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But one thing that this city of one million citizens hides, and a fact that many who visit it are totally unaware of, are the sprawling catacombs beneath its streets. kenmore west in memoriam; sabor dulce en la boca coronavirus; traditional catholic novenas They cooked, played games, and listened to the radio With the Nazis above ground, they looked for any opportunity relay intelligence, or strike their enemy. On January 1st 2005, a young Ukranian teenage girl named Masha put on her make-up, packed up some champagne, and headed out for her New Years Eve nights party. [citation needed], There have been various reports of people walking into the catacombs, getting lost and then eventually dying of dehydration. Lets unravel the story of these vast catacombs that lie untouched beneath one of Ukraines largest towns. In the case of the Odessa Catacombs, they are a labyrinth-like network of tunnels under the city of Odessa. According to rumors, a wealthy aristocrat from Odessa that survived the sinking of the Titanic decided to commemorate this event by ordering the creation of a solid gold model of the ship. After the Soviets were forced out of the city, dozens of soviet-organized Ukrainian rebel groups remained, hiding below the city. "The diggers determined it was a Satanist who got lost.". Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Stop by the blog every day this month for true tales of the unquiet dead. Over the decades that follow, after the gradual abandonment of the mining operations, the Odessa catacombs would become somewhat obscure and forgotten. After a while, the group was quite intoxicated, Masha included. Rebuilt remains of a temple to Roman god Mithras. Makeshift rooms, quarters, tables, and all manner of carvings and writings are all preserved and the entire museum serves as a strikingly unaltered glimpse into the urban warfare of the second world war. They began to drink, and occasionally worked up the courage to go inside the mine, taking a few steps in before turning around and running back out. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. No way that picture was faked. Many regions (such as the notorious 'K-29' network) remain largely unexplored to this day. This was enough to drive a group of explorers to the area in search of the supposed corpse, and it appeared they actually found it. With his heart set on a possible reward, Pugovkin says he crawled into the depths and eventually stumbled upon what he called "bone soup." Partisan weapon caches such as rifles and grenades are occasionally still found within the tunnels, and about once every five years a body is found. The remaining catacombs (3-5%) are either natural cavities or were excavated for other purposes such as sewerage. There's no way any one person could ever witness the true scale of the Odessa Catacombs; explore all 2,500km of tunnel. In the end, we cannot be entirely sure if the story of Masha'sill-fated party, nor her sad demise, is accurate, and that may never change. Old Catacombs Odessa, Ukraine (XVIII-XX century) . It's not clear what the journalist wrote, but Lata claims the government got moving and removed the body less than 24 hours later. It would be extremely dangerous to try and explore the catacombs on ones own. The citizens of Odessa believe a variety of myths and rumors that circulate about the catacombs hidden treasures, skeletons, and even ghosts. The mystery person was of no value at all, Pugovkin says. Murderer never found, the body ever identified. Odessa Catacombs: Day 1 Odessa, Ukraine. There are still hundreds of kilometers of tunnels that no one has been able to see all of we can only speculate about what kind of gruesome secrets still dwell deep within. With over 1,500 miles of subterranean tunnels, Odessa's catacombs even beat out the well-known Paris Catacombs in terms of length. But centuries ago, the land that is now the United States was a very different place As Greek mythology goes, the universe was once a big soup of nothingness. "It was hard to get to the top of the shaftit was like nine floors, tiers with skinny ladders between them. Despite very extensive searches neither his body, nor any clues about his fate were found. I hope it's fake - but, unless that picture was fake, someone died the nightmarish way attributed to Masha. The Soviets suffered malnutrition, and even malaria. A nation whose foundations stand on centuries of struggle and fighting for independence. 31 Days of Halloween: On Atlas Obscura this month, every day is Halloween. The image, it's said, is of a girl who went missing in the catacombs of Odessa, Ukraine a girl, it's said, named Masha or Mashenka, who went down into the twisting tunnels beneath the city in which she lived for a party, but got lost while she was down there. direct entry speech pathology programs near illinois. She appeared to be on her hands and knees, in a crawling position. In his last post, he wrote that the place was pretty much charted, and claimed that there's not much left to explore. is Halloween. The post featured a graphic photo of what appeared to be a decaying corpse in the catacombs, which Lata claimed was Masha's body. Although the tale has long been reported as fact, even in newspapers, there is still a great lack of evidence, and few people are stepping forward to corroborate the sparse claims that to exist. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Indigenous Desserts of Turtle Island With Mariah Gladstone, University of Massachusetts Entomology Collection, The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island, The Paratethys Sea Was the Largest Lake in Earths History, How Communities Are Uncovering Untold Black Histories, The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices. Irish Urban Explorations. ", He told us he then dragged the body to the police medical examiner's office, about five miles from the entrance Masha would have used. Relics of the past in the Odessa catacombs, Ukraine. In the morning, they braved the morning cold to get back to hearth and home. Even if they managed to find an entrance that was accessible, they were not to venture inside. A wrong turn can mean death in these tunnels and every step might reveal some unseen horror. Megalithic Sites Are More than Just Stone, Library in Stone: The Ica Stones of Professor Cabrera Part I, Two Sides to Every Story: The North American Martyrs Shrines and Indigenous/ Roman Catholic Relations, The Origins of the Faeries: Encoded in our Cultures Part I, Curse of the Buried Pearl: The Hunt for Ancient Treasures Part I, The Enigma of the Shugborough Inscription, The Znojmo Catacombs: A Maze of Tunnels Where No Enemies Escaped Alive. Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren. Several attempts at thorough exploration were made over the years. They're also a pretty good place to stage a murder. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. It wasnt until six months later that Masha was found. [7], A 2015 investigation by Vice writer Mike Pearl similarly found no evidence that Masha had existed. Today, there are dozens of semi-professional catacomb explorer groups that venture into the Odessa catacombs. There is, however, a portion of the catacombs that is open to the public within the Museum of Partisan Glory in Nerubayskoye, north of Odessa. As the Vice article states, other bodies have been found within the catacombs, including one found during the search for a man who went missing in 2004. With over 1,000 known entrances, exploration is exceptionally dangerous. Shortly after this the mapping of a huge unexplored area of the catacombs known as K-29 was begun. We dare you. It took a full two years before the police were able to locate her body and retrieve it from the catacombs. Some say this was even done maliciously. The whole story of Masha might actually just be an urban legend. Every culture has an explanation about how we got here. Worse, she didnt know where she was, or how to get out. Maybe her path forked a few times, and she lost track of the pattern. After 73 days of vicious fighting, the town fell and was annexed to become a part of newly formed Transnistria Governorate under Romanian administration. See. It was a foggy night with temperatures hovering around freezing. In September 1995, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Odessa, the longest underground journey in the catacombs was recorded. After the incident, Lata said that the group had continued to explore the catacombs, and that they would sometimes go down there for days at a time. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Various message boards shared the tale, and websites began to present the details as fact. [Online] Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/odessa-catacombs, Unknown. [Online] Available at: https://irishurbanexplorations.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/odessa-catacombs-day-1-odessa-ukraine/, Author Unknown. But without knowing the mind boggling extent of these catacombs, their efforts proved largely fruitless. The Odesa Catacombs are a labyrinth-like network of tunnels located under the city of Odesa and its outskirts in Ukraine, that are mostly the result of stone mining, particularly coquina. It would have been utterly black. The Lost World of Odessa Catacombs. We'll make more! In another instance, a little more information was brought to light: in 2015, a man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing a girl in the catacombs. These catacombs are the result of stone mining, particularly coquina (a soft limestone of broken shells), and consist of a network of basements, bunkers, drainage tunnels and storm drains. Unfortunately, what they often find inside is far more grim than that. By the age of 10, most children in the United States have been taught all 50 states that make up the country. If she'd wandered into isolation, maybe to find a secluded spot to relieve herself, it's easy to imagine she was beyond screaming distance. His recollection is different from Lata's. But catacombs can be more than religious passageways or burial grounds. Local here (finally, after years of reading, something got me to register). Or maybe they were looking for bodies. This was only aimed at the portions beneath the town center though, and the rest of the catacombs continued to develop some time after. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Once the war was over, the catacombs became home to numerous smuggling and criminal groups, who widened and created new tunnel systems of their own. And some are full-fledged poems, written in the delicate Cyrillic cursive script, their authors lost to time. The only Ukrainians who have any official business down there are workers in active mines who still dig for limestone. Another urban legend, far more popular, is the story of the lost treasure. There also would have been nowhere to stay warm, since that area is also not deep enough for it to have been much warmer than the chilly surface weather that night. They go on expeditions into the mines that can last several days, and document and map the area. During the Cold War, they served as bomb shelters. ( eliosdnepr /Adobe Stock). But some places just arent meant to be explored. Like most information about these catacombs, only Ukrainian cave explorers even claim to know the details. A vast country that prides itself on a history rich with heroes and artists. No one is exactly sure how she died, but it could have been dehydration or hypothermia. Everywhere, hidden in the niches and the stone nooks, lie scribbled and faded poems, warnings and pleas. But we do know that the confirmed tales of the catacombs, as well as its history, are still filled with gloom, death, and horror. Pacific coastline of the continuous United States. Whether that person is an innocent partygoer, a Satanist, or a Ukrainian drunk who took a few steps too many into the darkness, it sends imaginations soaring because it conjures the exact kind of nightmarish, lonely death everyone fears the most. All rights reserved. Thats when they learned that she had never returned home her parents had assumed she was with them. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. The Odessa Catacombs underwent further construction through the vagrants' illegal widening and creation of even more tunnel systems. But one such find could not remain a secret. Instead, he brandished an axe, and hacked the girl to death before leaving her there. Drinking and debauchery went on that night, and for reasons unknown a young woman named Masha got separated from her friends and disappeared into the abyss. And as one treads these tunnels which were never graced by the light of day, one can easily see that the horrors from the pages of novels such as Metro 2033, or from some iconic Lovecraftian horror, are firmly and terrifyingly rooted in reality. [1] A group of urban explorers were pushing deeper into the mines, into one of the most unexplored areas, when they came across the body of a woman. The trek lasted 27-hours, and covered about 25 miles (40 kilometers). With over 1,500 miles of subterranean tunnels, Odessa's catacombs even beat out the well-known Paris Catacombs in terms of length. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Indigenous Desserts of Turtle Island With Mariah Gladstone, University of Massachusetts Entomology Collection, The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island, The Paratethys Sea Was the Largest Lake in Earths History, How Communities Are Uncovering Untold Black Histories, The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices, 10 of the World's Most Disorienting Places, http://odessitclub.org/en/archives/dallin/chapter_6.html#Catacombs. He claimed that his best friend had led the expedition, and that he had been there when the infamous photo was taken. Last month, a guy in his 20s was sentenced for reportedly murdering his teenage girlfriend in the catacombs with an ax. Find Out. It was meant as a sort of warning for others to stay away, but it also lured urban explorers to the site with growing regularity. We dare you. [citation needed], The city has a large population of over 1 million people, which some believe would benefit from the introduction of a subway system. Many of Ukraines cities have rich and lengthy histories behind them all filled with tales and secrets. A partial map of the Odessa catacombs. The sticking point of this famous story is that no one is sure if it really happened. [2] According to urban legend, these mines were abandoned and later used and widened by local smugglers who created a labyrinth of tunnels and hid treasure beneath Odesa. The complete length of these catacombs is more than half of the width of the North American continent. Kostya Pugovkin, who identified himself as a veteran of Ukraine's Antiterrorist Operation based in Odessa, claims to be the one who personally hefted the body in that photograph out of the depths. One of these stories inevitably brings us to Masha, a student who should have known better than to venture inside the tunnels. ", "That's why I really beg you not to try to walk underground in Odessa itself. She lies on her left side, legs curled like she's sleeping, while the upper half of her decomposing body has lost its form altogether, and has begun to turn indistinguishable from the cavern's yellow limestone floor. Our story begins sometime early in 2005, when a party (possibly for New Years) was allegedly held within the catacombs by a group of young adults. Part of the tunnels, only under the city, were turned into bomb shelters in the Cold War. The approximate topography of the Odesa underground labyrinth is unknown as the catacombs have not been fully mapped. The Stone Mines, part of the Odessa Catacombs, were closed and sealed off in 1917. Imagine a glass you can bend and then watch it return to its original form. Unfortunately for Masha, this was not the case. Fake? By 2012, he had begun to sound less like the internet's ambassador to the catacombs. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. The tunnels would become a safe haven for a plethora of different characters, most of them shady . Top Image: Old Odessa Catacombs Source: onyx124 / Adobe Stock, Author Unknown. Strange and Creepy, Urban Legends and Folklore. During WWII, although the Soviets had been forced out of the city, they left behind dozens of soviet-organized Ukrainian rebel groups hidden below the city in the expansive catacombs. In 2011, a body was found in the catacombs that had been dead for several months. However, it's not te only creepy story - in 2012 group of students went below and one was lost. Underrated Cinematic Survival Competitions, Great Movies About Missions Doomed from the Start, Survival Myths to Unlearn Before It's Too Late, Must-See Newer Survival Movies and TV Series, Great Movies About Kids Trying to Stay Alive, People Believe A Girl Died In The Endless Odessa Catacombs, But The Mystery Goes Much Deeper, the group had continued to explore the catacombs, a man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for killing a girl in the catacombs. Mauritius Square, Ukraine: What is this Giant Crab-like Earthworks? The eerie burnt-out remains of a prominent building where 30 protestors lost their lives. Featured in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history. Masha and a group of friends thought it would be fun to go out, party, and celebrate at the Stone Mines. Rifles, machine guns, equipment and personal items all were discovered lost or abandoned in virtually pristine condition. Fine Art? We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. An entrance to the Odessa catacombs is located at 4632'33.8N 3038'06.0E. There's also evidence that they were used for the summary executions of Nazi soldiers. When the group arrived, they found it easy enough, with two large metal doors. They were a popular location for murderers to hide bodies, and on at least three occasions, were a location where area kids had ventured inside, never to be seen again. She lies on her left side, legs curled like she's sleeping, while the upper half of her decomposing body has lost its form. She was headed into the Odessa catacombs, the 2,500 kilometers of dark rocky tunnels which run underneath the city. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). The Odessa catacombs are a very complicated system of natural tunnels, mines, bunkers, and caves that are predominantly a result of mining with the earliest excavations beginning in the 19th century. Skeletons and mummified animal corpses , World War II weapon caches, archaic items and human corpses. Sad mother monument, made in stone in the Odessa catacombs . It was cold, near freezing, and foggy on New Years Eve 2005. They didnt go inside, heeding the warnings their parents had given them. According to Pugovkin, someone else had vanished in 2004: Janis Stendzenieks, the son of a newspaper magnate named Armand Stendzenieks. The citizens believe that he still haunts these labyrinthine tunnels. On January 1st, 2005, some Odessa teens decided to spend New Year's night partying in the catacombs.