Odessa Gallery

The Potemkin Stairs

Probably the greatest tourist’s attractions of Odessa are the «Potemkin Stairs»! One scene in Sergey Eisenstein’s movie «Battleship Potemkin» made them world famous.

The Potemkin Stairs are a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea. Sure, each city has its own place of mostly pronounced originality. For Odessa, no doubt, it is Potemkin Stairs.

The stairs were constructed from 1837 through 1841 to the design of the architect Franz Boffo in classical style. Originally there were 200 stairs, today this imposing monument numbers 192 stairs arranged in ten flights and flanked by two-meter thick parapets. Eight stairs had to be taken away when the passenger harbour and Primorsky Boulevard were renewed. All together Odessa landmark is 30 meters high and 142 meters long. Looking down from the top, the stairs themselves become invisible, only the landings can be seen. On either side are parapets which seem parallel. The difference in width between the highest (13.4 m) and the lowest (21.6 m) flights produces an optical illusion that enhances the grandeur of the structure. The steps were originally made of grayish-green sandstone brought from the extreme northeastern Italian town of Trieste. In 1933, because of years of erosion, the stairs were reconstructed with granite.

The famous Potemkin Stairs has long become one of the architectural masterpieces of Odessa. They serve as a symbol of the city; locals say it's the 9th miracle of the world.

• The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater
• The Primorsky Boulevard
• Deribasovskaya Street
• The Potemkin Stairs
• City Council
• The Duke de Richelieu Monument
• The Odessa Archeological Museum
• Laocoon
• The Cannon
• The Odessa Sea Port
• The Leonid Utesov Monument
• «12 chairs» Monument
• Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral
• The Pushkin Monument
• The Count Vorontsov Palace and the Colonnade