Potemkin Stairs

The Potemkin Stairs form the grand ceremonial descent linking Odesa's clifftop city centre with its harbour below. Built in the mid-nineteenth century, the giant flight of stone steps is cleverly proportioned so that from the top only the landings appear and from the bottom only the treads, creating an illusion of continuous stone. Made famous by a landmark early film sequence, the stairs remain the city's defining symbol. A statue of the port's founder stands at the summit above the sea.