Potemkin Stairs - a symbol of Odessa

The famous Potemkin Stairs in Odessa connects the city center with the Marine Station and the harbor. The giant staircase was designed by architects Francesco Boffo, Potier and Abraham Melnikov in 1825. Engineers Morozov and Wapton built it in 1841. At that time in Odessa the sea washed the foot of the cliff, in the base of which the port was built. According to Urban old resident Deribass, a steep path led to the sea, and Prince Vorontsov, as a gift to his beloved wife, planned to build a ladder.

The design of the ladder was designed by engineer Upton and is a wedge built of limestone. He holds wooden piles and crosses three longitudinal and nine transverse galleries, resting at strong intersections on strong pillars. The stone staircase rests on massive pillars, and galleries form spectacular arcades.

Today the Potemkin Staircase consists of 192 steps, but initially 200 steps were laid, the rest fell asleep during the expansion of the port. The length of the stairs is 142 meters, it includes ten spans.

The width of the base of the grandiose structure is 21.7 m, which is much wider than its upper part, which is 12.5 m. If viewed from the top down, a deceptive impression of equal width is created throughout the ladder, its steps seem to be infinite, and the parapets look parallel. If you look from below, then the Potemkin Staircase seems much longer and more grand. Optimum angle of inclination and a large number of sites allows the pedestrian to easily climb up.

This colossal construction became world-famous thanks to the film "The Battleship Potemkin", shot in 1925 by Sergei Eisenstein. The real scenario of the rebellion of the command of the battleship Prince of Potemkin-Tavrichesky, which happened in 1905, was the basis of the script. When the sailors transported the body of one of the organizers of the uprising to Odessa, the workers tried to break into the port. The tsarist troops opened fire on civilians in the city. In his film, Sergei Eisenstein created a generalized picture of senseless and brutal violence. The key moment of the story was the descent of the stroller with the child inside.

Thanks to the film, the staircase received its modern name. Potemkin was officially named only in the 50's, after the war. On a cast-iron plate, certifying the status of a monument of architecture, it is said that for some time it was officially called the Maritime Staircase. It is assumed that in the past it had different names, namely: Portovaya, Vorontsovskaya, Bolshaya, Bulvarnaya, Bolshaya. But in the original sources of confirmation of this information there.

In 1933, the sandstone stone was replaced with pink-gray granite, and the sites were covered with asphalt. In 1902, next to the stairs, a funicular was built, connecting Primorsky Boulevard with Primorsky Street. In the 70's he was replaced by an escalator. And in the 90 years the authorities of Odessa decided to build a new funicular. In 2005 it began to function. Each year this grandiose structure turns into a place for the race "Up the Potemkin Stairs". Every year on September 2, the Potemkin Staircase becomes a grandstand on which a concert dedicated to the city's birthday is held.