Trukhanov's idea to give him "protection" of Odesa's architectural monuments was not supported by experts

Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov has proposed that the city take over all the powers to protect architectural monuments. However, according to experts, this contradicts the current legislation, UNN reports.

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Today, only the Cabinet of Ministers, namely the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, has the authority to protect architectural monuments of both local and national importance, says Natalia Shterbul, Honored Architect of Ukraine. However, architectural monuments of local significance used to be "protected" by regional executive committees, she adds.

"The legislation provides for the formation of a register of architectural monuments, and the Ministry of Culture is in charge of this. There are a large number of monuments that have already been taken under protection, there is a decision to include the historic center of Odesa in the UNESCO World Heritage List...

Today, nothing new needs to be done - it is enough to take measures to preserve architectural monuments.

After all, the topic of preserving cultural heritage is somewhat speculative. There is a lot of talk about it, but, unfortunately, there are no objectively positive actions to preserve it," she comments.

Volodymyr Meshcheryakov, the former head of the city department for the protection of cultural heritage sites, shared a similar opinion.

"Trukhanov is a mayor, not the head of the Odesa region. Cultural heritage sites are under the protection of the state, not Trukhanov or the regional state administration.

According to the Law of Ukraine on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, local governments, regional authorities, and the Ministry of Culture have the relevant powers. Therefore, everyone should participate in the protection of cultural heritage sites.

After all, this is the most valuable building.

Let me remind you that in 2023, the historic center of Odesa was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. So the architectural monuments of Odesa are already under protection, what does Trukhanov have to do with it?" - he added.

Last year, construction workers partially destroyed the architectural monument, the Gavsevych estate. The owner of the building, Universal Direct, destroyed everything but the facade instead of carrying out emergency repairs. The offending company was fined by the Odesa Regional Administration for violating the regime of use of the monument and ordered to return the building to its original appearance.

Now the story is the same with the building at 11 Gogol Street in Odesa. The owner of the building, the Odesa City Council, has entrusted Hill Invest LLC with the responsibility of carrying out repair and restoration work. According to media reports, the company wants to adapt the building to modern needs and turn it into a hotel. However, according to the regional administration, there are no documents from the company on how the facade of the building will look like after such an arrangement, so the work has been suspended.