Prince Vorontsov ordered the ladder built as a gift to his wife, Elizabeth. Giant Stairs were designed in 1825 by architect Francesco Boffo, Abraham Melnikov and Pottier, with 200 steps. Construction engineers entrusted it to Uopton and Yuri Morozov.
The staircase was built from local limestone in placed pathways at a cost of Prince Vorontsov's 800 thousand rubles.In 1933, it became granite, and the site on the stairs was made from asphalt. The name 'Potemkin' became official only after the war in the 50s. Prior to that, the official name was Primorskiy stairs, or "Maritime stairs", as evidenced by the surviving cast-iron plate certifying the staircase's status as an architectural monument.
Today the staircase has 10 spans and 192 steps, so it was necessary to build a road and bricked pavement. Now, at the former site of the 8 steps is located Primorskiy Street, but the greatness of the buildings has been lost.