Odesa is a sea city and therefore the main products that are popular here are fish and any sea inhabitants. And where does everyone buy it most often? Right! At local markets. And today we will talk about the sculpture of Aunt Sonya - which is a "chic" native Odesa woman selling dried Black Sea gobies at the Privoz market. Aunt Sonya is a collective image of the heroine of Valentin Kataev's story "A lonely sail turns white ..." and the fisherwoman Sonya from the song "Scows full of mullets".
The history of Privoz begins in 1827 when a huge market was built on Privoznaya Square. Initially, it was not an independent market, but an appendage of the Old Market, and it was mainly traded in the goods that were brought. In this case, usually, all goods were placed in the transport on which they were brought. Hence the name of the market - Privoz. That is, "the market for brought goods." It is difficult to translate this into English correctly.
What is the history of the monument?
The monument to the legendary character-symbol of Odesa was opened in an equally legendary place on September 9, 2006. It is installed in the very center of the building between the shopping arcade.
The bronze sculpture of Aunt Sonya, 2.5 meters high, is a figure of a plump, busty woman from Odesa, a little tired from the hot southern sun, in a large hat, apron, a fan in her left hand, and with a bunch of bulls suspended over her right shoulder.
At the feet of Sonya, a cat is "spinning", which seems to be waiting for a convenient moment to profit from a fish. By the way, the cat's name is Timofey and this is a very real character - for posing, the sculptor borrowed Timofey's cat from his friend.
The sculptural composition is installed on a symbolic pedestal made of paving stones, imitating a sidewalk, in the center of which there is a bronze sewer hatch with the inscription: "Odesa New PRIVOZ".
In conclusion, I would like to note that there are several places on this monument that Odesans touch for good luck. This is Sonya's nose, already worn to a mirror shine, and a goby's tail. People also throw coins into their apron pocket while making a wish.
The authors of the monument to Aunt Sonya are sculptor Igor Ivchenko and architect Illarion Stadnik. By the way, Ivchenko noted that for him it is also a kind of monument to Odesa grandmothers, on which our civilization and, of course, Odesa stands. They raised their grandchildren, from whom the people who glorified our city grew.
And I will tell you more about the Privoz market itself in one of the following posts. Believe me, this is very interesting. And its very history, and the legends associated with the market.
Where can you see the monument?
The sculpture is located in Odesa, at the Privoz market in the fish department.
The exact GPS coordinates are 46.469462, 30.735063
You can also save my map in Pinmapple.
