When visiting Paris, you may be surprised by the fact that the legendary Statue of Liberty, the unchanging and well-known symbol of America, is located not far from the Eiffel Tower. Many, having seen photographs where these two structures are located nearby, take them for photo montage, however 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 monument that has become a global brand, towering on a huge pedestal. Actually, the very idea of the Statue of Liberty belongs to the Frenchman Eduard R. L. de Laboulet. 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 Bartholdy is the name of the sculptor who worked on the monument. The prototype of the statue is the ancient Roman goddess Libertas. It is believed that the role of the model was performed by Isabella Boiler, the widow of the notorious Isaac Singer. Eugene Emanuel Violet-le-Duc was invited to lead the engineering project "Statue of Liberty, Paris", and Gustave Eiffel himself helped with the design .
Interestingly, the well-known New York Statue of Liberty is a gift from France, and the Paris statue is a return 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.
The main Statue of Liberty in Paris today stands on Swan Island near the Eiffel Tower. Her face is turned west, to where her "American sister" is set. In her right hand, the Statue of Liberty in Paris holds a torch traditional for her, and in her left - a stone board with two historical dates of coups: in France and America.
In the world there are a large number of statues of Liberty. In addition to the most "main" in New York, they adorn Paris, Colmer, St. Cyr Sur Mer, Tokyo, Las Vegas. Similar statues are in Moscow, in Uzhgorod, in Dnepropetrovsk, in Lviv and in Cadas 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, copies of the statue began to appear even before the original was installed. This is due to a lack of funds for its creation. Before starting work on the design, Bartholdi entered into an agreement with a Parisian foundry company. According to the contract, the company had the right to 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 Klegerek. This sculpture became a monument to Sergeant Joseph Pobeguin, who was born in this city and took part in an expedition to the Sahara.
The Statue of Liberty in Paris is presented in four places: at the Grenelle bridge (the one next to the Eiffel Tower), in the Luxembourg Gardens and two at once in the Museum of Arts and Crafts.