Statue of Liberty in Paris - a monument of history and culture of two nations of the world

When you visit Paris, you may be surprised by the fact that the legendary Statue of Liberty, the invariable and well-known symbol of America, is located near the Eiffel Tower. Many people, seeing pictures where two of these facilities are nearby, take them for photomontage, but they are mistaken. True, the Statue of Liberty in France is several times smaller than the American original.

Well, now a few names and facts from the history of the world-famous monument erected on a huge pedestal. Actually, the very idea of the Statue of Liberty belongs to the Frenchman Edouard RL de Laboulaye. As an opponent of slavery throughout the world, he wanted to make a gift to America in honor of the 100th anniversary of US independence in 1865 and thereby perpetuate the victory of liberation ideas in the civil war.

Frederic Auguste Bartholdi - the name of the sculptor, who worked on the creation of the monument. The prototype of the statue is the ancient Roman goddess Libertas. There is an opinion that the role of the model was played by Isabella Boiler, the widow of the notorious Isaac Singer. The engineering project "The Statue of Liberty, Paris" was proposed to Eugene Emanuel Viola-le Duke, and Gustave Eiffel helped him with the design .

Interestingly, the well-known New York Statue of Liberty is a gift from France, and the Parisian statue is the recipient of a gift from America. The Statue of Liberty in Paris is only 11.5 meters high. In many states of America, as well as in many cities of France and other countries, there are small copies of the legendary New York symbol of freedom.

Home The Statue of Liberty in Paris today stands on the Swan Island near the Eiffel Tower. Face it is turned to the west, to where its "American sister" is installed. In his right hand, the Statue of Liberty in Paris holds a traditional torch for her, and in the left a stone scoreboard with two historical dates of upheavals: in France and in America.

In the world there are a large number of statues of Liberty. In addition to the "main" in New York, they decorate Paris, Colmer, St. Cyr Sur Mer, Tokyo, Las Vegas. Similar statues are in Moscow, in Uzhgorod, in Dnepropetrovsk, in Lviv and in Kadas in Spain. Each has its own story and its own characteristics. For example, the Statue of Liberty, which is located on Liberty Avenue in Lviv (Ukraine), is the only sitting image of this symbol in the world.

Interestingly, the copies of the statue began to appear even before the original was installed. This is due to the lack of funds for its creation. Before starting to work on the design, Bartholdy concluded an agreement with a Parisian foundry company. According to the contract, the company was entitled to the mass production and sale of the Statue of Liberty. Thus, the first "swallow" of the Statue of Liberty was the appearance of a monument to the French people in September 1882 in the city of Kleterek. This sculpture became a monument for sergeant Joseph Pobiguin, who was born in this city and took part in an expedition to the Sahara.

The Statue of Liberty in Paris is represented in four places: the Grenelle Bridge (the one next to the Eiffel Tower), the Luxembourg Gardens and two at once in the Museum of Arts and Crafts.