Everyone knows the phrase of Ilf and Petrov from the popular satirical novel “12 Chairs”: “Is it possible – chairs in the morning, and money in the evening? – Can! But money – forward! “. This is humor that will never get old or bored. The phrases inspired the sculptor Mikhail Revu to create a monument “12th chair” in Odessa. It was opened on the day of humor – April 1, 1999.

The bronze 12th chair is designed to be the size of a regular chair and is a very popular tourist destination. Every year, a huge number of people, walking around the year, must drop in the Gorsad (not far from Deribasovskaya Street) to sit on the famous chair, imagine crazy riches underneath and take various photographs for memory. In the summer season, huge queues even line up near it, and under the scorching sun, it is not so easy to survive.

What is Monument to the twelfth chair like

This landmark is a symbol of exactly that twelfth chair, in which the diamonds were hidden that did not belong to the heroes of the novel – Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov. The chair was placed on a round plinth made of paving bricks with a built-in inscription – “Ostap Bender Square”. And a two-stage granite pedestal with a sign “Citizens of Odessa – Ilf and Petrov.” A couple of coins are lying near the leg, all that remains of the treasure. If you look at the back of a chair, you can read quotes from the novel: “Abroad will help us!”, “The ice has broken, gentlemen of the jury!”, “How much is opium for the people?” Around the monument, the humor of local residents has been transferred to the paving stones: “Where are we standing?”

The sculptor himself calls his creation a kind of provocation, because the chair is not so important in the monument, but how exactly the photography process will take place, and what the options for poses will be. You can see such a variety that it is simply impossible not to smile – and they sit on it, and lie down, and hug, and rub, and try to open it, and even kiss. Some even tried to shove money into it in gratitude.

During excursions, the emphasis is also on the twelfth chair.

The guides offer tourists to sit on a chair so that in the near future gold and riches will “fall” on them, or their most cherished dream will come true. After these words, a queue of those wishing to try their luck on themselves is urgently lined up.

Many times it was taken away for restoration, because due to the number of people who want to sit on it, the poor chair suffers greatly and is erased.

After the opening of the 12th chair monument, monuments dedicated to the works of writers began to be unveiled all over the world. A whole wave of their popularity swept. Ardent fans of the novel specially traveled to different cities and countries to take pictures with all these sights.

Only one thing can be said for sure, that this monument works wonders, because it is able to silently and even without much effort cheer up tourists from different parts of the world, charge for a long time with optimism and hope for a carefree future, and this is so important in our life.

How to find

You should definitely visit this place, especially since it is free and open all year round, 24 hours a day. To find a chair, you should walk along Deribasovskaya Street to the City Garden. Or you can walk along Preobrazhenskaya Street to Cathedral Square, then turn back to Deribasovskaya Street. And walk about a hundred meters down, the City Garden and “12th Chair” will be on the left.