Egor and Vanya were eager to teach me the code, showing me how to deduce the direction of the nearest exit from each cluster of lines and circles. Towards the end though, my brain was overloading – I would have struggled to retrace the last few minutes, let alone navigate my way back to the surface. I knew I wouldn’t have long in Odessa, as I was preparing to travel the length of Ukraine in search of its darker, more infamous attractions – from Object 221 and the Balaklava submarine base in the Crimea, all the way up to Chernobyl and the abandoned city of Pripyat in the far north. I had well and truly succeeded in my first mission: to get lost in the catacombs of Odessa. Some say it was a model of the brigantine that saved him, others say the Titanic itself. Pourtant, les visites dans les catacombes ne sont pas officiellement sanctionnées parce que ces dernières n'ont pas été entièrement cartographiées et ne sont donc pas délimitées. Much like the last exit, here the limestone passage opened onto a wide crater in the earth. Looking forward to more magnificent urban exploration posts and pics! Nathalie Battus est réalisatrice radio à France Culture. On January 1st 2005, some Odessa teens decided to spend New Years night partying in the catacombs. Sa capitale est la ville d'Odessa. Either way, the Bolsheviks took control of Ukraine just six years after the Titanic sank – and fearful of having his precious golden ship confiscated by the communists, the man hid his treasure deep inside the catacombs. I was wondering if I could get the contact details for your guide? His simple response did little to prepare me for what I was getting myself into. Perhaps I’ll have to give it a chance then, next time I’m in Ukraine! L'oblast d'Odessa (en russe : Одесская область, Odesskaïa oblast ; en ukrainien : Одеська область, Odeska oblast ; est une subdivision administrative du sud-ouest de l'Ukraine. Masha, a local student, wandered down into the catacombs with a group of friends on New Year’s Eve. I would be interested in your guides info also if you don’t mind. By the time the Red Army returned to liberate Odessa in April 1944, still some partisan forces remained in the tunnels – surviving malaria and malnourishment, and in spite of the Nazi invasion. Hey I have the same idea of seeing the catacombs. here it is: http://move.in.ua/en/odessa/what-to-do/29-odessa-catacombs-is-underground-city.html. We passed by cryptic markings, scrawled on walls and prominent corners using chalk. I would’ve been consumed by my paranoia if that was me. My feet were sore, and my neck hurt from long periods of stooping beneath low-hanging ceilings. Kinda sad how people literally treat it like a sewer though. Sometimes we’d be forced to squeeze through narrow cracks in the rock, or climb the debris left in the wake of a rockfall, before finding ourselves back on track. Her body wasn’t … Stumbled into your journey here as I was researching Ukrainian news.I look forward to reading about your other adventures. Very interesting place. In order to submit a comment to this post, please write this code along with your comment: 54ccceb07aeea99531b5dd6982d8cb4e. I’ve come across your blog – do you have the name of the company that you went on a tour with? Sometimes known as ‘Bout,’ this vengeful deity protects the treasures hidden therein. While the tunnels were bathed in perfect darkness, each camera flash lit up the walls in brilliant shades of orange and yellow stone. Here and there he showed me dark liquid flowing in rivulets down the walls, from fissures in the rock above. Ainsi, après la Révolution russe de 1917, l'extraction de la pierre a été interdite dans la partie centrale d'Odessa. Great article, love the history you’ve included! Stretching to an estimated total length of 2,500km, the Odessa Catacombs are perhaps the largest network of tunnels anywhere in the world. Hi Alex. The Odessa Catacombs grew out of natural cavities, fissures and caves. The longest single expedition to date was just 40km, completed over a 27-hour period in 1995. Select Page. I would like to get of the well beaten tourist path that most others provide and you seem to have a chance to see the tunnels and history properly. Interesting to hear that you enjoyed it… as I had only heard bad things about the tour. Love!!!!! But I had seen enough; enough to know how little anyone could ever know of these seemingly endless tunnels: the nebulous, uncharted depths of the Odessa Catacombs. A month-long monument hunt, and what I learned along the way.