Jewish Odessa tour
We invite you to join one of the most popular excursions – Jewish Odessa. We will tell you what mark the Jewish people left in the history of the city, giving it a special image. We will walk along the streets where Sholom Aleichem, Babel, Ilf, Bialik, Zhvanetsky and Kartsev used to live and work. You will learn what contribution was made by Odessa-Jews to the development of Odessa. The excursion is a walking one. It can be conducted in the center or in the area of Moldavanka. Duration – 2 hours.
OTHER THEMATIC EXCURSIONS IN ODESSA
The history of Odessa is inextricably linked with the history of the Jewish people who settled here from the first days of the city’s inception. The Jewish community made a huge contribution not only to development, but also to the appearance of the city, known throughout the world for its unique atmosphere. Having absorbed cultures of various nationalities, it is difficult to imagine Odessa without Jewish culture, which left its mark on the Odessa ethnos, which gave rise to such phenomena as the Odessa language, Odessa literature, and Odessa cuisine. Playing an important role in the life of South Palmyra, Jews are rightfully considered to be its indigenous inhabitants.
The Jewish Odessa is a way of life, traditions, a specific mentality; characteristic humor, and, of course, a peculiar speech inherent from Odessa-Jews.
So, after the decree of Catherine II on allowing Jews to settle in Odessa, no one assumed that in half a century they would be among the wealthiest people of the city – these were entrepreneurs, bankers, major merchants, and workshop owners. Along with the prosperity of the city, the Jewish diaspora also increased, becoming one of the largest in the country. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries Jews made up a third of the local population. Here synagogues and prayer houses, Jewish schools and hospitals were opened, as well as the Zionist revisionist movement was founded. Outstanding world-renowned Jews lived and worked here, including writers, scholars, and public figures.
It is worth saying that it is in Odessa that the state of Israel originates from. In 1890 the Odessa Palestinian Committee was founded, which made its first contribution to a fund purchasing of land in Jerusalem. In 1904 Geula, – a company involved in the acquisition of land in Palestine, was founded. Subsequently, Tel Aviv arose on one of the purchased sites, the first mayor of which was the founder of Geula – M. Dizengoff. In memory of these events, a memorial plaque was erected at 12 Nechipurenko Lane, where the office was located.
Today, a daily life of modern Odessa is not complete without Jewish intonations, jokes, enterprises, economy, customs and recipes of kosher food. Every year, tourists from different countries, including emigrants, visit an amazing port city in order to plunge into its original atmosphere.
If you want to hear fascinating stories about the formation of Odessa Jewry, about famous Odessa Jews, their achievements and discoveries, as well as to visit memorable places associated with them, then join our excursions.
The Doks Apartment House is a historical monument, built in the 1880s (1, Evreyska St.). The owner of the building was a member of the city council and an honorary Magistrate Victor Doks. It is known that Vladimir (Zeev-Wolf) Zhabotinsky – a journalist and an ideologist of the right Zionism was born here in 1880, and lived until 1904. A memorial high relief is installed on the building where V. Zhabotinsky lived. Also, one of the streets of Odessa was named after him and a star was established on the Avenue of Stars dedicated to the famous inhabitants of Odessa.
The Livansky House was built in the 1890s (28, Kanatna St.). In 1891-1893, a great writer Sholom Aleichem lived and worked here. During this period, he wrote one of his best works, “Menachem-Mendel”. In memory of the outstanding writer, a memorial plaque in Yiddish and Ukrainian is installed on the facade.
The Tarnopolsky apartment building is an architectural monument of the early twentieth century (78, Kanatna St.), built for the owners of the wallpaper factory brothers Moritz and David Tarnopol. It is believed that the famous adventurer Osip Shor lived here for some time. He became the prototype of the literary hero Ostap Bender.
Monument to Gotzman was established in 2008 and is dedicated to the Odessa policeman of the postwar years. It is installed at the entrance to the building of the main police department of the city (12, Yevreiska Str.). It is known that David Kurland, who was born in Odessa and devoted his life to the criminal investigation department, became the prototype of the film character Gotzman from the TV series “Liquidation”. For his great services, Kurland was awarded the Order of the Red Star. The bronze sculpture features a figure of a young policeman in the form of the 1940s, over which doves circulate as a symbol of peace.
Museum of the History of the Jews of Odessa “Migdal-Shorashim” was opened in 2002 by the Jewish community center “Migdal” and tells about the life of Jews in Odessa. By the beginning of the XX century, Odessa ranked third in the number of cities in the world (after New York and Warsaw) by the number of Jewish population. Sholom Aleichem, Bialyk, Chernikhivsky, Zhabotynsky, Babel, Ilf, Utyosov and other prominent world-famous Jews lived and worked here. The contribution of the Jews in the history of Odessa is still significant. Today the museum is one of the most significant ones in Ukraine. The museum features photographs, books, newspapers, postcards, household items and musical instruments. This is where you can feel the spirit of multinational Odessa, known throughout the world.
The Apartment house of Teper was built in 1901. Its owner was a major landlord Jacob Teper (6, Osipova Str.). Previously, the site belonged to N. Strazhesko. Interestingly, in 1893-1896 the jeweler Israel Rukhomovsky lived and worked here. He created the golden helmet-crown in an antique style, known in the world as “Tiara of Saitafern”. On April 1, 1896 The Louvre has paid 200 thousand franks for a Scythian tiara, which turned out to be a skillful fake, made by an Odessa jeweler to the order of merchant Gokhman. Later, the deal was nicknamed the fraud of the century. Today Tiara of Saitafern is located in the Hall of fakes of the Louvre. Its copies are placed in the British and Tel Aviv museums. In memory of the outstanding master, a memorial plaque was installed on the facade.
Private Jewish male educational institution named after A. Gurevich since 1908 was located at 55, Bazarna str. / 64, Ekateryninska str., occupying premises in the apartment building of the Weingurt family. There were 4 main and 2 preparatory classes, where they taught mathematics, geography, Hebrew, Latin, Russian, French and German. In the 1920s it was transformed into a labor school, and then – into a secondary school. Today, the building houses the Odessa Law Lyceum.
The Jewish vocational school “Labor” in 1896-1917, was located at 17, Bazarna St. The school had general education and craft classes (up to 200 students), where boys from poor Jewish families were trained. There were also drawing, arithmetic, geometry, physics and technology classes for adults. During the Civil War, there were meetings of the Jewish voluntary music society “Ha-Zami.” With an advent of Soviet power, the educational institution was transformed into a vocational school, later – into an engineering college. Today, it houses a bank branch.
The Tailors Prayer House was built in 1893 at the expense of the merchant Moses Kark. It is a one-story building built for the Malbish Arumim society, which means “the one who dresses naked” (21, Osypova St.). In the Soviet times, the synagogue was closed, the company was liquidated, and the premises began to be used for warehouse needs. In 1992 it returned to the Jewish community. Today it is the second most important synagogue in Odessa, Beit Chabad.
The Synagogue Or Sameakh is the main synagogue of the city of Odessa, erected in 1850 (Jewish str., 25). It is a historical monument of architecture built in the Florentine-Romanesque style. In Soviet times, it was closed, and the building was used to house various organizations, such as a pet museum and a children’s music theater. Later the premises of the synagogue were given to the Odessa Pedagogical Institute. Only in the 1990s the synagogue was returned to the Jewish community. Today, prayers are held here and not only parishioners of Odessa but also believers from nearby cities gather here. The Hebrew University is also open, along with schools and heders.
Brodsky synagogue is the first choral synagogue in Odessa, built in the Gothic style in the 1860s. (Zhukovsky St., 18). It got its name from the immigrants of Jewish origin, who previously lived in the city of Brody (Galicia). The synagogue building was erected at the expense of the community. After opening, this place became the center of the Odessa Jewish intelligentsia — Chaliapin, Minkowski, Sholom Aleichem, and Babel used to come here. It was in the Brodsky synagogue that services for the first time began to be held with musical accompaniment. With the advent of Soviet power, the synagogue was closed, and a Jewish working club was placed in the room, and later – an archive, which existed here until 2016.
The Holocaust Memorial is located in Prokhorovsky Square (Prokhorivska St.). Here in 1941 the road of death of Odessa-Jews was laid. It consists of a memorial sign, the Alley of the Righteous and a monument to the victims of the Holocaust. The alley was installed to honor local residents who risked their lives to save Jews from fascist genocide.
The house, where Utesov lived is located on 11, Utesova St. (formerly Triangular Lane). Here Lazar Waissbein was born and spent his childhood. He became famous as Leonid Utesov and glorified Odessa in his songs. Today, the museum apartment is located at this address, where the artist’s personal belongings, archival documents, letters and photographs are presented. On the facade there is a memorial plaque to an outstanding Odessa citizen. Walking along Deribasivska, near Gorsad you can see a monument dedicated to the legend of the Soviet stage and cult personality of the XX century.
The synagogue of kosher meat cutters is a house of worship since 1910s (Malaya Arnautskaya St., 46-a). The kosher meat cutters’ society was one of the oldest in Odessa. At the beginning of the XX century, the community decided to erect a new building, the design of which was approved in 1909. The architecture of a two-story building made of shell rock, decorated with red brick, reminds of the Western European buildings. The facades are made in oriental style. In the 1930s, the synagogue was closed. Later the parachuting community took over the premises, and then the KGB was located inside. In 1991 it returned to the community. Today the building is used by the Jewish society Migdal.
The Gorovenko House is a historical monument of architecture (137, Staroportofrankivska St.). The world famous writer Ilya Ilf (Iechiel-Leib Faisilberg), who wrote the stories of “Twelve Chairs” and “Golden Calf”, was born and spent his childhood here. A memorial plaque is installed on the facade. On the Alley of Stars (Lanzheronivska St.) there is also a star with the name of an outstanding writer.
Mala Arnautska is a street located in the central part of Odessa on Moldavanka. It appeared at the beginning of the XIX century and got its name from Arnautska settlement – a soldier’s settlement, which consisted mainly of arnauts. Arnauts were Orthodox Albanians who fled Islamism and settled here. Throughout history, the street was repeatedly renamed and only in the 1990s it obtained its historical name back. The founder of the Jewish Legion Jabotinsky, the writer Ravnitsky, the poet Bialik, and the prototype of Ostap Bender – Ostap Shore used to live here. It was believed that in Mala Arnautska they fabricate fakes, mint fake coins and buy stolen goods. The notorious adventurer Ostap Bender said in the novel “The Twelve Chairs” by Ilf and Petrov: “All the contraband is made in Odessa on Malaya Arnautskaya”. Guest houses of the XIX century, the building of a Jewish educational institution and the former “Chante clair” cinema have survived to this day. 111, Mala Arnautska street today housees the Holocaust Memorial Museum to the victims of fascism.
The House of Isaac Babel is located on the Richelieu, 17 street, where at the world’s famous writer used to live. Babel was born on Moldavanka in a Jewish family of a merchant. The family of the future writer rented accommodation in apartment No 10. The building itself was erected at the end of the XIX century and was famous as an apartment house for Reich. On the facade of the house where Isaac Babel lived in 1905-1924, a memorial plaque was placed. In 2011, on the corner of Richelieu and Zhukovsky street a monument to an outstanding writer was installed.
Mishka Yaponchik’s patio is the house where the famous king of Odessa thugs (Moishe the Vinnitskiy, nicknamed Mishka Yaponchik) lived (B. Khmelnitsky st., 23). The future leader of smuggling raiders was born in Moldavanka into a poor Jewish family. He didn’t want to take over the craft of his father and dreamed of conquering the whole of Odessa. Mishka Yaponchik was really an extraordinary person. Songs and books were written about him, and movies were filmed. Utyosov and Coralli wrote about him in their memoirs. Yaponchik became the prototype of the Beni Creek character in the “Odessa Stories” by Babel. In 2011, the television series “The Life and Adventures of Mishka Yaponchik” saw the world. Until now, Odessans remember the legendary Mishka, who left a mark in the history of the city. The “Gangster Odessa” Excursion will be an exciting adventure to places of criminal authorities.
Jewish Hospital was opened in 1829 at the expense of the Jewish community (Myasoedovskaya str., 32). It was founded in 1800 and was located in rented premises. In 1829, the clinic was transferred to Moldavanka, where the Jewish community bought a mansion and opened a 45-bed hospital there. Thanks to donations, the Jewish hospital expanded, the corps was completed, and new departments were opened. The mostly used to accept Jewish patients didn’t refuse to help Christians too. It was believed that the Jewish hospital had a high level of doctors’ qualifications. Prominent physicians, such as Professor Jacob Zilberberg, Dr. Isaac Geshelin, Professor Jacob Rosenblat used to work here. Their contribution to the development of medicine is invaluable. Today, just like 200 years ago, it is still a hospital – the city Clinical Hospital №1.