The history of Odessa catacombs began around the 30s of the XIX century. The construction of a booming city required cheap and affordable building material. They became Pontic limestone - a shell rock, on which the whole of Odessa stands.
At first, the stone was broken along the slopes of beams (ravines). Later, mining began to be carried out by the mine method using saws imported from England.
Before the October Revolution, the development of shell rock was predatory. Directly below the city, numerous quarry mines were created. To them were added passages from the basements of houses (in Odessa they are called mines), which, passing under the streets, squares, connected to a common underground labyrinth.
By the 60s of the 19th century, the existence of an extensive network of abandoned and operating mines near the city and the suburbs became a problem for Odessa - soil collapses began, any cracking of buildings was attributed to “catacombs”. In addition, the mines were often used for "dark" cases: smuggling, sheltering stolen goods, etc. In the catacombs they made a nest, located under the wing of the police, thieves and robbers.
By the end of the 19th century, stone mining was normalized by surveying engineers and steigers, Novorossiysk mountain district. The villages around Odessa - Usatovo, Nerubayskoye, Krivaya, Fomina and Kholodnaya Balki - were inhabited by mining dynasties.
After the revolution began, not only bandits, but also revolutionaries and deserters "registered" in the mines. For almost 10 years, the catacombs became a shelter for people somehow dissatisfied with what was happening on the surface.
In the post-revolutionary years, the issue of eliminating mines and combating soil subsidence was favorably resolved.
Since the 30s of the XX century, active stone mining has resumed. New mines were cut, old ones were cut. The mine workings array was growing, mine fields were interconnected. From one village it was easy to go underground to another.
And then the Great Patriotic War came, the mines began to settle down again. The local population was hiding along the entrances with belongings, pets. Partisan detachments were deeper based, deserters were hiding. Thousands of people have been underground for months, fitting mines for housing.
After the war ended, stone mining revived again. Now, with the help of technology, the most inaccessible areas were cut ...
Today, the catacombs continue to serve the city. In remote galleries fenced off from the main labyrinth by reinforced concrete lintels, warehouses, cellars for aging brandy, control and communication points in case of emergency, etc. are arranged.
A special technology aimed at the industrial cultivation of mushrooms in the famous catacombs was proposed at one time by scientists from the Odessa Agricultural Institute. According to the calculations of the developers, plantations with a total area of more than 30,000 square meters can be laid in underground limestone excavations in the Odessa region.
Odessa catacombs, the most famous in the world, not only in their intricacies of labyrinths, but also in length, which reaches 3,000 (!) Kilometers. For comparison: the length of the Roman catacombs - three hundred, Paris - five hundred kilometers. Even the approximate topography of the Odessa underground labyrinth is unknown.
The catacombs have their own folklore. One of the legends tells about the Odessa captain, who took part in the rescue of the passengers of the Titanic. In gratitude, he was presented with a souvenir in the form of a golden model of a sunken ship. Soon the captain was called up to the front, and before leaving, he decided to hide his jewel in the catacombs. But he didn’t return from the war and nobody found the golden “Titanic”
At first, the stone was broken along the slopes of beams (ravines). Later, mining began to be carried out by the mine method using saws imported from England.
Before the October Revolution, the development of shell rock was predatory. Directly below the city, numerous quarry mines were created. To them were added passages from the basements of houses (in Odessa they are called mines), which, passing under the streets, squares, connected to a common underground labyrinth.
By the 60s of the 19th century, the existence of an extensive network of abandoned and operating mines near the city and the suburbs became a problem for Odessa - soil collapses began, any cracking of buildings was attributed to “catacombs”. In addition, the mines were often used for "dark" cases: smuggling, sheltering stolen goods, etc. In the catacombs they made a nest, located under the wing of the police, thieves and robbers.
By the end of the 19th century, stone mining was normalized by surveying engineers and steigers, Novorossiysk mountain district. The villages around Odessa - Usatovo, Nerubayskoye, Krivaya, Fomina and Kholodnaya Balki - were inhabited by mining dynasties.
After the revolution began, not only bandits, but also revolutionaries and deserters "registered" in the mines. For almost 10 years, the catacombs became a shelter for people somehow dissatisfied with what was happening on the surface.
In the post-revolutionary years, the issue of eliminating mines and combating soil subsidence was favorably resolved.
Since the 30s of the XX century, active stone mining has resumed. New mines were cut, old ones were cut. The mine workings array was growing, mine fields were interconnected. From one village it was easy to go underground to another.
And then the Great Patriotic War came, the mines began to settle down again. The local population was hiding along the entrances with belongings, pets. Partisan detachments were deeper based, deserters were hiding. Thousands of people have been underground for months, fitting mines for housing.
After the war ended, stone mining revived again. Now, with the help of technology, the most inaccessible areas were cut ...
Today, the catacombs continue to serve the city. In remote galleries fenced off from the main labyrinth by reinforced concrete lintels, warehouses, cellars for aging brandy, control and communication points in case of emergency, etc. are arranged.
A special technology aimed at the industrial cultivation of mushrooms in the famous catacombs was proposed at one time by scientists from the Odessa Agricultural Institute. According to the calculations of the developers, plantations with a total area of more than 30,000 square meters can be laid in underground limestone excavations in the Odessa region.
Odessa catacombs, the most famous in the world, not only in their intricacies of labyrinths, but also in length, which reaches 3,000 (!) Kilometers. For comparison: the length of the Roman catacombs - three hundred, Paris - five hundred kilometers. Even the approximate topography of the Odessa underground labyrinth is unknown.
The catacombs have their own folklore. One of the legends tells about the Odessa captain, who took part in the rescue of the passengers of the Titanic. In gratitude, he was presented with a souvenir in the form of a golden model of a sunken ship. Soon the captain was called up to the front, and before leaving, he decided to hide his jewel in the catacombs. But he didn’t return from the war and nobody found the golden “Titanic”
