There are many amazing places and architectural structures that beckon our eyes. But this one is special and one of a kind. As you go up the staircase, it seems to lead you into the cloudless sky; as you descend, it plunges you into the gentle blue sea. The name of this man-made creation is Potemkin Stairs. It is like a kind of bridge, «connecting the sea with the sky», in the middle of which the friendly hero-city Odessa is located.
In order to «descend from the sky to the sea» you will have to overcome 192 steps, although once there were exactly 200. The rapidly developing city required the expansion of its borders, and after the beginning of the construction of the Seaside Street (in 1866), it was necessary to sacrifice 8 steps. Despite the considerable length of the staircase (142 m), which rises to a height of 30 meters, your way will be easy, as every 20 steps are replaced by a platform. Having overcome the whole way, you will count 10 such «islands for rest». At the base of the staircase is 21.7 meters wide, and in its upper part — 12.7 meters. Thanks to this, when viewed from above, the parapets of the staircase appear parallel and only the platforms are visible, while when viewed from below, only the steps are visible. This construction idea gives a majestic look to the «main gate of Odessa».
This architectural creation owes its birth to Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, on whose sponsorship Francesco Boffo designed the staircase. And erected it engineers Whaptonom and Yu Morozov, during 4 years from 1837 to 1841. The construction estimate amounted to 800 thousand rubles, while the annual budget of the city of Odessa was equal to 1.3 million rubles. The reason why M. Vorontsov decided to build a staircase was that in the 30th years of the XIX century, the whole of the current Primorsky Boulevard was built up with mansions of the nobility (Count Pototsky, Count Naryshkin, Princess Stolypina and Prince Lopukhin) over a thirty-meter rocky cliff. And in order for the owners of these houses to be able to enjoy a walk to the sea, M. Vorontsov decided to build.
The staircase was a giant wedge made of local limestone. The whole structure is supported on wooden poles, which are located at the intersection of three longitudinal and nine transverse vaulted galleries. The platforms and steps are made of green-gray sandstone delivered by ship from Trieste (a city in northern Italy). But in 1933, due to erosion, the previous steps were replaced with pink-gray granite.
The staircase was called different names during its existence: Portovaya, Bulvarnaya, Vorontsovskaya, Gigantskaya, etc. The present name was given after it became world-famous thanks to the Soviet film director Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein and his movie «Battleship Potemkin» (1925), which forever captured on film the scene where a baby carriage rolls down the stairs. In the 50-ies «Primorskaya staircase» received the official name «Potemkinskaya».
Today this grandiose construction harmonizes with the green slopes and welcomes all those arriving in the city by the Black Sea. In order to facilitate their ascent from Primorskaya Street to Primorsky Boulevard, a funicular operates along the entire length of the staircase. The grand opening of this miracle of construction took place in 1902, but for the last three decades it was replaced by an escalator. In 2005, historical justice prevailed over economy and the funicular was revived.
Potemkin Stairs in Odessa is recognized as one of the most beautiful staircases in Europe and is rightly considered one of the «Seven Wonders of Odessa», embodying the «front entrance of the city».