Potemkinskaya Stairs near the Odessa Sea Station. Construction of the 193 Stairs lasted from 1836 until 1841. The Stairs look even more domineering, since they do not run parallel. They are 13 meters wide at the top and 21 meters wide at the bottom, giving them a greater optical illusion of largeness. A battle took place on the Stairs during the 1905 Russian Civil War and brave men lost their lives here.