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 side by side, take them for a 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 monument, which has become a global brand, towering on a huge pedestal. Actually, the very idea of the Statue of Liberty belongs to the Frenchman Edouard 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 Bartholdi is 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. Head of the engineering project "Statue of Liberty, Paris" was offered to Eugene Emanul Viollet-le Duc, and withhe was assisted by Gustave Eiffel himself in designing.
Interestingly, the well-known New York Statue of Liberty is a gift from France, and the Parisian statue is a return gift from America. The Statue of Liberty in Paris is only 11.5 meters high. Many states in America, as well as many cities in France and other countries, have their own 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 to the west, to where her "American sister" is installed. In her right hand, the Statue of Liberty in Paris holds a traditional torch for her, and in her left hand, a stone plaque with two historical dates of coups: in France and in America.
There are a large number of statues of Liberty in the world. In addition to the most "main" in New York, they adorn Paris, Colmer, Saint Cyr Sur Mer, Tokyo, Las Vegas. There are similar statues in Moscow, Uzhgorod, Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov and Cadase in Spain. Each has its own history and its own characteristics. For example, the Statue of Liberty, which is located on Liberty Avenue in Lviv (Ukraine), is the only seated image of this symbol in the world.
It is interesting that 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 work on the design, Bartholdi entered into an agreement with a Parisian foundry company. According to the contract, the company hadthe right to serial 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 Clegerec. This sculpture became a monument to Sergeant Joseph Pobeguin, who was born in this city and took part in the expedition to the Sahara.
The Statue of Liberty in Paris is presented in four places: at the Grenel bridge (the one next to the Eiffel Tower), in the Luxembourg Gardens and two at once in the Museum of Arts and Crafts.
