The height of the world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro: a modern wonder of the world

Statue of Christ the Redeemer. The famous statue placed on the Corcovado in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is considered a symbol of the city and the whole country. The monument was built from reinforced concrete material and soapstone. The height of the statue is 38 meters, the weight is 1145 tons, and the arm span is thirty meters.

Every year, more than one and a half million visiting tourists come to the foot of this masterpiece. To the top of the pedestal Railway. It is considered the very first in Brazil and was erected long before the statue. Her role was very big. Materials for the construction of the top of the monument were transported along it. Tourists get to the statue along the highway that passes through the reserve.

To build Christ the Redeemer, architects and sculptors spent almost nine years (1922-1931). The sketch of the monument was designed by the artist Carlos Oswald. His proposal to make Christ with outstretched arms led to the fact that from a distance the figure looks like an incredibly large cross. All details of the sculpture were made in France and transported to Brazil. A staircase leads to the foot of the statue, which has 220 steps. The small chapel was placed in the thickness of the marble plinth.

The monument was solemnly opened and consecrated on October 12, 1931. The statue was re-sanctified in 1965. For 75 years, the statue was repaired twice. In 2000, the night lighting system was upgraded. You can go up to the observation deck with the help of escalators, which were delivered in 2003. Since 2007, Christ the Redeemer has had the status of a wonder of the world.

Unfortunately, the statue in 2010 was the victim of vandalism in history. It had inscriptions in black, which were promptly erased.

Being in Rio de Janeiro, you should also definitely visit one of the most famous areas of the city - Copacabana. There are a huge number of attractions here, festivals and concerts are held almost all year round.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer on the map of Rio de Janeiro

Brazil is different from many others southern countries the fact that there are practically no natural ones in it. Despite the presence in the territory of the state of many mountain ranges, active volcanoes there isn't. Devastating floods or dangerous tsunamis have also not been recorded. The Brazilians themselves believe that on the seventh day the Lord did not rest, but created a great capital. This city is spread among the endless sandy beaches and even climbed the slopes of huge granite rocks. And on top of one of the highest hills - Corcovado - rises the world-famous statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, as if hugging the city. It is she who, in the unanimous opinion of all the townspeople, keeps him from all misfortunes.

Statue of the prophet Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro

The idea of creating some kind of monumental monument - a symbol of the nation, came to the mind of one of the city officials back in 1922. Then, throughout the country, the centenary of Brazil's independence from Portugal was celebrated on a grand scale. Rio de Janeiro in those days was the capital of the state and it was in this city that they decided to erect a grandiose monument on the Corcovado hill, since its top was flat and was an ideal platform for construction. In addition, back in 1884, a railway was built leading to this mountain. It was used to deliver multi-ton building materials for the erection of the statue.

I must say that initially the government of the country planned to create a monument to Christopher Columbus. However, most of the townspeople met this proposal with indignation. The O Cruzeiro magazine held a general vote. As a result, it was decided that the statue of Christ the Redeemer will be located in Rio de Janeiro at this very place.

At the competition of projects, the idea of depicting Christ with open arms, as if wishing to embrace the whole city and at the same time resembling a cross, was recognized as the best. And a symbol Christian faith, and compassion, and the desire to help all people expressed this figure.

A nationwide fundraiser was announced for the erection of a statue of Christ. The church actively joined this project and also announced the collection of donations. In a fairly short period of time, a colossal amount for those times was collected - more than 2 million reais. But the financial problem was not the only one. In Brazil at the beginning of the 20th century, there were simply no technological conditions for creating such grand building. France came to the rescue. It was in this country that the frame and plaster sketches of the details of the statue were made. They were delivered on ships to Brazil, and already on the spot, according to schemes made of soapstone, talcolour, they completed the main parts of the statue, raised them to the mountain, where a reinforced concrete pedestal had already been erected, and assembled them together. By the way, the stone itself was brought from Sweden, and not only French, but also Romanian sculptors worked on the creation, for example, of the head of Christ. The project "Statue of Christ the Redeemer: Rio de Janeiro" was implemented with the participation of other countries.

Opening ceremony of an architectural masterpiece

This super-scale construction was carried out for nine long years. When all the work was completed, the ceremony of consecration and opening of the statue took place. Hundreds of thousands of tourists and believing pilgrims from all over the world gathered for this event. A few days before the opening, which, by the way, took place on October 12, 1931, the statue was covered with a huge cloth. Therefore, she appeared before the audience only at night. Hundreds of spotlights suddenly flared up in pitch darkness, and before the eyes of the astonished those present, it seemed to soar in the air. giant statue Christ in Rio de Janeiro with outstretched hands to the people. Since then, for 85 years now, every day in Rio de Janeiro, any of its happy residents, as well as everyone who visits this city, can admire with delight such an action unfolding every evening on the Corcovado hill.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer: Rio de Janeiro - curious facts from the history of existence

During its existence, the statue, which has become a symbol not only of the city, but of the whole country, has “overgrown”, as usual, with a considerable number of legends, superstitions and curious coincidences. Here are just a few of them:

Although it is officially believed that the idea to create a statue on a hill appeared in 1922, back in the 19th century, namely in 1859, a certain priest, Father Pedro, asked Princess Isabella for money to build a statue of Jesus Christ on Corcovado hill. He even offered to dedicate this building to a lady, but there was no reciprocal interest on the part of the royal person, and the project did not take place.

In 2008, a storm of unprecedented magnitude swept over Rio de Janeiro. The city and its environs were a large number of all kinds of destruction: damaged houses, power lines, roads. But the statue of Jesus remained unharmed, although, as eyewitnesses could observe, lightning more than once fell directly into it. Atheists attribute this miracle to the dielectric properties of soapstone, but Christians believe given fact real work of God.

In 2010, another one ended in South Africa. At this time, at the foot of the statue, football fans, who, as you know, there are a great many in Brazil, placed a banner calling for a visit to the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in 2014. Their efforts, as you know, were crowned with success - such a boom in the arrival of fans was not recorded at any championship.

In preparation for the statue's 50th anniversary celebration, a French artist suggested painting the entire figure blue. In her opinion, it is he who symbolizes peace and should bring it to people. She even received the blessing of the Brazilian bishop. However, when all necessary equipment delivered to the place, a real hours-long tropical downpour hit the city. The statue remained in its usual gray-green color, and believers believe that the Almighty did not like this idea.

There is no doubt that the statue of Jesus Christ, installed in Rio de Janeiro, will delight Brazilians and guests of the country for many years to come, and will bring many more amazing miracles. To believe in them or not is the personal choice of each person.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer stands in former capital Brazil - Rio de Janeiro. In 2007, she was included in the New Seven Wonders of the World list. Its height is 38 meters, weight 1145 tons, arm span 30 meters. It was built on Mount Corcovado, which means "Humpback Mountain". It got its name from its shape.

In 1859, the Holy Father Pedro Maria Boss arrived in Rio de Janeiro. He was so surprised by the beauty of Mount Corcovado that he proposed to build religious monument at its top. The idea was approved, and the construction of the railway leading to the top of the mountain began. The railroad was completed by 1884. And the construction of the statue was postponed.

The history of the construction of the monument

The construction of a gigantic monument was again discussed in 1921. It was then that it was decided that it would be huge statue Christ. The opening of the monument was planned to coincide with the centenary of the independence of Brazil, which was to take place a year later. A collection was announced throughout the country Money. And after the money was collected, construction began.

The project was originally drawn by Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald. On his layout, the pedestal looked like Earth and Christ stood on it with with outstretched arms. The monument looked like a big cross. Later, the engineer Heitorom da Silva Costa changed the shape of the pedestal to a more classical one. Due to the impossibility of creating such huge monuments in Brazil, their construction was carried out in France. As a result, the French sculptor Paul Landowski took part in the process of creating the figure. All the components of the sculpture were transported by sea, and then delivered to the top of the mountain by rail. A staircase with 223 steps leads from it to the final installation site. It's called "Snail".

On October 12, 1931, the opening and consecration of the monument took place. In 1965, the statue of Christ the Redeemer was consecrated by Pope Paul VI. Subsequently, the statue was reconstructed several times, and in 2003 the lift was equipped with escalators.

Now the Statue of Christ the Redeemer - business card Rio de Janeiro. Tourists from all over the world appreciated the bold project of Brazilian architects and engineers and now it is one of the most visited attractions in the world.

On a note

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Rua Cosme Velho, 513.
Official website: http://www.corcovado.com.br

The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is the pride and heritage of the Brazilian people. The famous monument is a Christian shrine for pilgrims who annually visit the divine creation.

Opening three-dimensional panorama of urban objects at the foot of grand structure humanity attracts many tourists from various countries peace.

The flow of those wishing to join the world architectural heritage is endless and annually attracts everyone with its grace.

In contact with

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil - a brief description

The artistic feature of the statue is manifested in the pose of Christ.

The body, resembling a cross from afar, is a symbol of the Christian religion. The outstretched hands of the giant identify both blessing and universal forgiveness. The monument is clearly visible from long distance. The frame of the reinforced concrete structure is covered with soapstone and glass elements.

The divine spectacle surprises both in the daytime and in the dark. Night searchlights increase the effect of the spiritual value of the monument in the eyes of all believers. The direction of the rays on the sculpture creates the impression of Christ descending from heaven.

Do you know that: the statue of Christ the Redeemer is on the list of modern 7 wonders of the world.

Dimensions

The impressive view of the statue is given by the Corcovado hill on which it is located. Being at its very top, the figure of Christ the Redeemer looks both majestic and graceful.

The memorial itself, by its size, belongs to tall buildings not only Rio de Janeiro, but also the world, and reaches a height of 30 meters. The pedestal on which the sculpture is installed is 8 meters high. The weight of the statue is 630 tons, the head is 35.6 tons, each arm weighs 9.1 tons, and the total weight of the structure is 1140 tons. The length of the outstretched arms of Christ the Savior is 28 meters.

Story

The idea of founding a statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro originated in 1859.

The construction was planned on the Corcovado hill - the highest peak of the territory of Rio de Janeiro, reaching a height of 704 meters. A curved hill in the form of a "hump" was best suited for the construction of such architectural masterpiece. Despite the consent of the church, its construction was impossible due to insufficient funds for construction. By the end of 1884, a railroad was built to the hill. Its engineers, Terceir Soares and Pereira Passos, were the discoverers of the railway track in.

At the beginning of 1921, at the insistence of catholic church led by Archbishop Sebastian Leme, donations were collected from the townspeople for the holy monument in the amount of more than 2.5 million real. The church society also provided a large contribution.

The artist of the project was Carlos Oswald. He put forward the idea of building a statue with outstretched arms, resembling a cross - a symbol of blessing.

The initial sketch was to put the figure of Jesus on a pedestal in the form of a ball. However, this option did not guarantee the stability of the structure and was replaced by engineer Hector de Silva Costa with a rectangular base.

From mid-1921, the construction of the Christ the Savior monument in Rio de Janeiro began, which was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the country's independence.

The production of sculpture parts from reinforced concrete and soapstone (soapstone), which has a soft structure, wear resistance and sufficient resistance to weather disasters, took place in France. The French sculptor Paul Landowsky modeled the hands and head of Jesus. On the railway track, the finished parts were transported to the top of the hill, where they were assembled. The planned construction for 1 year dragged on for 9 years.

Note: The solemn opening and consecration of the statue of Christ the Redeemer entered history on October 12, 1931.

The re-consecration took place with the participation of Pope Paul VI in 1965. At the same time, lighting fixtures were installed. In 1981, Pope John Paul II was at the 50th anniversary of the statue. In 2000, the night illumination system was upgraded. The appearance of escalators to the observation deck observation deck made it easier to climb to the sights.

Under the great monument of Christ in Rio de Janeiro is a small catholic chapel, named after the spiritual minister Nossa Aparecida, where worship, weddings and baptisms are held. It was created for the 75th anniversary of the statue and consecrated by Archbishop Eusebio Scheid. There is a souvenir shop nearby.

In 2007, the first divine service of the Russian Orthodox Church, which for quite a long time kept apart from the Christian monument. In 2016, as part of the Day of Russian Culture, held in Latin America, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed a prayer service with the spiritual choir of the Moscow diocese on the site near the monument.

You can see photos of this event in our article.

Many amazing events are associated with this monument:

Note: sightseeing is best inspired in the morning, before the midday heat. This will avoid a large crowd of tourists on the viewing area.

How to get there

To visit the majestic building, first of all, you need to get to the foot of Corcovado. It can be reached by a small electric train direct route, about 4 km long. This train track called Caracol is actually shaped like a snail. In one hour, the capacity of the railway is up to 550 passengers. The train runs every 20 minutes.

You can also use car rental or city taxi services. Upon arrival at your destination, you should walk 40 meters further, or use the escalator or elevator. Way forward To observation deck 223 steps of a steep winding staircase lead.

Please note: the route to the monument by road passes through a large natural Park Tijuca with local exotic fauna.

Cost and working time

The famous landmark of Brazil welcomes guests from 8.00 to 19.00 from free admission. You can get to it by electric train, which runs from 8.30 in the morning until 18.30 in the evening, at intervals of 20 minutes. The cost of the ticket, which is 51 reais, includes the return journey.

Tourists are offered a helicopter tour to the monument, which costs $ 150 and allows you to view the attraction in more detail from a bird's eye view.

Take note: you must keep your return ticket on the electric train, which is travel document in the round-trip direction.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer photo

Everyone who has been at the foot of the statue of Christ is impressed how the place turned from an ordinary fort into tourist town. Presented to the eyes of every tourist, the scale and beauty of the magnificent view of Rio shocks everyone who is on the observation deck.

From its height you can see many sights, including the famous Brazilian footballers sports complex Maracana, and the huge territory of the international airport.

You can admire the many kilometers of beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, see the top of the Sugarloaf in a foggy haze. For many believers, climbing the steps of the stairs to the statue of Christ means the cleansing and forgiveness of their sins. The outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer invite everyone under their divine cover.

Watch the video, which tells about the famous statue in the world - statues of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro:

It is a matter of honor for every traveler, having been in Brazil, to come to Rio de Janeiro and visit the foot of the majestic statues of Christ the Savior. Magnificent landscape, which opens at the foot of the statue, the feeling of some kind of inner power and delight will not leave anyone indifferent. It is best to leave a visit to the statue "for a snack". Thus, you will be able to see the familiar landscape and guess the Formula 1 tracks, the Maracanã stadium, sugar loaf and other sights about which only the lazy one does not speak or write. Almost forty-meter hulk (to be precise, thirty-eight) is visible from almost any corner of Rio, just like the whole city is visible from the statue. But do not even dream of taking a picture of everything together - the location of the statue does not make it possible to do this. An option is to fly by plane, but more on that later.

History of Jesus statue in Brazil

Jesus in Rio de Janeiro rises since 1931. But his story begins much earlier. The pedestal of the future statue was the so-called "mountain of temptation", which is mentioned in the Bible. But folk associative chains led to the renaming of the mountain in Corcovado, which in Spanish means "hunchback". The fact is that the mountain really resembles a hump. The mystery and beauty of Mount Corcovado is striking and mesmerizing. She did not leave indifferent the Catholic priest Pedro Maria Bossa. He could not resist the temptation to erect a statue of Jesus on the mountain. But for a large statue - big expenses, which the clergyman did not have. He offered to sponsor the action to the then Princess Isabella. And so that she would certainly agree, he promised to dedicate a statue to her and immortalize the virtuous lady. But the question of eternity turned out to be less attractive for the princess than the question of spending money, and she wished to postpone this matter until better times. But the plans were not destined to come true. Since the monarchy fell, and the church was separated from the state by law.

While the statue began to be forgotten, the construction of the railway from Rio to the top of the Hunchback began in full swing. Thus, when the idea of creating a statue was returned to the anniversary of the independence of Brazil in 1922, it was already possible to supply materials for construction without any special difficulties. Interesting is the fact that the statue was built with the money of the townspeople. Fundraising was taking place in churches when "monument week" was announced. Part of the money was donated by the church itself.

Construction began in April 1922, when the foundation stone of the pedestal was laid.

But before that, it was necessary to decide what it would look like monument in Rio de Janeiro. The city administration immediately announced a competition for best project but, amid stiff competition, the winner was Heitor de Silva Costa. In the project, he embodied the idea that everything in existence is in the hands of the Lord. The outstretched arms of the statue schematically depict a cross, and it was originally supposed to stand on a ball that would symbolize our planet.

The final layout was completed in 1927 - and finally the construction of the statue began. The artists, architects and engineers who designed the models lived near the statue throughout the construction and spent the night in a built tent nearby.

The statue was collected by the whole world. Well, almost everyone. The head and arms were assembled in France for technical reasons, and the French sculptor Paul Landowsky took part in modeling these parts of the statue. The material for making the sculpture was brought from Sweden.

The construction of the statue cost by today's standards quite cheap - a quarter of a million dollars. But at the time it was a huge amount.

How to get to the Monument of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro?

You can get to the city in any way: from the plane to the ship through the train and car. In the city itself, catch a taxi (by the way, taxi services are not cheap in Rio), wait for the bus. There are two trains running from the city center to Corcovado Mountain. The ride is short, only twenty or twenty five minutes.

The narrow railroad, which originally delivered the building materials for the statue, now carries a crazy flow of tourists. Every hour, an average of three and a half hundred tourists are delivered to the statue in Rio de Janeiro.

If public transport- this is not the view that you are used to, you can take a taxi or rent a car to the statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Such pleasure will cost more, but it also has its advantages. In addition to increased comfort, you get a tour of national reserve and the biggest woodland in the world, which is located in the halls of the city. You still have to get to the top without a car - on an escalator, which was installed here only in 2003. You can look at the statue from a bird's eye view by renting a private jet or helicopter, but the rent is simply fabulous. Although there is nothing to argue about the ratio of price and saturation of impressions - the view pays for the costs.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro today

The statue was consecrated twice by Pope John Paul II. The Brazilians themselves believe in the miraculous power of the statue and that it protects the city from troubles and adversities. Moreover, severe thunderstorms do not affect the statue, while the area around it can be severely damaged and more than one tree stands cut by lightning. Scientists are not inclined to believe in a miracle, and explain this phenomenon by the fact that the soapstone from which the statue was erected turned out to be a powerful dielectric.

However, time is taking its toll and Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro needs repair again, note the third time in more than 75 years.

Statue in Rio de Janeiro, photo which is decorated with all sorts of guidebooks, and any thing that is more or less connected with Brazil has twins all over the world. They are naturally smaller, but some of them are striking. So, for example, the monument to Jesus, which stands in Indonesia (the Muslim faith prevails), surprises with impudence.

Brazil Construction of the statue of Jesus Christ, video:

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