A new detailed plan for Hadzhibey Castle has been released

Thanks to the efforts of researcher Alexander Volok, a previously unknown 1789 map of Hadzhibey Castle in Odesa and the surrounding area has been made public. This document confirmed the findings of Odesa archaeologists regarding the fortress’s location and its architectural features.

This was reportedby Andriy Krasnozhon, Ph.D. in History and archaeologist.

He noted that the fortress was indeed polygonal, at least at the foundation level. But more significantly, according to the scholar, this plan—as well as other known documents—provides consistent data regarding the site’s location. 

“Exactly halfway between the two ravines that border the plateau of today’s Primorsky Boulevard, on its upper part near the semicircular square, not far from the cliff. This is precisely where we have been conducting excavations in recent years and where cultural layers dating from the 14th to 18th centuries have been found, containing remains of fortifications and elements of ammunition, weapons, bullets, and so on,” he noted.<picture></picture>

Krasnozhon also noted that the discovered map provides a new, more detailed view of the coffeehouse owned by the Greek Asporidis, which was located on the main road, near the exit from Khadzhibey. According to available data, it is known for certain that it was located on the site of the modern Prokopeus House, at the corner of Gretska and Yevropeiska Streets.

The researcher noted that, for some reason, the author of the plan paid special attention to the café, marking the adjacent farm buildings and, presumably, the residential buildings of Asporidis’s estate with a fence. The archaeologist speculated that this might have been because it was at this very establishment that Russian officers celebrated their victory over Khadzhibey following the assault.

The plan also marks several large burial mounds within the historic center of modern-day Odesa. According to Krasnozhon, these mounds marked watersheds in the coastal zone of the bay. The researcher noted that one of the burial mounds was located near the first house numbers on Uspenskaya Street. It towered over modern Cape Langeron, where a Turkish lighthouse is marked above the cliff. 
 

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