The Potemkin Stairs

The Potemkin Stairs (named after the rebellious battleship Potyomkin) are a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea. The stairs leading from Prymorsky Boulevard down to the sea were constructed from 1837 through 1841 to the design of the architect F. Bofford. This imposing monument numbers 192 stairsarranged in ten flights and flanked by two-metre thick parapets. 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.