The Great Mithridates Staircase is one of the most famous architectural monuments not only of Kerch, but of the whole Crimea. It begins at the bottom of Lenin Square and ascends the slope of Mount Mithridates to the top, where in ancient times was a palace of Bosporan kings and temples of ancient gods.
The great Mithridates Staircase was built in 1833-40, on the initiative of the mayor of Kerch, Ivan Stempkovsky. He was an archaeologist and made a great contribution to the study of the ancient Panticapaeum. He also founded the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum. Now this museum is located in one of the buildings, near the Kerch embankment, and in the middle of the 19th century it was located on the slope of Mount Mithridates and looked like an ancient Greek temple. This greatly decorated the urban landscape of Kerch. Alas, but now the museum building has been demolished and it is not yet known whether it will be restored.
The length of the Great Mithridates Staircase is 423 steps. In terms of monumentality and length, it can be compared with the Chkalovsky Staircase in Nizhny Novgorod. Its length reaches 442 steps. These two stairs are the longest of the monumental city stairs in Russian cities.
In other regions of Russia there are longer stairs. Some of them are laid on mountain slopes, but Mitridatskaya and Chkalovskaya are not just stairs, but architectural masterpieces that can be called landmarks of cities. In Crimea, the longest staircase of 891 steps is located on Cape Fiolent. Along it from the St. George Monastery you can go down to the Jasper Beach.
The great Mithridates Staircase has three tiers. At the bottom of each tier there are terraces decorated with monumental platforms. Griffins are installed on them. These are mythical amnimals with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle. The griffin was minted on coins of the Bosporan Kingdom and eventually became a symbol of Kerch.
