Highest Notable Statues around the World
Approximate heights of various notable statues around the world:
1. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m (incl. 25m pedestal and 20m throne)
When the 25 m (82 ft) pedestal/building it
is placed upon is taken into account, the monument has a total height of
153 m (502 ft). As of October 2008, the hill on which the statue stands
is being reshaped to form two further pedestals, the upper one being 15
m tall. The total height of the monument is now said to be 208 m (682
ft).
The project as a whole was estimated to cost around $55 million, $18
million of which being spent on the statue. It was originally estimated
to consist of 1,100 pieces of copper cast, with a total weight of 1,000 tonnes.[3] Beneath the statue is a Buddhist monastery.Plans for the construction of the Spring Temple Buddha were announced soon after the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in Afghanistan. China has condemned the systematic destruction of the Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan.
The Spring Temple Buddha derives its name from the nearby Tianrui hot spring, which spews water at 60°C and is renowned in the area for its curative properties. The Foquan Temple, built during the Tang dynasty, houses the “Bell of Good Luck”, placed on top of Dragon Head peak. This bronze bell weighs 116 tons.
2. Statue of Liberty 93 m (incl. 47m pedestal)
The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in the middle of New York Harbor, in Manhattan, New York City. The statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886, was a gift to the United States from the people of France. The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including the pedestal and base, was closed for a year until October 28, 2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features could be installed; Liberty Island remained open. However, one day after the reopening, Liberty Island closed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and the island remains off limits to the public. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916. The statue will reopen to the public by July 4, 2013.
4. Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m (incl. 9.5m pedestal)
PS Christ the King Statue, Poland – the tallest statue of Jesus in the world
Christ the King (Polish: Pomnik Chrystusa Króla) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Swiebodzin, Poland in the western Poland, completed on 6 November 2010. It is 3 meters taller than the better known statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, standing at 30.1 metres (99 ft) tall without its pedestal.
The figure is 33 metres (108 ft) or (108ft) tall, the crown is 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall, and along with its mound, it reaches 52.5 metres (172 ft) overall. It took 5 years in total to construct and cost around $1.5 million to build, which was collected from donations of the 21,000 residents of the town. The project was conceived and led by Sylwester Zawadzki, a retired Polish priest. It is the tallest statue of Jesus in the world.
5. Statue of David 5.17 m (excl. 2.5m plinth)
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504.
Because of the nature of the hero that it
represented, it soon came to symbolize the defence of civil liberties
embodied in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state
threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the
hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare,
were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Accademia Gallery
in Florence in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a
replica.
Source (and more statues): Wikipedia
