Izmail

Izmail is the second largest city of the Odessa region located on the left bank of the Danube River, about 70 km from the Black Sea and 257 km south-west of Odessa. In the late 14th century it was the Slavic settlement of Smil. It was captured in 1484 by the Turks, who fortified it and held it until 1812. It was a Russian possession from 1812 to 1856, when the Turks retook it; it reverted to Russia during 1878–1918. Between World Wars I and II, Izmayil, with the rest of Bessarabia, was included in Romania. It is now a river port and transshipment point, with light industries.

Izmail features

Izmail, surrounded by numerous lakes, stretches for 13 km along the Danube River. Not far from it, on the territory of Romania, there is a well-known the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. Izmail is included in the list of historical settlements of the Odessa region.

The city is located in the southern zone of temperate climate with hot, dry summers and moderately cold winters. The warmest month is July with the average temperature of plus 22.6 degree Celsius, the coldest month is January - minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.

It is the largest Ukrainian port on the Danube River. It has a developed food industry. Also there is a fish factory, a ship-repair and mechanical plant, a ship-repair plant, a plant for concrete products, a pulp-and-cardboard mill.

The geographical location between the mouths of the Danube, the Dniester and the Black Sea of the whole region and the city in particular significantly complicates transport communication with the rest of Ukraine.

Izmail is the last station on the railway line, which runs from Odessa to the south of the region. There is a daily train running from Izmail to Kyiv. It is interesting that the only way to get to Odessa and other cities of Ukraine from Izmail by land is by transit through Moldova. The city has more than 25 bus routes, several taxi services, 19 parks and squares.

The City Day of Izmail is celebrated in late September - early October.

Izmail sights

Izmail Fortress - the remains of the buildings of the Turkish fortress of Izmail preserved on the high bank of the Danube River in the western part of the present city. Today, you can see fragments of earthen ramparts and a defensive ditch with a depth of up to 11 m.

In 1991, the Izmail Memorial Park-Museum “Fortress” was created, which staff conduct tours of the fortress. The administration of the park and the exposition about the history of Izmail Fortress are located in the center of the city.

Intercession Cathedral (1820-1831). This cathedral built in the style of classicism is the main church of Izmail. The height of the three-tiered bell tower (1848) is 65 meters. The bells were cast from metal of captured Turkish guns.

The oval colonnade of the cathedral was built in 1937. As a result, the Intercession Cathedral in Izmail vaguely resembles the Kazan Cathedral of St. Petersburg.

Suvorov Monument - an equestrian monument to the famous commander Alexander Suvorov installed on the central avenue of Izmail (Suvorov Avenue) near the Intercession Cathedral.

Izmail Art Gallery has a collection of modern Ukrainian and Russian art, an exposition of decorative and applied art, sections of Ukrainian, Russian and Western European art of the 16th-19th centuries, works of icon painting, art of the peoples of the East.

Izmail museums

Izmail Historical Museum of Alexander Suvorov is housed in a mansion of the 19th century. The museum collection includes more than 30 thousand exhibits: banners, military uniforms and equipment of the 17th-20th centuries, a collection of weapons and firearms, paintings on the theme of the Russian-Turkish wars, archeology and everyday life items, numismatics.

The Small Mosque (the Diorama) - the oldest architectural monument of Izmail built in the 16th century, one of the few examples of medieval Ottoman classical architecture in Ukraine. Inside the mosque, there is a museum with the diorama “Storming the Fortress of Izmail” - a large 20x8 meters painting showing the decisive moment of the assault.

The Museum of A.V. Suvorov and the Diorama are included in the tourist routes of the south of Ukraine and the Odessa region.

Izmail Museum of Danube Regional History. The museum is located in the center of Izmail, in an old two-story mansion of the late 19th century. Today, the following expositions are open to visitors: Ancient History and Archeology of the Danube Region, Turkish Izmail, World War I in Memory of Izmail, Hall of Military Glory. There is also a nature pavilion. In total, there are about 39 thousand exhibits characterizing the city and the region at different times.

Museum of History of Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company. This museum can be found in a spacious hall of the highest building of Izmail housing the management of the shipping company. Archaeological materials in combination with documentary sources give an idea of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Slavic, Turkish, and Russian periods of navigation on the Danube River.