palais Royal, with its parterre and fountains, and the spacious public park are fine pleasure-grounds, whilst in the ravines that lead down to the sea cluster the houses of the poorer classes. The shore is occupied by immense granaries, some of which look like palaces, and large storehouses take up a broad space in the west of the city. Odessa consists (i.) of the city proper, containing the old fort (now a quarantine establishment) and surrounded by a boulevard, where was formerly a wall marking the limits of the free port; (ii.) of the suburbs Novaya and Peresyp, extending northward along the lower shore of the bay; and (iii.) of Molda-.. vanka to the south-west. The city, being in a treeless region; is proud of the avenues of trees that line several of its streets and of its parks, especially of the Alexander Park, with a statue of Alexander II. (1891), and of the summer resorts of Fontaine, Arcadia and Langeron along the bay. Odessa is rising in repute as a summer sea-bathing resort, and its mud-baths (from the mud of the limans or lagoons) are considered to be efficacious in cases of rheumatism, gout, nervous affections and skin diseases. The German colonies Liebenthal and Lustdorf are bathing-places. PLACES INCLUDE - LIL FONTAINE, ALEXANDROVKA, USATOVA

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.