The monumental Potemkin Stairs, erected in 1841, are a symbol and landmark of Odessa. The originator of their construction was Count Mikhail Vorontsov, Governor-General of Novorossiysk and Bessarabia from 1823 to 1844. The stairs have become a kind of Odessa ...ta jMahal, though without the tragedy in the background. They are the Count's hymn of love for his wife Elisabeth, née Branicka, daughter of Franciszek Ksawery Branicki.

Elisabeth was born on 19 September 1791 in Biała Cerkiew - a huge family estate. Her chosen one, General Mikhail Vorontsov (1782-1856), was almost a legendary figure in Russia. He fought in the Patriotic War of 1812. He took part in the battles of Borodino and Leipzig and commanded the Russian occupation corps in France from 1815 to 1816. In 1819, at the time he met Elisabeth, he was commander of the 3rd army corps. The future spouses met at a ball in Paris. The Polish woman, known in Russia as Yelizaveta Xavieryevna, was 27 at the time, Mikhail 37. The Count kept his memories of their first meeting to the end of his life: 'Machinely, even mechanically, I kiss the hand in the leather glove. I hear the voice of the Countess [Branicka] it is my younger daughter Eliza. Princess Volkonskaya and Countess Branicka exchange pleasantries. And I look at the young countess. Bright hair adorned with precious stones, a kind face, big blue eyes. 'You have a wonderful daughter,' I say in an indifferent voice, and my heartbeat quickens, sensing the arrival of something extraordinary.

The infatuated Count quickly proposed and was accepted. The wedding took place in May 1819, in a Parisian church. For Mikhail it was a marriage of love, for her a marriage of convenience. Nevertheless, they formed a successful relationship based on respect and mutual support.

An expensive tribute to his beloved Elisabeth
In 1823. Mikhail Vorontsov became governor of Novorossiysk and Bessarabia. The couple moved to Odessa. The Count began administering the vast territory annexed to Russia at the end of the 18th century. His prudent decisions in economic matters led to a boom in agriculture, winemaking and animal husbandry. In 1829, thanks to the governor's vigorous policies, the plague, which had entered Odessa from Turkey, did not spread deep into the Russian Empire.

Vorontsov also left a good memory of himself in Odessa. August Iwanski wrote that he was "thoroughly European". The governor ensured that Odessa was supplied with good-quality drinking water, the streets were paved and parks and gardens were established. Thanks to his support, the Municipal Public Library was opened.

In 1825, the Count came up with the idea of building a staircase, which he intended to become the main gate of the city. It must be admitted that the construction of this structure was not necessary, as at that time there was a wooden staircase connecting the port and the centre of Odessa. However, they did not look the best and climbing them was quite tiring. But Vorontsov pushed through with his idea. In his opinion, the ugly stairs contrasted with the beauty of the developing coastal city. Many Odessa residents, including some of the most influential, did not support the idea, calling it 'an expensive toy of the governor'. Opponents of the project rightly pointed out that the original city plan, authored by Františekde Volan, made no mention of the construction of the staircase. Denunciations were written on Vorontsov to St Petersburg, but the latter did not heed the intrigues. In his view, "a European city should have a facade worthy of the name". Were the Count's opponents right? Partly yes, but time has shown that this seemingly preposterous idea of Vorontsov, who was in love with his wife, turned the staircase into a true Odessa marvel. News of the erection of the giant staircase even reached the other hemisphere. In 1838, even the New York "The Sailor`s Magazine" wrote about them : "The city of Odessa on the Black Sea is well above the water level. The Russian government has decided to build a magnificent staircase connecting the city with the harbour. They will consist of 200 steps and will be a small pyramid shape, extending downwards [ ... ] This huge staircase of white marble will rest on 36 pillars ". The British "The Civil Engineer and Architect`s Journal" called the building "the most significant among those being erected in Odessa". However, not everyone shared this optimism. The British traveller William Jesse, who visited the city in 1841, had a different opinion: "This project is ill-conceived. [...] The usefulness of the staircase raises serious doubts, and the building itself has so many defects that its collapse is only a matter of time". Vorontsov ignored the voices of dissent and did not hesitate to spend as much as 800,000 roubles on this project - more than Odessa's annual budget at the time!

The governor hired an Italian architect with ties to the city, François Boffo, who in turn engaged several fellow Russians to work on the project. The creators of the project concluded that the staircase should symbolically connect: heaven and earth and Odessa with the sea and the world. This was helped by the structure of the object creating a kind of optical illusion: when you are at the top of the stairs and look down, it seems as if the stairs go on forever. You get a similar impression when looking from the bottom up.

In 1841, the stairs were ready for use. They were 136 metres long and the planned difference in level was 27 metres. Ten landings were placed between the stairs. It is interesting to note that Count Vorontsov did not think to give an official name to his favourite child. At the time of its inauguration, the building had no name, while in later periods it was called: Giant Stairs, Stairs at Nikolaevsky Boulevard, Richelieu Stairs (in honour of Odessa's founder Armand Emmanuel Sophie Septemaniedu Plessis, Duke de Richelieu, whose statue is located at the top of the stairs).

The building owes its current name not - as legend has it - to Grigory Potemkin, a favourite of Catherine II, but to the battleship 'Potemkin', or rather to the film of the same name directed by Sergei Eisenstein. In 1925, this filmmaker made the staircase world-famous by including in his work a scene of a massacre of civilians by Tsarist soldiers (in fact, no executions ever took place on the staircase). "The Battleship Potemkin" received laudatory reviews all over the world, and in the 1950s, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1905-1907 Revolution and the mutiny on that ship, the stairs were officially given their current name.

Poles the local elite
As the governor's wife, Elisabeth Vorontsov had to preside over the local socialite, which included Poles. From its foundation in 1794 until the outbreak of the First World War, Odessa was a veritable Tower of Babel. Its population was "far more diverse in nationality and religion than Moscow and St Petersburg". In 1897, its inhabitants spoke as many as 55 languages, including Polish.

It was foreigners from different parts of the world who contributed to the dynamic development of the city-in 1914. With a population of 630,000, Odessa became the fourth city of the empire, after St Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw. It must be admitted that the number of Poles was relatively insignificant compared to representatives of other nationalities. There were 17,400 in 1897 and 25,000 in 1914, but they were a notable group by virtue of their noble origin and often wealth. 'The strength of the Polish diaspora was its elitism,' writes Tomasz Ciesielski.

It was Catherine II and her successors who encouraged citizens of other countries to settle in Odessa. Newcomers from various parts of the world were granted land and exempted from taxes for a few years. They were allowed to cultivate their religion and culture and to use their mother tongue freely. As early as 1795, Catholics organised a house of prayer at 50 Catherine Street. In 1805, the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established. A wooden church was built first, followed by a brick church in 1822.

Admiral José de Ribas, one of the town's founders, brought representatives of the Polish landed gentry to the town: Sobański, Rzewuski, Branicki, Czartoryski, Potocki. Our countrymen settled in a street that was near the harbour and was named "Poland". They became middlemen in the grain trade. The largest warehouses were owned by Hieronim Sobański. In the course of time, the nobility began to build stately palaces in the centre of Odessa. In 1802. Aleksander Potocki built a palace for himself, and in 1826 for his sister Olga.

Already in the first years of Odessa's existence, Polish engineers arrived there. Poles were also among the teachers at the prestigious Richelieu Lyceum and lecturers at the local university. Prominent doctors worked in Odessa. One of them was Karol Kaczkowski, a graduate of Vilnius University. He not only enjoyed the recognition of patients, but also engaged in scientific work. For example, in 1849 he became one of the founders of the Society of Odessa Physicians.

Generous philanthropist
Elisabeth also carried out extensive charitable work for the needy of all faiths. She was active in this field for 43 years, even when she and her husband were in the Caucasus from 1844 to 1854, where Count Vorontsov served as governor.

Practically as soon as she arrived in Odessa, the Polish woman founded the Women's Charity Society, whose aim was to help the poor and care for orphans. She also became its head. In 1829, Elisabeth opened an orphanage. In 1835, 85 children were housed there: 40 boys and 45 girls. The children were prepared for the transition to adulthood. The girls were found work in various towns in the southern Russian governorates. Members of the Society set up a grocery shop, where indigent residents could buy food at greatly reduced prices. To finance this activity, Elisabeth organised fund-raisers, plays and charity evenings. She also donated funds from her own family's budget - over 43 years, this amount totalled as much as 3 million roubles! Elisabeth took part in the day-to-day running of the organisation, including reading letters addressed to her and getting involved in solving the problems presented there.

In 1844. The Vorontsovs went to the Caucasus, where they spent 10 years. At that time, Elisabeth did not give up her leadership of the Society, overseeing its work and deciding on personnel policy. On her return to Odessa in 1854, she immediately joined the organisation's activities. Between 1856 and 1857, the countess and her colleagues helped 1,477 families whose financial situation had deteriorated as a result of the Crimean War. Elisabeth also financed the establishment and operation of a school for nurses, thanks to which the first Sisters of Mercy appeared in Odessa hospitals. The Polish woman worked with the city's prison department, caring for the children of women prisoners. When Mikhail Vorontsov died in 1856, his widow founded an orphanage for boys and named it Mikhailo-Semyonovsky (Mikhail Vorontsov's paternal name was Semyonovich). She spent 135,000 roubles to maintain the institution.

The Polish woman generously financed the construction and maintenance of Catholic and Orthodox churches. Moreover, she also supported churches outside Russia, such as the Orthodox church in Varna. In 1843, a Russian diplomat in Constantinople named Daskalov wrote that during the previous four years "the functioning of this temple would have been impossible without Countess Elisabeth Vorontsov". In recognition of the Polish woman's services to Odessa, the authorities named one of the city's streets - Yelizavietinska - in her honour (after the October Revolution, the new administrators renamed it and restored the original one in post-Soviet times).

Returning to the Potemkin Steps, over the 180 years of the building's existence there have been changes to its external appearance. Thus, in 1906, a cable car was built to the left of the stairs, which operated until 1956, when it was replaced by an escalator. In 2005, the original idea was revisited. By 1933, the number of stairs had also decreased. This happened as a result of the expansion of the harbour. But this affected neither the love that the city's residents have for this symbol of Odessa, nor the reception of it by outsiders. This is how the European Film Academy recognised the staircase as a 'Cultural Treasure of European Cinema' at the Odessa International Film Festival in 2015. A press release from the European Film Academy stated that the Potemkin Staircase is by far one of the most famous sites in the history of world cinema.