Mykolaiv's oldest observatory receives UNESCO protection status

An international Blue Shield sign was installed on the 1827 Mykolaiv Observatory, an architectural monument of national importance. This emblem symbolizes the protection of cultural property during armed conflicts.

Thiswasreported by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of Mykolaiv.

In 2007, the Mykolaiv Observatory, as a historical and cultural protected area and a unique historical, architectural, and astronomical complex, was included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Ukraine (Tentative list No. 5116). In 2023, an extraordinary meeting of the UNESCO Committee supported Ukraine's initiative to add 20 sites, including the Mykolaiv Observatory, to the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection. Simultaneously with the installation of the Blue Shield, a monument protection inspection of the cultural heritage site, which has been in need of restoration for many years, was conducted.

Photo: Mykolaiv Department of Cultural Heritage Protection

In June, fragments of a Russian drone damaged the building of the State Archives of Odesa Region, which is also protected. The State Archives of Odesa Region is the main archival institution of Odesa region, a structural unit of the Odesa Regional State Administration, which is accountable to and controlled by the head of the regional state administration and the State Archival Service of Ukraine. The main building of the archives at 18 Sviatoslav Karavanskyi Street is the old Brodsky synagogue, which was built in 1860 by architect Kollovych. In the 1920s, all seven existing synagogues in Odesa were closed. A Jewish club was housed in the Brodsky building. After World War II, the building was transferred to the archive.

Катерина Глушко