town of European Russia, in the government of Kherson, stands on the north-western shore of the Black Sea, 90 miles W.S.W. of Kherson, and 390 N. of Constantinople; N. Lat. 46° 28', E. Long. 30° 43'. Placed between the mouths of the Dniester and Bug, and not far from that of the Dnieper, the site is very favourable for commerce.

From the reign of Peter the Great, Russia had been steadily looking forward to a maritime preponderance, both military and commercial, in the Black Sea; and soon after the peace of Jassy, by which the province of Kherson was ceded to Catharine, that princess selected as the place for a commercial emporium a village called Kodschabeg, then inhabited only by a few fishermen. The town was founded in 1794; and the first settlers were a number of Greek families, who were induced to remove thither from other portions of the country which had been recently given up by the Turks. When the Emperor Alexander I. ascended the throne, he entered with zeal into the project which Catharine had formed. The French emigrant Duke of Richelieu, who had entered the Russian service, was appointed governor, and displayed great zeal and judgment. Under his administration Odessa rapidly rose in prosperity; so that by the year 1804 the inhabitants had increased to the number of 15,000. A fortress, a lighthouse, and a lazaretto, were constructed, as well as a mole to secure 300 sail of vessels from the S.W. winds, which sometimes blow with prodigious force. In 1817 the inhabitants were exempted from taxes for thirty years; and the port was declared to be an open one. All goods of every kind could now be imported without duty for the consumption of the city, or for re-exportation, but were chargeable with duty on passing into the surrounding country. This gave a great impetus to its advancement, which still operates. During the late Russian war the batteries of Odessa fired upon the Furious, a British steam-frigate under a flag of truce, on the 14th of April 1854; and as no reparation was made for this breach of the laws of war, a squadron of the allied fleet bombarded the place on the 22d of April, and greatly injured the fort, the batteries on the moles, and the vessels in the harbour. On the 12th of May the steam-frigate Tiger, which ran aground in a fog, was fired at by the artillery of Odessa. The vessel was destroyed, the captain mortally wounded, and the crew captured.

The prosperity of Odessa has risen in a great measure from its maritime accessibility. It has a spacious bay, which, though open to the easterly winds, is tolerably secure; it is very extensive, and the anchorage ground is good. There is a kind of harbour formed by two moles, about two-thirds of a mile in length, and a handsome quay capable of accommodating 300 vessels. The town is regularly built; the streets are wide and straight; and the houses are for the most part built of stone, and two stories in height. The streets are, however, but partially paved. Odessa is defended by a strong citadel on the N.E., which has a double ditch and also several outworks; and there are also batteries on the moles and on the shore between them. Among the public edifices, the most conspicuous is the cathedral, a large and elegant pile. There are a number of other churches for the Greek worship; and the Jews, Roman Catholics, and German Lutherans have their respective places of worship. A college has been established, with a museum and botanic garden. The admiralty, hospital, exchange, and theatre (where plays, in the Russian and Greek languages, and Italian operas, are performed), are fine buildings. The town has several schools, a lazaretto, barracks, and the governor's house, containing the public offices. Along the quay runs a boulevard, lined with handsome houses, and adorned with a statue of Richelieu. Most of the water is brackish; and to provide that necessary element in purity, an aqueduct has been constructed at great expense, which conveys it from a distance of nearly 20 miles. The climate is healthy, though the summer is intensely hot. Winter is short, but severe, the sea being more or less frozen for about two months.

The rapid growth of Odessa depends wholly upon its commerce, the sources of which are to be found in the fertility of its surrounding soil and that of the more distant districts, to which there is easy access. The steppes, which form a semicircle around Odessa, extend to nearly 100 miles from the city. This district is destitute of trees and of running water, but the soil is said to be favourable to the growth of corn, especially of wheat. There are many gardens and vineyards in the vicinity of Odessa; and the melons raised here form a favourite article of food.

The soil of the districts bordering upon the northern side of the steppes, even with the negligent husbandry it receives, is most abundantly productive of wheat. Indeed, there is no part of the world known in which, in propitious seasons, the increase of grain is so great. It is, however, liable to great variations in its growth, and sometimes years occur when the increase is very insignificant. The quantities of wheat exported from Odessa in each year from 1847 to 1852 may be seen from the following table:

| Year | Qrs. | |------|------| | 1847 | 2,016,692 | | 1848 | 1,469,963 | | 1849 | 1,127,000 | | 1850 | 980,377 | | 1851 | 718,325 | | 1852 | 1,362,251 |

The quantity of Indian corn exported in 1852 was 225,635 qrs.; of rye, 216,229 qrs.; of barley, 35,102 qrs.; of oats, 6918 qrs.; and of pulse, 4291 qrs. The corn of Odessa is for the most part conveyed to the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, and also in large quantities to Britain, to which there were exported from this place in 1852, 570,237 qrs. of wheat, 222,276 of Indian corn, 3644 of rye, 23,875 of barley, 1296 of oats, and 404 of peas. Of linseed there were exported in 1852, 135,880 qrs.; of tallow, 38,575 cwt.; of candles, 5688 cwt.; of wool of various sorts, 74,864 cwt.; of hides, raw and dressed, 1877 cwt.; of copper, 8133 cwt.; and of cables and cordage, 13,227 cwt. To the United Kingdom were exported, in 1852, 83,050 qrs. of linseed, and 16,450 cwt. of wool, besides smaller quantities of other articles. The total value of the exports from Odessa was estimated in 1852 at L3,976,754. The imports consist chiefly of wine, porter, rum, sugar, tobacco, fruits, lead, tin, zinc, coals, hardware, machinery, and linen, woollen, silk, and cotton goods. The total value of the articles imported in 1852 was estimated at L1,687,895. The number of vessels that entered the port in 1851 was 698, and the tonnage 196,218, including 126 British vessels, with a tonnage of 37,531. The number that cleared was 729; tonnage, 203,842; and among these, 130 British, tonnage, 38,830.

The inhabitants are of very mixed races, but consist chiefly of Russians, Greeks, and Jews. German craftsmen are also to be found amongst them in considerable numbers; whilst the more extensive mercantile houses are composed of Italians, English, French, or Armenians. In no spot perhaps in Europe are there so great a number of languages spoken as on the exchange of Odessa. The admixture of oriental dresses, manners, and languages presents a very novel and lively picture; and the bazaars contain all the productions of the East, from Persian shawls down to rose-pastilles. Pop. (1850) 71,392.