Odessa is a city that, over the years of its existence, not only soared upward, actively developed and was a major port. History knows times when Odessa experienced great crises. One of them is the crisis of the late 18th century.
Historical data
During this period, the reign of Catherine II ended, and Paul I ascended the throne. Catherine II in May 1794 issued a decree on the construction of a new city on the Black Sea coast, calling it Odessa. This city was supposed to be located on the site of a fortress left after the Russian-Turkish war.
Joseph de Ribas, on the instructions of the empress, began the construction of the port. Large funds were invested in it, but the construction proceeded very slowly.
About 2 years later, Emperor Paul ascended the throne. He stopped investing money in Odessa, thereby suspending
building. At that time, the city already had about 12 thousand inhabitants. There were no large industrial enterprises in Odessa yet, so the port's prospects were small.
To somehow rectify the situation, local merchants decided to bribe the king with oranges. The thing is that these were overseas fruits and they were supplied to our state very rarely and in small quantities, therefore they were so valued even among the noble population. Three thousand of the best Greek fruits were purchased, which were soon sent to St. Petersburg. The ships on which they were transported were carefully guarded, led by Admiral de Ribas.
The exotic fruits were delivered in a very short time - in just 3 weeks. De Ribas presented the gift to the emperor with great respect. Paul I, delighted with this offering, soon gave his consent to the construction of the city to resume. This event went down in history as "orange salvation", then citrus fruits were called oranges.
Monument to an orange in Odessa
At the celebration of the 210th anniversary of Odessa, the opening of the monument to the orange was organized. At first, the building was installed in September 2004, but it did not quite fit into the architectural ensemble and was moved to another place. Today the monument stands on Zhvanetsky Boulevard. It was installed there in 2007. The locals are very fond of this building and are happy to show it to tourists.
The Orange Monument is a symbol of the city of Odessa, reminding its residents to this day about the difficult history of this port city. The structure is created in the shape of an orange made of bronze. On one side of the fruit, the peel is removed and several slices are taken out. And inside the orange itself is inserted the figure of Emperor Paul I. The monument also includes a team of three horses, and at the top are the famous sights of Odessa.
