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As a coastal region with access to the sea, Odesa naturally became a melting pot of various cultures that converged on its lands. From Greek settlers who arrived on these shores before our era to the Cossacks who found refuge here after the destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich, and to Moldovans, Bulgarians, Crimean Tatars, Germans, Albanians and Jews who settled here during the times of the russian empire, all of this influenced the formation of the extraordinary diversity of rural architecture in the region.
The majority of local houses are plastered; bricks are almost nonexistent. At the same time, the gables are more diverse – here, you can see plastered, wooden, or even a combination of both materials, for example, plastering the lower part of the gable with geometric clay elements.
The facades of the buildings are often painted in shades of blue and gray, combined with decorative elements in white. Green and blue gables with colorful decorative elements are also common.
Among all the regions we have explored so far, Odesa is the record holder for the number of decorative elements. Here, you can choose from six different types of window frames, corner elements, and cornices. However, the real hallmark of this region is the decoration of gables. Most often, they are adorned with clay elements – geometric shapes and animalistic ornaments. Lions, birds, deer, and various floral ornaments are often seen on the gable. The windows on the gable are extremely variable – elongated arches, arrow-shaped, quadrangular – a total of 8 types have been added to the constructor. The gable is crowned with a cone-shaped or crown-shaped finial – in Odesa, they have an elongated form and a complex silhouette.