Vrijheidsbeeld/statue of liberty

By whom and why
The statue of liberty is designed by Gustave Eiffel, the man of the Eiffel tower in Paris. The statue was constructed by the French woodcarver Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The original name of the statue was “Liberty Enlightening the World”. The statue was a present from the French people for the American people and it is a symbol of liberty everywhere in the world. France gave the statue for the hundredth birthday of the American independence. That was on July 4, 1776. On October 28, 1886 it became the official divulge by President Cleveland. It was restored in 1986. The cost was 70 million Euros. The current torch with the 24 carat gold leaf flame was replaced.

What does it represent?
The statue of liberty is 93 meter high and weighs 225 ton. The gigantic statue is a woman who shakes a broken chain off her. In her right hand she holds the torch of freedom. The torch is enlightened every night by mercury lamps. In her left hand she holds a tablet, which symbolizes the books of the law. The book is 7,2 meters high. There be written in Roman numerals, 4 July 1776, that’s the day that the USA declared herself independent. On her head she wears a crown with seven tops, they stand for the 7 continents and the 7 seas where the lightning and freedom shall spread over it. The nose of the statue is 1 meter long, the eyes have a contour of 76 cm, and the mouth is 90 cm wide. The face is deduced of the mother of Bartholdi. Marie Bartholdi.


The construction
The statue of liberty was constructed in 15 years, from 1870 until 1885 in Paris. The statue was paid for by the French people who gathered the money by lotteries and dinners. The statue was first positioned in Paris and then split up because the statue had to go to America by ship. The several parts were put on a ship in 210 crates over the Atlantic Ocean to America. When it arrived in America there was a delay of 15 months, because the suckle wasn’t ready. Finally the statue was divulged on 28 October 1886.

The Colossus
The statue of liberty is based on the Colossus. For that reason some people call it the ‘The New Colossus’. The colossus is in 1724 constructed on the island Rhodos. The construction of the 36 meter high statue takes 12 years. That’s 3 meters every year.The statue is constructed to the thank God Helios. Unfortunately the statue was broken after 66 years by an earthquake. The remainders sat under the lava. But the bronze statues were stolen by people who sold it to merchants. There are now even some people who in the harbor of Lindos search for remainders of the statue.

Where
The statue stands on Liberty Island, earlier called the Bedloe’s Island, in the harbour of New York. Then came millions of immigrants to New York who had escaped from the war. The statue was the first thing that they saw when they came into New York.

The base
The base is 46,4 meters high. They put there it to double the height of the statue. It is made of concrete and stone. There  has been written a poem from the American poetess Emma Lazarus, called ‘The New Colossus’. That symbolized the message of hope and the freedom for immigrants who came to America search for freedom.

Visitors
If you come to the statue you can first visit the museum behind the base. Then you can go with the elevator or with the stairs to the top of the base. Then you can go only with the stairs and climb 33 meters high. The metallic winding stairs has 354 steps. During the climbing you can stop 5 times on a relax platform and cross to inside of the statue and see the inside. On the top you are in a room with a beautiful view you are then in the crown of the statue. The look-out gallery has 25 windows with a capacity of 30. There is also a stair to the torch but there can’t you go as visitor. Some visitors come with a helicopter to see the Statue of liberty, so you can see the face better.