Shelter in the Fairy Tale Tunnel on the beach in Odesa fell into disrepair without care

The shelter for visitors to the Dolphin beach in Odesa, which was located in the Fairy Tale Tunnel, has fallen into disrepair and looks abandoned.

This was reported to Intent by readers who visited the shelter.

"Last year everything was still fine, but now there is no light, it's very damp, and no one is obviously looking after it. It's so abandoned that it's heartbreaking, but it's a historic place," the vacationers said.

An Int'l correspondent visited the Fairy Tunnel and saw that the shelter looks abandoned - the wall decoration has crumbled, even the information board is broken. It is damp inside and the only thing resembling a shelter is a few chairs.

The plate states that the Dolphin Limited Liability Company is responsible for the shelter. According to the YouControl service, the company with this name was registered in Brovary, Kyiv region, and the founder was the Langeron Limited Liability Company, both of which are now defunct.

The Fairytale Tunnel is an underground corridor that stretches for 200 meters and is 20 meters deep underground. It was built in 1976-1979, and it connected the Magnolia sanatorium with Dolphin Beach. Previously, an elevator went down from the sanatorium to the tunnel, allowing visitors to quickly reach the coast. It got its name because its walls were decorated with a variety of ornaments and characters from Alexander Pushkin's fairy tales. They were made in mosaic. In 2014, the tunnel was closed to visitors. However, in the summer of 2024, it was reopened as a storage facility.

Meanwhile, Odesa and the region are preparing for the holiday season. In early May, the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, Oleh Kiper, signed an order to inspect the region's beaches before the upcoming tourist season. It is expected that there will be more open beaches this year.

In November 2025, the Rules for the Equipment and Operation of Beaches established by the Odesa City Council became obsolete due to changes in legislation - the Law of Ukraine "On the Lease of State and Communal Property" no longer allowed beaches to be leased as amenities or hydraulic structures, as was done under the City Hall rules of 2007.

PHOTO: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh

Кирило Бойко