What does the Statue of Liberty actually symbolize? Unknown Statue of Liberty

"Freedom Enlightening the World" has been meeting all travelers who have arrived in New York Bay for more than a hundred years, and is one of the world's most famous monuments, a symbol of the United States.

History of the Statue of Liberty

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, the French scholar and writer Edouard de Laboulay, who admired the ideas of the American state system, came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a monument that personified the acquisition of US independence.

The idea was picked up by another Frenchman Frederic Bartholdi (architect of the Statue of Liberty), who at that time was working on the creation of a female sculpture with a torch in his hand. Already in 1870, the French sculptor made the first sketches of the monument, with which he went to the USA for approval of the project. The project is approved by the American side (including Ulysses Grant, who was then President of the United States), and representatives of the two powers (France and the United States) decide to start building a monument called "Liberty Enlightening the World."

With the mutual consent of the parties, it is decided that the monument will be a gift to the United States from France for the centenary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States - July 4, 1876. By agreement between the countries, the sculpture itself was to be designed by the French side, and the American side would work on the creation of the pedestal.

However, the construction of the monument dragged on for a long 10 years ...

Hand with a torch

After the start of work on the project, it becomes clear that there is a catastrophic lack of money to create a monument. On both sides of the ocean, the initiators of the project begin to raise funds for the construction, various charitable events are organized.

In August 1876, Bartholdi was forced to bring part of the sculpture (a hand with a torch) to the United States, where the fragment was installed at the Centenary Exhibition in Philadelphia, and then in Madison Square. Visitors are charged a fee to visit the torch hand, but the proceeds are still not enough to complete the construction.

The US Congress refuses to allocate funds for the construction of the monument, citing the plight of American finances and the untimeliness of the erection of an "allegorical" monument, while the country needs monuments to the heroes of the Civil War.

A young journalist, Joseph Pulitzer, comes to the rescue by launching a large-scale fundraising campaign for the monument in the press. The journalist calls on Americans to unite, fiercely criticizes the indifferent, and promises to write about everyone who has made at least a small donation. The campaign is a success and after a few months the required amount was collected.

The fragment returns to France, where Bartholdi begins to work hard on the project: by 1878, the head of the sculpture had already been completed by the sculptor, and in 1879, Gustave Eiffel was involved in the creation of the monument. It was this talented engineer who designed the steel frame of the statue and the spiral staircases leading up to the crown. Bartholdi and his assistants made 350 skin parts that were supposed to be put on the frame. The parts were made of copper, which is easy to cut and bend, which made it possible to “fit” the parts right during the assembly process.

The figure of Liberty was hung by the French in 1884, after which the structure was dismantled, and all the details of the sculpture were delivered by ship in June 1885 to the United States.
The American side also did not waste time: the statue's pedestal, designed by Richard Hunt, began to be erected in 1883. With the consent of Congress and taking into account the wishes of Bartholdi, Fort Wood, which had the shape of an eleven-pointed star, and was located on Bedloe Island in the harbor, was chosen as the site for the installation of the statue.

In April 1986, the pedestal was completed, and the assembly of the complete structure of the monument began. Finally, on October 26, 1886, the grand opening of the Statue of Liberty took place: President Cleveland, after holding the parade, went to Bedloe Island, where, under general rejoicing, he tore off the French flag that covered the statue and proclaimed that “Liberty itself chose this place as its home!”

general description

Three kilometers from busy Manhattan, in the bay, the majestic Statue of Liberty welcomes all guests, travelers and its citizens.

The monumental monument, 93 meters high, consists of the female figure itself (46 meters) and a concrete pedestal (47 meters). The female figure holds a torch in her right hand, and in her left she holds a tablet, on which the date of the United States Independence Day is carved in Latin characters.

At the foot of the monument lies a broken chain, representing the cast off fetters of slavery and the victory of democracy. There are windows in the crown, symbolizing the rays of the sun and precious stones of the earth. To get to the windows you need to overcome 354 steps, and if you climb just to the top of the pedestal - 194 steps. There is an elevator inside the pedestal.

The total weight is over 200 tons (together with a cement base, copper coating and a steel frame), and the length of the statue of liberty is 93 meters (including the pedestal).

At the bottom of the pedestal there is a bronze plate with poems by Emma Lazarus, which appeared here in 1903. The words of the poetess were written after a wave of pogroms that swept Europe in the late 1880s, after which crowds of immigrants rushed to the shores of America in the hope of finding a new homeland. The poems convey the idea of ​​the Statue of Liberty - the readiness to take under its roof all the outcasts and the destitute, and the promise to give them freedom and equality on this shore.

The very visit to the island of Liberty and the Statue is free, but you can only get to it by water - on ferries and boats, where you have to pay a certain amount for the trip. You can get to the Statue itself without hindrance, but the number of visitors is strictly fixed. If you do not book a ticket in advance, the visit will be limited to a walk around the pedestal and climbing to the observation deck, where you can view the Statue from the inside through a special glass ceiling.

The Statue of Liberty is open for visits all year round, but it is better to take a tour in the warm season - in winter, a boat trip will bring very dubious extreme pleasures due to the cold northern winds that are typical for this time of year.

Interesting Facts

The history of the Statue of Liberty is inseparable from the history of the United States itself, so it is accompanied by a lot of amazing and entertaining facts:

• The personification of the friendship of two peoples: French and American, which formed the basis for the creation of the monument, was safely forgotten over time. Now the Statue of Liberty is presented in the world exclusively as the main symbol of the United States, embodying the victory of democracy and the independence of the country.
• The seven rays emanating from the crown are the seven seas and continents of light, from which travelers sail to America, hoping to find shelter and a new homeland. It is a symbol of hope for all the persecuted, the destitute, a harbor for sailors and refugees from all over the world.
• Initially, Bartholdi worked on the creation of a female figure with a torch in her hand to install it at the entrance to the Suez Canal - this project was never realized, but served as a prototype for another monument. The Statue of Liberty combines two images - the goddess of freedom of ancient Rome, Libertas, and the symbol of Colombia.
• The characteristic green color of the Statue is given by the sheathing sheets of the structure, made of copper. Initially, projects were proposed to clean the surface, but then they decided not to touch the skin that protects the statue from further destructive corrosion.
• Initially, the Statue of Liberty was supposed to be used as a lighthouse, but the lamps built into the structure did not differ in power. Having found no practical use for the Statue, the government's lighthouse division handed over the monument to the United States War Department in 1901. Already in 1933, the monument was transferred to the US National Park Service.
• Bedloe Island, previously considered a slum area, significantly changed status with the establishment of a monument, and in 1956 was renamed Liberty Island, and 10 years later it was included in the National Register of Historic Places of the United States.
• By the 100th anniversary of the creation of the monument, a thorough reconstruction of the monument was carried out (sea spray and cold winds thoroughly spoiled the appearance of the Statue), initiated by President Reagan. This time, funds for reconstruction among American citizens were collected in the shortest possible time, and more than covered the two million dollars spent on repairs.
• Access for visitors since the establishment of the Statue was closed several times: for the period from 1982 to 1986 (reconstruction), from September 2001 until the end of 2004 (due to the threat of terrorist attacks), and also in October 2013 (during the period of suspension of the government ).
• After the successful Norman operation, the lights of the beacon on the statue broadcast the news of victory to the whole world in Morse code.

UNESCO added the American statue to the World Heritage List in 1984, describing it as a symbol of peace, glorifying the power of the human spirit, the abolition of slavery, the victory of democracy and human rights.

The erected Statue of Liberty became at the beginning of the twentieth century the personification of independence, prosperity, free life for many travelers who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life.

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• . And in 6 states there is not a single city where more than 99,999 people live. Unique US cities can be called because they all differ from each other not only in climatic and historical indicators, but also because almost every city has its own individual ethnic composition. A large number of immigrants from all over the world created settlements and, settling in the territory of the States, gave the existing culture their flavor. Maybe it is because of this that not a single language has been officially approved in the United States, but English is the most common American style. Los Angeles - the 2nd largest city in the USA The names of US cities are symbolic, but some may seem unusual to us, to put it mildly. For example, Big Ugly, which we translate as "Big and ugly." And on the US map there are as many as three cities that bear the official name "Santa Claus". A lot of other things may seem strange in US cities. For example, the fact that almost 1/3 of the cleaners, janitors and waiters here have a complete higher education, but they are not at all embarrassed by such work. Or the fact that no one forbids smoking to minors by law, but it is strictly forbidden to sell cigarettes to them. The world's first skyscraper, a local TV channel, the first parking lot and a traffic light system, the highest mountain and a large freshwater lake - all these are the advantages of different cities in the United States, therefore There are many reasons to visit each of them. 10 "most" cities in America You can't argue that each city in the States is unique, but among them you can still distinguish leaders according to certain criteria: the oldest city in the USA is St. Augustine, which was founded in 1565 in Florida; the city, the largest in area, is Sitka. It occupies almost 7.5 sq. km in the state of Alaska; the largest population lives in New York - more than 8 million people. But in the same city, the most strict definition of the boundaries of each district is observed; the most populous cities are located in California; the very first city in which a cinema opened was Los Angeles, it happened in 1902; the city with the "lowest" buildings, that is, without the skyscrapers familiar to America, is Washington. The height of each building, except for the Capitol, does not exceed 40 m; the largest outflow of the population was observed in the city of Detroit. In the middle of the 20th century, almost 2 million people lived in it, and today - less than 700 thousand. By the way, this is the city with the most intense criminal situation in the United States; the poorest city in the States is Allen, just over 95% of its population are Indians; the very first city to have electricity was Wabash, Indiana; the most "British" city in the US - Byron. 5.3% of its inhabitants were born in the UK. ">Cities 2
• and cultural and historical (were created by man in a relatively short history of the development of this land. Miraculous wonders of American nature Times SquareFrom many historical monuments, it is recommended to visit Times Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Walt Disney amusement park, the Pentagon, the White House, the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore are the symbols of the United States. A little over 100 years ago, the construction of the American subway began on this site.The square is named after the New York Times, the most widely read American newspaper, the publisher of which is located here.The White House in Washington is the main building of America.It houses the state government The complex of buildings is surrounded by gardens, which were created by the first ladies of the country. see with your own eyes when you visit the United States."> Attractions1
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• and equated to them by the status of the city. In total there are more than 3 thousand districts. The districts are administered by municipalities, whose rights are determined individually by each state. The United States also includes the District of Columbia, in which the capital of the state, the city of Washington, is located. In cooperation with the United States, there are several independent territories, which may later become full states or terminate relations. These include Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Eastern Samoa and other regions. How many states are there in the USA? State of AlaskaThe list of US states consists of fifty items. When the federation was formed, thirteen colonies became part of the state. The rest of the states joined voluntarily, or as a result of commercial transactions or military actions. Among them there are record holders. In terms of maximum area, the first place is occupied by snowy Alaska, acquired in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. The most populous state is sunny and warm California, with more than 35 million inhabitants. 1

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The Statue of Liberty was presented to the United States by the government of France in honor of the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence. The giant figure was called "Liberty Illuminating the World" and was created for 10 years in the art studio of the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower, designed the internal steel frame for it. It was planned to present this gift on July 4, 1876, but due to lack of funds, which were to be replenished by voluntary donations, the celebration had to be postponed.

Practical Americans did not understand what kind of romantic utopias they had to part with their labor income for.

Bartholdi was forced to send to the states a fragment of a statue 15 meters high - the right hand and a torch, which he installed in Philadelphia at the exhibition of the century. For climbing into the torch itself, they took 50 cents (decent money in those days). Then the hand with the torch was transported to New York and installed in Madison Square Garden. Yet the money was clearly not enough.

And then a young journalist, editor and publisher of the World newspaper, Joseph Pulitzer, got down to business. At 18, he arrived in New York penniless from Hungary and began his career as a paperboy. Then he began to write police chronicles, small notes and quickly became the owner of the dying New York World newspaper. He instantly restructured her work, appealing to thousands of new emigrants, the same. like himself, perfectly understanding their needs and aspirations. So Pulitzer abruptly joined the campaign to raise money.

“This statue is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America,” he wrote angrily, “it is a gift from the French to all Americans. Take this as a personal call to you!”

Within 5 months, the required amount was collected. This action brought fame to Pulitzer and allowed him to triple the circulation of the newspaper. And today, the Pulitzer Prize is the most prestigious for journalists.

Finally, on October 28, 1886, US President Grover Cleveland received the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe Island, renamed Liberty Island in 1956 in honor of the famous statue, to thunderous fanfare.

Initially, an agreement was reached between the governments of the two countries, according to which the French side was responsible for the construction and transportation of the statue, while America prepared a place for it and erected an appropriate pedestal. Both the French and the Americans agreed that a small island at the entrance to New York Harbor would be best suited for their purposes. Here, at one time, the foundation for Fort Wood was already arranged in the form of a ten-pointed star. It could well serve as a foundation for a grandiose pedestal, the first stone of which was laid in 1884.

The statue itself, 47 m high, Bartholdi was going to sheathe with copper sheets no more than 2.4 mm thick. Thin copper had to be minted in a special wooden mold. As a result, Bartholdi and his henchmen made 350 separate skin parts, which in July 1884 were sent by ship to the United States. On Bedloe Island, they were put together like a huge construction kit and put on a steel frame made by Eiffel.

The frame consists of four monumental steel pillars, penetrating the statue to its full height. These supports are attached to the pedestal with huge steel bolts. Distributed on the main supports is the lace of a steel frame, which Bartholdi sheathed with hundreds of details of his designer. To give the statue sufficient strength and flexibility, each element of the copper sheathing was provided with its own independent beam. Bartholdi hoped in advance that the material of the casing would make it easier for him to assemble the statue, because thin sheet copper is easily bent and cut. This allowed for the final adjustment of parts directly on the statue, during the assembly process. One way or another, the Statue of Liberty is without a doubt an example of the skill of a talented French engineer.

In the ensemble with a plinth, made in the classical style by the architect Richard M. Hunt, the height of the statue from the base to the top of the golden flames is 95 m. The seven rays on its crown symbolize the seven seas. For many travelers who crossed the Atlantic to get to America, the Statue of Liberty was a symbol of freedom, independence and prosperity.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 1986, the Statue of Liberty underwent a "facelift". The salty sea air corroded its structure so much that a serious restoration was required. Voluntary contributions from citizens across America more than covered the $2 million required for this work. This statue means a lot to the citizens of America - and not only to them.

An invitation to hope

In a figurative sense, the Statue of Liberty was the first sign of a new world for the many millions of immigrants who have come to America over the past two centuries.

The famous words on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty belong to the New York poet Emma Lazarus, which were written after sweeping across Russia in the 1880s. waves of pogroms that forced many Jews across the Atlantic.

Since then, her lines have acquired a universal sound, serving as a beacon of hope for all the destitute and persecuted: And give me from the depths of the bottomless Your outcasts, your downtrodden people, Send me outcasts, the homeless, I will light a golden candle for them at the door!

Tourists

Get to Liberty Island (Liberty Island) you can use the ferry departing from the pier of Betteri Park (Battery park). Entering the park, you will see a long organized line, as once in the Mausoleum, these are those who want to visit the island with the statue, which you might want to join.

Visiting the crown is allowed again, but the number of places is limited, so you need to book tickets in advance. Those who have not done this will have to walk around the area around the statue and climb to the observation deck on the 16th floor; a special glass ceiling allows you to see the impressive "insides" of the statue. A visit to the island by ferry is usually combined with a visit to neighboring Ellis Island (Ellis Island). Ferries (Tel: 201-604-2800, 877-523-9849; www.statuecruises.com; adult/child $13/5; every 30 minutes 9am-5pm, longer in summer) depart from battery park (Battery Park). The nearest tube stations are South Ferry and Bowling Green. Booking ferry tickets in advance (corona visit - additional $3), you will visit both attractions.

An excursion to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty is best done in the warm season and during daylight hours.

Of course, in winter there are much fewer people, so. if you are not afraid of the icy piercing wind that reaches the skin through the warmest down coats and gloves, then it is worth a try. Traveling by boat is wonderful, but being outdoors in cold weather is quite extreme in its feelings. There is an old immigration center on Ellis Island, where all newcomers to the country entered and registered, now there is a museum.

Data

• Title: Officially translated from French, its name is "Liberty that illuminates the world." She is also known as the Statue of Liberty, Lady Liberty or Miss Liberty.
• Design: The author of the statue is the French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. Putting Eiffel in charge of engineering work, he also created its steel inner frame. The total weight of the statue is 254 tons.
• Dimensions: The statue itself has a height of 46.5 m and stands on a 47-meter pedestal, to the top of which a staircase of 194 steps leads, and 354 steps must be climbed to the crown of the statue.
• UNESCO World Heritage List: The Statue of Liberty was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984.

Ellis Island

Served from 1892 to 1954 as a staging post for more than 12 million immigrants hoping to start a new life in America, Ellis Island is modest and sometimes even shabby, but on the other hand it symbolizes the fulfillment of desires. Here in the island hospital, more than three thousand people died, many were denied the right to enter. The immigration station on Ellis Island is the second stop for ferries going to the Statue of Liberty. The beautiful main building became the Museum of Immigration (Immigration museum; Tel: 212-363-3200; www.ellisisland.org; New York Harbor (New York Harbor); audio guide $8; 9.30-17.00), where the most interesting exhibitions and film screenings are held about the life of immigrants, about how the influx of population has changed the United States.

When asked where the Statue of Liberty is located, everyone will probably answer immediately and without delay: “In America!”. In our time, this country without a monument that would so vividly signal the freedom of speech, thought and democracy is rather difficult to imagine, and perhaps even impossible. Some are surprised by the size of this sculpture (after all, its height, together with the pedestal, is no less than 93 m), others like the idea inherent in the statue, others consider it one of the greatest monuments of modern art.

The real name of this statue sounds a little different and translated from English means: "Freedom that illuminates the world" . Although most believe that since the Statue of Liberty is in America, it means that it was born there, in fact, this is not the case. This steel woman is the most Frenchwoman: she was made in France and a resident of this country served as a prototype for her. As for the sculpture itself, it is a gift from the French in honor of the centenary of America's independence.

The Statue of Liberty in New York is not the largest monument in the world, but its height, like other parameters, is still amazing (if only because one of her tiny nails weighs about one and a half kilograms):

• The height of the monument is about 47 m;
• The height of the pedestal is 46 m;
• The weight of copper sheets is 31 tons, while their thickness is 2.57 mm;
• The steel structure and frame weigh -125 tons;
• The weight of the concrete base is 27 thousand tons.

Despite its rather impressive size, in the presence of a strong wind, the Statue of Liberty sways a little - the range of oscillation in some cases may well be about 7.6 cm, the torch has even more - about 12.7 cm. This does not affect it in any way. stability, since Eiffel himself, the creator of the famous French tower, was involved in the development of a structure made of a strong iron support and a frame that allows the statue to move while maintaining the balance of the monument.

What is the monument made of?

Since the stone is quite difficult to process, and besides, it is extremely heavy during transportation (especially across the ocean), it was decided to make the Statue of Liberty in the USA hollow inside, and sheathe the steel support with sheets made of copper. The development of a massive frame was entrusted to Gustave Eiffel, and the Parisian firm of Cage and Gauthier took up the sheathing (at the same time, sheets were minted in wooden molds, and copper was purchased in Russia).

It is noteworthy that the Statue of Liberty is green these days. So, it was not always - as soon as it was installed - it was a bright, golden-orange tone.

Such a transformation occurred for a rather banal reason: the copper sheets with which it was sheathed oxidized after a few decades - and turned green, so only written memories remained about the previous color of this monument.

What does the monument look like?

By itself, the Statue of Liberty in the United States looks grandiose and majestic. The monument is located on Liberty Island near Manhattan and represents a woman whose height is 93 meters. She is dressed in a toga, clothes reminiscent of the principles of ancient democracy, stands proudly upright and holds a torch in her right hand, symbolizing the Enlightenment. At the same time, her left hand presses a tablet to itself, on which the cherished date for Americans is engraved in Latin letters: “07/14/1776” - the day the US Declaration of Independence was adopted.

One leg of a steel woman tramples on broken chains, symbolizing slavery. In the middle of the monument, there is a staircase that allows you to climb the stairs (there are 356 of them in total) to the observation deck, which was located in its crown, while half of the road can be shortened somewhat and an elevator can be reached to the top of the pedestal (these are 192 steps). The crown has 25 windows, symbolizing the natural wealth of the Earth, and on top it is decorated with seven rays, representing the seven continents.

How the monument was created

The history of the Statue of Liberty is notable for the fact that it was created in several countries at once, money was collected for a long time, transported in parts, and some of its details even took part in exhibitions.

The concept of such a monument was developed by the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Who exactly posed for him, there are several hypotheses. According to one of them, the statue is extremely similar to the sculptor's mother, Charlotte. According to another, her face belongs to the recently widowed Isabella Boyer, whose husband was the famous Isaac Singer, the creator of a series of famous sewing machines.

Location selection

In which city the Statue of Liberty would be located, Bartholdi decided. Of all the options offered to him in the United States, he liked Bedloe Island near New York, three kilometers from Manhattan. After the installation of the statue, people quickly renamed it Liberty Island, although this name was officially fixed only in the middle of the 20th century.

Fundraising

France and the United States entered into an agreement between themselves that America would build the pedestal and pay for the installation, while the other side was responsible for the manufacture of the monument and its transportation. How expensive the project turned out to be, it became clear almost immediately - there was not enough money for it both in one and in another country.

Therefore, both here and there, events aimed at raising funds were held. The French parted with their funds much more willingly than the Americans. It was both money contributed as donations, and for participation in various entertainment evenings, lotteries. Bartoli managed to interest even the government of the Third Republic (the main argument is America as an ally against European monarchies hostile to France). Quite quickly they collected more than two million francs.

At the same time, the Americans were in no hurry to part with money - the Statue of Liberty did not particularly impress them, the fiery speeches of Bartoli, who traveled from city to city, did not give any special results and they refused to donate money, and Rockefeller said that this idea was complete nonsense.

Despite the fact that the architect Richard Morris Hunt had already designed the pedestal in 1883, due to lack of funding, work could well have stopped if the well-known publisher and journalist Joseph Pulitzer had not taken up the matter.

First, he offered to publish the names of absolutely all the people who would give money for the construction. And secondly, he made extremely harsh criticism, addressing the representatives of the middle and upper classes - his articles were so convincing that in a fairly short time they managed to collect more than one hundred thousand dollars.

In the USA, by 1885, the entire required amount was collected, and in early August, the pedestal was finally erected on the island (at the same time, cement for the construction of the foundation was brought to the USA from Germany). This work lasted about eight months - and by the end of construction it was the largest concrete foundation on the planet in those years.

Works in Paris

The French worked much faster, and by the end of 1881 the statue was almost ready - it only needed to be assembled, which was done. After assembly, the main entrance to the statue was in front, the emergency exit was in the heel of the left foot. From the observation deck, which was equipped in the crown, they led a ladder to the torch and planned to supply gas, but just by that time Edison had invented electricity, and it was decided to stop at this option.

By 1884, all work on the part of the French was completed. The monument was assembled, staged a grand opening attended by US Ambassador and Prime Minister Ferry, and dismantled to be transported across the ocean. Since the pedestal on the island was not ready by this time, the statue began to travel from city to city, in parts.

Travel statue on a pedestal

Before the gift from the French democrats was delivered and installed in its intended place, the Statue of Liberty managed to travel around the world. For example, her head, whose height is 5.26 m, as well as her hand with a torch, were seen by Paris, Philadelphia, Madison Square, where they visited expositions and anyone could look at them.

In total, it took 214 boxes to transport the sculpture across the ocean, and it was divided into more than three hundred parts. It took about four months to assemble the monument upon arrival at Bedloe Island. And they connected it to the pedestal with the help of two steel lintels, connected by anchor beams, which go up and connect there with the frame of the statue.

Opening

Despite the fact that the Statue of Liberty was already assembled in April 1886, due to various organizational reasons, the grand opening on the island took place in mid-autumn. A gift commemorating the centenary of the American Revolution was a decade late. It is interesting that for quite a long time it was not only a monument to freedom and democracy, but also served as a beacon, which quite successfully coped with its duties.

Where is the most famous symbol of the New World

The full name of the Statue of Liberty is "Liberty Enlightening the World". This is the absolute champion among all the symbols of the United States and the American continent in terms of mention and significance for pop culture. It was she who became the first and most significant object that hundreds of thousands of immigrants saw when sailing into the bay of New York. Therefore, “Freedom” for Americans is immediately associated with a large number of symbols: it is both a new life and a rejection of everything old, and at the same time something so blatantly neoclassical and European right in the center of the metropolis.

The exact location of the Statue of Liberty

The monument is located in North America, on the Atlantic coast in the largest US city, New York.

More precise location: Liberty Island at the mouth of the Hudson River at 40.68 degrees North and 74.04 degrees West.

The place where the statue stands is picturesque and from many angles looks picturesque: a lonely and relatively small island in the middle of a bay with a strong current, surrounded by sparkling skyscrapers. All this in the heart of New York next to Manhattan.

Statue of Liberty as a tourist attraction

The history of the emergence of the Statue of Liberty is the history of the realization of the American pathos of the young Republican people. It is symbolic that the sculpture symbolizes not only abstract freedom, but also its universality and universality. Its creators were inspired by the spirit of the European Enlightenment and faith in the power of industry and progress in the 19th century. Therefore, it is not surprising that the co-author of its creator, Frederic Bartholdi, was the same Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris. At the same time, copper for coating, apparently, was taken from the Ural deposits, so the project turned out to be truly international and global.

The construction required incredible forces, since at that time the technical capabilities were much less. That is why it took a detailed study of the steel frame by Eiffel. A copper shell, created by the sculptor Bartholdi, is already attached to the frame. Delivery and installation in themselves proved to be a titanic task and required a lot of effort from both countries, France and the United States. Even the creation of a massive concrete pedestal on a small island took a long time and was associated with difficulties.

The Statue of Liberty was presented by the French government to the American people in 1876 on the centenary of the American Revolution. The whole design is filled with symbolism: seven rays symbolize the number of continents, the torch is designed to illuminate the world, spreading the light of freedom, while in the left hand there is an image of the US constitution, as the guarantor of these freedoms. What Liberty looks like as an ancient Greek goddess is also an attempt to create continuity in the symbols of European history and instill the neoclassical tradition in the New World.

With a total weight of 183 tons and a height of 93 meters, the Statue of Liberty seems to be a large object even against the backdrop of skyscrapers, in the 19th century it was simply amazing and instilled faith in the achievements of technology and industry.

The Americans proclaimed the statue a symbol of freedom, which is also a visual embodiment of the country's democracy. The Statue of Liberty itself is located on a separate island of the same name near New York; the date of its construction is considered to be 1886.

Forty-six-meter gift

This statue is one of the seven tallest statues in the world, its height is about 93 meters. She, as it were, rises on her island, stretches out her hand holding a torch, straight into the sky. If we calculate separately the height of itself and the height of its pedestal, it turns out that the pedestal on which it rises is 47 meters, respectively, the statue itself, a gift from France, is slightly less - about 46 meters.

If you look in detail, you can also study the height of the details of the statue. The torch, which is in the right hand of the monumental goddess of Liberty, has a length of 8.8 meters.

Inside the hand of the statue is the so-called service or work ladder, its height is 12.8 meters. In the first years after the discovery of the statue, this staircase was accessible to the general public, and anyone could climb it, but later - in 1916 - it was open to the public. Currently, a special elevator can take visitors to the statue to its pedestal and to the very top - the crown.

In the opposite hand, the statue holds a tablet on which is written the date when the US Declaration of Independence was adopted.

crowned lady

Located on the head of the goddess of Liberty, it has its own original device and symbolism. There are 25 windows in the crown, which allow you to enjoy a stunning view from a height of 93 meters.

Such a building is not only high, but also heavy. The total weight of the structure is estimated to be about 125 tons, and the weight of the copper statue is 31 tons.

The 7 rays located on the crown symbolize the 7 continents into which the earth is divided.

The Statue of Liberty is often compared to another giant statue, the Colossus of Rhodes. The height of the Colossus, according to the surviving historical data, reached from 36 to 100 meters. Historical chronicles differ in testimony, and therefore it is not possible to say exactly how many meters were in the wonder of the world today.

An American poet who praised the Statue of Liberty wrote a work that she called The New Colossus. Thus, once again emphasizing the majestic height of the building, later it was her work that was engraved on a bronze tablet and attached to the pedestal of the statue, which now houses the Museum of the Statue of Liberty.