Volgograd, May 8 - AiF-Volgograd. Phidias, Praxiteles, Rodin - the whole world knows these names. Thanks to the skilled turtle, the name of the sculptor Donatello is well known. But our history also had its own sculptors who received universal recognition. So, in Volgograd, for example, there are works by Vera Mukhina (on the dome of the Planetarium) and Evgeny Vuchetich (Mamaev Kurgan and the statue of Lenin (until 1960 - Stalin) on the Fadeev embankment).
We are the envy of all the bourgeoisie...
By the way, Vuchetich is the author of two statues of the Motherland. The central figure of the memorial on Mamayev Kurgan is perhaps the pinnacle (in all senses) of the famous sculptor’s work. Here the gigantism of Vuchetich’s thinking was fully demonstrated.
“What did we want to tell people with this monument on the site of bloody battles and immortal exploits? - he said after construction was completed architectural ensemble. - We sought to convey, first of all, the indestructible moral spirit of Soviet soldiers, their selfless devotion to the Motherland. The monument to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad is a monument to the greatest historical event. And therefore we were looking for large-scale, especially monumental solutions and forms that, in our opinion, would allow us to most fully convey the scope of mass heroism.”
However, the size of the complex is determined not only by the author’s vision, but also by Khrushchev’s direct instructions: the Motherland should be higher than the American Statue of Liberty. Higher means higher. Business...
Sisters in arms
After the death of Evgeniy Vuchetich, the construction of the second Motherland was completed: in Kyiv. The statue itself is smaller than the Volgograd one, but it stands on a 40-meter pedestal, inside of which there is a museum. Therefore, the colossus can be seen from afar.
Initially, they planned to cover the figure with gold leaf, but then this idea was abandoned. In general, Vuchetich’s project underwent some changes, since after his death the Kiev master Vasily Borodai, who had his own vision, took up the matter.
The metal statue was built using a crane specially made for this construction site. They did not have time to dismantle that crane before the commissioning of the facility and simply cut it with an autogenous gun. And the ends go into the water. In the literal sense: the metal frame was drowned in the Dnieper so as not to be an eyesore to the party authorities.
Sometimes residents of Volgograd and Kiev argue about whose Motherland is better. Residents of other cities in Russia and Ukraine are being drawn into the controversy. From sculpture they break into politics. But both buildings have their admirers. In addition, both “mothers” have the same father: Evgeniy Vuchetich. And he did not design his statues in order to pit nations against each other. After all, the Motherland at that time was one for everyone. And both “daughters” of Vuchetich, it seems, look at each other calmly and affably. They know better from above...
Its height is 182 meters.
In India, on the island of Sadhu Bet in the state of Gujarat, the tallest statue in the world - the Statue of Unity.
Its height is 182 m and it is higher than the statue of Christ in Brazil (38 m), the Statue of Liberty in the USA (93 m) and the Motherland in Kiev (102 m).
Read also:
The sculpture was installed in honor of one of the creators of the modern Indian state, Vallabhbhai Patel. After India gained independence in 1947, he served as the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. Patel is also the author of the Indian Constitution and has made great efforts to keep India within its borders and prevent the country from breaking up into smaller states.
For his services to India, Vallabhai Patel was given the honorary nickname Sardar, which means chief or leader in many Indian languages.
Read also:
The Vallabhbhai Patel sculpture consists of a 40-meter pedestal and a 142-meter statue. Installed at 153 meters Observation deck, which can simultaneously accommodate up to 200 people. The cost of constructing the statue is $430 million.
Video From Rio with love. The statue of Christ the Savior was painted in Ukrainian colors
Statue of Christ the Savior - in Ukrainian colors. In Rio de Janeiro, a famous sculpture glowed yellow and blue. The Brazilians illuminated it in the colors of the Ukrainian flag especially for the Independence Day of our state. They have been doing this for 5 years in a row. Moreover, they say, the Ukrainian diaspora has a double holiday these days. After all, they also celebrate the Day of the Ukrainian Community.
“15 years of search and doubt, sadness and joy, rejected and found solutions. What did we want to tell people with this monument on the historical Mamayev Kurgan, the site of bloody battles and immortal feats? We sought to convey, first of all, the indestructible moral spirit of Soviet soldiers, their selfless devotion to the Motherland,” the great Soviet sculptor said at the opening of the memorial Evgeniy Vuchetich.
Before the construction of the memorial, the top of the mound was an area located 200 meters from the current peak. Now the Church of All Saints is located on it. The current peak was formed artificially to build the monument.
During the design stage, Vuchetich constantly made changes. Initially, the project assumed the presence of two figures (a woman and a kneeling soldier), and in her hand the Motherland was supposed to hold not a sword, but a red banner. But it was abandoned, as was the magnificently decorated pedestal. The monumental stairs that had already been built were replaced with a serpentine path that encircles the statue like a ribbon. The dimensions also changed - the Motherland grew from 36 meters to 52. Although the sculptor’s plan has nothing to do with it, Nikita Khrushchev simply stated in an ultimatum that it must certainly be taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Mamayev Kurgan, on which the monument is located, has always been a strategic site, with a panoramic view of the city. Of the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, the fight for Mamayev Kurgan lasted 135 days. It remained black even in the snowy season: the snow here quickly melted from bomb explosions. For every square meter there were from 500 to 1250 bullets and fragments. In the first post-war spring, Mamaev Kurgan did not turn green; even grass did not grow on the burnt land.
According to the most conservative estimates, about 35 thousand people are buried on Mamayev Kurgan. In place of this huge mass grave and erected the main monument to Russia.
The Motherland is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at that time. Its total height is 85 meters, weight is 8 thousand tons. The most complex calculations of the stability of this structure were made by Doctor of Technical Sciences Nikolai Nikitin (he also participated in the design of Moscow State University and the Ostankino Tower). On this moment The statue ranks 11th on the list of tallest statues in the world. The tallest sculpture was built in 2008. This is a statue of Buddha in the Chinese province of Henan, its height including the pedestal is 153 meters.
The sword, 33 meters long and weighing 14 tons, was originally made of stainless steel covered with titanium sheets. But the sheets of titanium casing rattled in the wind, and additionally strained the hand. As a result, the blade was replaced with another one consisting entirely of fluorinated steel.
During the construction of the monument, a stable supply of concrete was necessary, otherwise the joints between the layers might not be strong enough. Trucks delivering concrete for the construction of the monument were marked with tapes of a certain color. Drivers were allowed to drive through on red lights, and traffic police officers were prohibited from stopping them.
From the foot to the top platform there are 200 degrees, corresponding to the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad. There should also have been 200 degrees inside the statue itself. But due to overflights, their number increased to 203.
Entry inside for outsiders is strictly prohibited, which is why it is overgrown with rumors and mysteries. Many people think that there is an observation deck in the mouth, and closer to the ear there is a restaurant for VIPs. However, it is not. According to another legend, soon after its creation a man got lost in the sculpture, and after that no one saw him.
At the monument on Mamayev Kurgan - a fighter with a machine gun and a grenade and the inscription on the pedestal “Stand to the death!” face of Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov. He was the memorial's chief military consultant. According to the will of the commander of the 62nd Army, he was buried on Mamayev Kurgan.
According to the memoirs of the Soviet physicist, academician Andrei Sakharov, Evgeniy Vuchetich, the author of the memorial ensemble to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, shared with him in a private conversation: “My bosses ask me why her mouth is open, because it’s ugly. I answer: And she screams - for the Motherland... your mother!
The monument is the second part of a triptych, which also consists of the monuments “Rear to Front” in Magnitogorsk and “Warrior-Liberator” in Berlin’s Treptower Park. It is implied that the sword, forged on the banks of the Urals, was then raised by the Motherland in Stalingrad and lowered after the Victory in Berlin.
The silhouette of the sculpture “Motherland” was taken as a basis when developing the coat of arms and flag of the Volgograd region.
On May 9, 2045, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, a capsule with an appeal from the war participants to their descendants should be opened on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.
There is another Motherland - in Kyiv, this is also the creation of Vuchetich. It stands on the right bank of the Dnieper. She is 23 meters smaller than her colleague, but stands on a huge pedestal, inside of which there is a museum. Due to this, its overall height is higher.
In Moscow there is a copy of the head of the Volgograd Motherland. She hides behind the fence of Vuchetich’s workshop on Vuchetich Street, and no one is allowed to look at her, but since the head is hefty, and the fence is small, both the head and her colleagues can be seen quite well from behind the fence.
Perhaps the biggest mystery is who the Motherland was modeled after; there are plenty of contenders. On the eve of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory at Stalingrad, 79-year-old resident of Barnaul Anastasia Peshkova announced that she became the prototype of the famous sculpture of Vuchetich. In 2003, Valentina Izotova made the same statement. She worked as a waitress at the Volgograd restaurant and claimed that Vuchetich himself invited her to work as a model. “I was paid 3 rubles an hour. There’s a lot of me in her - the neck, the bends of the arms, the legs, the hips - everything is mine!” – said Izotova. Another contender is Ekaterina Grebneva, an artistic gymnast, and now a retired honored teacher. She also posed for Vuchetich, but does not pretend to be unique: “This is a collective image. I think I wasn’t the only one who posed for sculptors.”
However, the former deputy director of the monument-ensemble “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” Valentina Klyushin calls all the contenders impostors: “Evgeniy Viktorovich made the figure from Nina Dumbadze, the famous discus thrower. She posed for him in Moscow, in his workshop. But for the face of the sculpture, Evgeniy Viktorovich did not go far ". He created it with his wife, Vera Nikolaevna. And sometimes he affectionately called the sculpture after his wife - Verochka."
Made from pre-stressed concrete - 5500 tons of concrete and 2400 tons of metal structures (excluding the base on which it stands).
The total height of the monument is 87 meters. It is mounted on a slab only 2 meters high, which rests on a main foundation 16 meters high, most of which is hidden underground.
The height of the female figure is 52 meters (weight - over 8 thousand tons). The statue stands The statue stands freely on the slab, like a chess piece on a board. Inside, the entire statue consists of separate chamber cells. The rigidity of the frame is maintained by 99 metal cables that are constantly under tension.
x HTML code
The sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” is 45 years old. Andrey MIREIKO
Monument “The Motherland is Calling!” opened in 1967. How the monument became the tallest in the world, whose face the female figure has and what sculptural “relatives” she has - let’s remember 10 facts about the Motherland.
Volgograd. Memorial complex “The Motherland is Calling!” Andrey Izhakovsky / Photobank Lori
Competition without borders. The victory in the Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the history of the Great Patriotic War. A competition for the creation of a monument in Stalingrad was announced already in September 1944. Famous architects and soldiers took part in it, sending their sketches by military mail. Architect Georgy Martsinkevich proposed erecting a tall column with the figure of Stalin at the top, and Andrei Burov - a 150-meter pyramid with a frame made of melted down tanks.
Projects even came from abroad - from Morocco, Shanghai. It is interesting that the future creator of the Motherland, Evgeniy Vuchetich, did not take part in the competition. There were legends that he discussed his project directly with Stalin.
Construction of the monument “The Motherland is Calling!” Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd. 1962. Photo: zheleznov.pro
Construction of the monument “The Motherland is Calling!” Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd. 1965. Photo: stalingrad-battle.ru
Construction of the monument “The Motherland is Calling!” Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd. 1965. Photo: planet-today.ru
Changes in composition. The sculptural composition should have looked different. It was assumed that next to the female figure there would be a statue of a kneeling soldier holding out his sword to the Motherland. However, the initial composition of the monument seemed too complicated to Yevgeny Vuchetich. He changed the project after approval from above. The sculptor had an important ideological argument: the soldier could not give his sword to anyone, because the war was not over yet.
Who was the prototype? Art historians agree that Evgeny Vuchetich was inspired by the bas-relief “Marseillaise” on the Parisian Arc de Triomphe and the ancient sculpture of the Nike of Samothrace. However, who exactly posed for him is not known for certain. It is most likely that the sculptor sculpted the figure of the Motherland from the Soviet discus athlete Nina Dumbadze, and the face from his wife Vera. Today, a model of the statue’s head is kept in the Vuchetich Estate Museum in Moscow.
The first reinforced concrete monument. The Motherland became the first monument in the USSR made entirely of reinforced concrete. In the 1960s, after the war, many cities, including Volgograd, were not rebuilt, and reinforced concrete was one of the cheapest materials. However, this choice caused some difficulties. For example, just a year after the opening of the monument, small cracks began to form on it. To preserve the monument, the head and hands of the sculpture were annually coated with a water-repellent agent.
Soviet track and field athlete Nina Dumbadze at competitions. 1950s Photo: russiainphoto.ru
Bas-relief “Retreat of volunteers to the front in 1792” (“Marseillaise”). Triumphal Arch. Sculptor Francois Rud. Paris, France. 1836
Sculpture "Nike of Samothrace". Pythocritus from Lindos. Around 190 BC Louvre, Paris
Strengthening the structure. All engineering calculations were carried out under the direction of Nikolai Nikitin, who built the Ostankino TV tower. Monument “The Motherland Calls!” it was not secured in any way during construction: it stands on the ground due to its own weight. Metal ropes are stretched inside the statue, which make it more stable and maintain the rigidity of the metal frame. Today, sensors are installed on the cables, and specialists monitor the condition of the structure.
Monument to the era of three secretaries general. Although the architectural design competition took place in the 1940s, work on the monument began after Stalin's death. The construction order was signed in January 1958 by Nikita Khrushchev. The monument took almost ten years to build - it was opened in October 1967. The opening was also attended by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee - at that time Leonid Brezhnev.
Tallest statue in the world. It was planned that the height of the Motherland would be 36 meters. However, Khrushchev ordered to “grow up” the female figure. The statue on Mamayev Kurgan was supposed to “overtake” the Statue of Liberty - its height without a pedestal was 46 meters.
After construction was completed, the Motherland was the tallest statue in the world. The female figure towered 52 meters above the pedestal, and taking into account the length of her arm and sword, the height of the monument was 85 meters. The monument weighed 8 thousand tons, excluding the sword. Today, the Motherland remains in the top ten tallest statues in the world.
Steel sword. The statue's sword was made using aviation technology. It was made of stainless steel and sheathed with titanium sheets. But this solution was not suitable for the monument - the sword swayed and creaked in the wind. In 1972, the weapon was replaced with a steel one with holes to reduce windage. Because of the “problematic” sword, the monument’s designers did not receive the Lenin Prize. The “Motherland Calls!” monument. Sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, architect Nikolai Nikitin. Volgograd. 1959-1967
Monument "Warrior-Liberator". Sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, architect Yakov Belopolsky. Berlin, Germany. 1949
The image of the "Motherland". The collective image of the Motherland appeared on propaganda posters back in 1941. They were created by the Soviet painter Irakli Toidze. The artist recalled that the prototype of the woman on the poster was his wife. Hearing a message about the attack on the USSR, she ran into the artist’s studio shouting “War!” Irakli Toidze was shocked by her expression and immediately made the first sketches.
The statue of the Motherland Monument, located in Volgograd, is recognized as the tallest in Europe and Russia. The element of the compositional center is the second part of the triptych, which includes such elements as: Magnitogorsk “Rear Front” and Berlin “Liberator Warrior”.
The overall picture involves a sword made in the Ural Mountains, raised to defend the fatherland at Stalingrad and lowered after the surrender of the fascist command in the German capital.
The monument is located on Mamayev Kurgan almost in the center of Volgograd. It is located not far from the banks of the Volga and the river station. Facing the northeast implies an appeal to the fatherland with a call to fight the hated enemy, who is trying to destroy everything in its path.
The hill that became the location of the monument, according to legend, is the burial place of the temnik of the Golden Horde, Mamai. This is confirmed by numerous archaeological finds made before the war.
Daily fighting here continued from September 1942 to January 1943. In total, about 34,000 soldiers died here. That is why this place and was chosen to erect the sculpture.
The author's idea of the monument “The Motherland Calls” in Volgograd
The idea to immortalize the place that became a turning point during the Second World War appeared to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief even before its end. Already at the end of 1944, a competition was announced to determine the appearance of the monument.
Not only Soviet architects and ordinary people took part in it; variations came from foreign countries: Morocco and China. Options depicting Stalin and a pyramid of melted down tanks acting as the base were rejected. As a result, the version by sculptor Evgeniy Viktorovich Vuchetich, called “Motherland,” was chosen.
History of the construction of the monument “The Motherland Calls”
The Motherland statue in Volgograd, the height of which allowed it to be included in the Guinness Book of Records, was built by almost the entire Soviet Union. As an example, we can cite the memoirs of a worker at one of the Ural metallurgical plants.” “Having learned that our metal would be used to make the frame of the monument, although this would require working in 2 shifts, we unanimously agreed.”
The example presented is not unique. At the stage of pouring the figure, any downtime could cause the concrete to set and the formation of a micro-gap between the layers. To prevent this, cars delivering material were marked with special tapes, allowing them to pass through “red” traffic lights.
Construction of the monument began in the summer of 1959. It lasted 8 years and ended in the fall of 1967. For this, a large number of building material, resulting in the walls of the pedestal being 0.3 m thick. The foundation, completely dug into the ground at the base, is deepened by 15 m, for which a pit of more than 8 m was dug.
Total spent:
- Concrete – 5500 tons.
- Metal structures and fittings - 2,500 tons.
The main persons supervising the construction were the sculptor E.V. Vuchetich and the engineer N.V. Nikitin, under whose leadership many other specialists worked in various directions.
For example:
- Musical accompaniment and scoring of each sculptural composition of the ensemble on Mamayev Kurgan - announcer A. I. Levitan, sound engineer A. I. Geraskin, director V. K. Magatoev.
- Consultant on military issues, Marshal of the USSR, who took a direct part in the defense of Stalingrad - V.I. Chuikov.
Prototype of the statue
The statue of the Motherland in Volgograd, the height of which was an absolute record for that time, partially resembles the face of the sculptor’s wife.
There is an opinion that the author’s inspirations were other people and ancient figures:
- Girls who posed for him, but had no idea for what purpose: A. A. Peshkova; V. Izotova; E. Grebneva.
- Disco athlete Nina Dumbadze, with whom he sculpted the figure.
- The figure of the Marseillaise painted on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
- Antique statue of Nike of Samothrace.
No one will know whose image Evgeniy Viktorovich actually took as a prototype. The author died at the age of 65, 7 years after the discovery of his sculpture.
Elimination of design defects
Concerns about the stability of the structure arose even at the construction stage. 2 years before completion, the inspection commission from the State Construction Committee recommended that the management strengthen the soil for fear of “sliding” to the river bank. As a result, major additional reinforcement and concreting was carried out at the very base of the statue.
A year after opening, another problem appeared. The statue's sword, made of stainless steel and covered with titanium sheets, was made with errors in calculations. The wide blade caused excessive tension, resulting in swaying. Over the winter, the metal became deformed and began to make a sharp creaking sound.
The decision was made only in 1972.
The sword was replaced with a new one, cast at the local metallurgical plant "Red October". Now it was made of steel. The windage was reduced by adding holes in the top. The next survey in 1986 revealed a number of further deviations from the specified parameters. Based on the recommendations received, work was carried out to strengthen the frame and façade.
A key mistake during construction was made through no fault of the architect or workers. “Motherland” was built at a difficult time for the country. Many cities have not yet been restored from ruins, so all funds were directed to construction, and not to the development of new innovative technologies to improve the quality of concrete.
The result was periodic weathering and minor cracking of the structure under ultraviolet radiation and strong steppe winds. Therefore, every year it undergoes minor decorative repairs.
Technical characteristics of the monument
The base for the statue is a 2-meter pedestal resting on a solid foundation. The hill on which it is located was formed artificially. Initially, the hill was located on the site where the church stands.
The soil for the embankment was transported by truck for 1 month. According to approximate data, more than 150 tons of earth were delivered. The weight of the resulting statue structure is 8,000 tons of reinforced concrete.
The internal cavity is hollow; there are 119 metal cables located here, each of which is designed to hold a load of 60 tons. The purpose of the tension is to hold and stiffen the entire structure. Pretension control is carried out using sensors located at the ends of the stretch marks. Some of them are not whole, but are joined on intermediate floors, strengthening the concrete structure.
The most complex structure is located at chest level of the monument. The mentioned steel cables distribute the loads of the structure, absorbing the tension of the weight of the monument’s arms. It should be noted that the “Motherland” does not have any adhesion to the foundation, so it is supported like a chess piece, under its own weight.
Contrary to numerous speculations about the once existing elevator and restaurant for VIPs and an observation deck located in the head and sword, there is nothing like that here. You can climb to the upper part only by stairs, 52 m high, with 203 steps. Most of the premises are small rooms with an area of 3*3 m.
However, in the area of the head and chest there are 2 large rooms in which equipment is located that takes into account the vibration of the structure. You can only get into the head via a metal ladder installed vertically. To do this, you will have to overcome a shaft with a diameter of no more than 1.5 m. The room has an exit intended for industrial climbers. There are 2 more in the hilt of the sword.
Interesting facts about the monument “The Motherland Calls”
At the time of design, Vuchetich changed the project concept after it was approved. Initially, he proposed an option of two compositions: a warrior is kneeling in front of a woman, holding out a sword to her.
Yevgeny Viktorovich’s ideological considerations were based on the fact that a soldier cannot give up his weapons, since the war is not over yet. This is not the only deviation from the planned project.
A number of other changes were gradually introduced, which few people know about:
Excursions to Mamayev Kurgan. Prices
Mamayev Kurgan is a place where one can still feel the bitterness of loss and the joy of victory in the Great Patriotic War. You can get acquainted with the main attractions and exhibitions of the memorial complex on your own or using the services of guides.
The review begins and ends in one place: at the foot of a staircase consisting of 200 steps, similar to the number of days that the Battle of Stalingrad lasted. As a rough guide, the table below provides information on the cost of excursion services at the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Reserve (Mamaev Kurgan).
| Category, civil status of tourist | Cost of services, rub. |
| Groups of citizens of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus numbering from 1 to 5 | 1,200 for a group |
| Groups of foreign citizens from 1 to 5 | 2,500 for a group |
| Citizen of the Russian Federation and Belarus | 250 |
| Students of the Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus, applicants to full-time higher educational institutions | 150 |
| Students of secondary educational institutions of the Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus | 100 |
| Citizens of foreign countries | 400 |
The cost of providing services is given in accordance with the order of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Reserve dated February 22, 2018.
Possibility of statue destruction
The “Motherland” statue in Volgograd, whose height reaches 85 m, can stand for a long time. Despite the numerous design errors mentioned earlier, there is no likelihood of destruction. With appropriate maintenance and control, one of the unique monuments recognized as a miracle of Russia will remain intact for many years.
Beginning in 1966, the statue began to deviate from its original position. However, calculated information shows that there is nothing critical in this that exceeds acceptable standards. For example, in the period from 2000 to 2008. it has shifted by 16 mm. The design features of the project assume and allow a deviation from the vertical axis of 272 mm.
One of the most unique buildings in Russia has been haunted by various legends and stories throughout its history. If some of them are real, then a number of others are simply fiction.
If we talk about facts from the present past, we can highlight the following:
Among the fairy tales, the most common are 2:
- The story is about the elevator, restaurant and observation deck that were in operation many years ago, which were mentioned earlier.
- The myth is that after the monument was opened, one of the members of the selection committee got lost inside it. Despite the huge number of small rooms, getting lost in them is problematic.
Comparison of the statue with other large monuments in the world
The statue “Motherland” in Volgograd, the height of which allows it to be included in the 10 tallest monuments depicting a full-length human figure. If we talk about Russian sculptures, only the monument to Peter I, located on the Moscow River, exceeds it.
However, if we take into account that the Volgograd exhibit is more than 50 years old, and the Moscow one is only 21 and imagine the difference in technological progress of these times, preference is given to the first. The height of a person is only 18 m, and 98 is achieved taking into account the ensemble of ship masts.
Statue of Liberty in New York
“Statue of Liberty” translated from English means “Freedom Illuminating the World.” It is located not far from New York Manhattan, on an island in the middle of the bay. The monument was erected at the end of the 19th century as a reminder of the centenary of the independence of the United States. What is noteworthy is that the construction of the statue was carried out not by the Americans, but by the French, and the element itself was presented as a gift.
The monument represents a woman dressed in a tunic covering her entire body, with the exception of her head, arms and feet. With her bare feet she stands on broken chains, representing independence. There is a 7-pointed crown on the head, a lit torch in the right raised hand, and a tablet in the left hand, reminiscent of the date of the Declaration of Independence.
Unlike the Volgograd monument, thin copper sheets were used for construction here, which were minted in wooden forms and installed on a steel base.
Acquainted with technical characteristics The Statue of Liberty can be found in the table below:
Statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian statue is classified as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Its height is 38 m, but due to the fact that it is located on the very high point, periodically it becomes a so-called lightning rod. About 4 - 5 times a year it is struck by lightning.
The founding date of the monument is equivalent to the centenary of Brazil's independence.
Work on it began in 1922, and 9 years later the construction was completed. The uniqueness of the work performed lies in the fact that for a number of reasons it was not possible to carry it out on site. As a result, frame production took place in France. For this, reinforced concrete and soapstone were used.
You can see the general technical characteristics of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in the table:
Buddha statue in Japan
In Japanese it is called Ushiku Daibutsu, which means Big Buddha, it is located in the city of Usiku. It is the third largest statue in the world and the largest made of bronze. It rises above the ground to a height of 120 m, of which the platform size is only 20 m.
to his appearance she shows that she is passing on the teachings to followers who are heading along the right path of enlightenment. The right arm is raised, the left is lowered along the body. The palms are turned towards the observers. The index and thumb of each of them are connected at the tips, the rest are straight.
The technical characteristics of the monument are given in the table:
Motherland in Ukraine
The monument was opened in 1981. It was the first steel monument of this size built on the territory of the Soviet Union. The work on the appearance of the statue was carried out by E. V. Vuchetich, who created the “Motherland” on Mamayev Kurgan. The sudden death of the sculptor did not stop the work. His work was continued by Vasily Borodai and a number of other specialists who worked under Evgeniy Viktorovich.
The statue on the banks of the Dnieper is depicted as a woman holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, symbolizing the defense of the Fatherland. The structure is hollow, inside it there are 2 elevators designed for the movement of maintenance and repair personnel. In the early 2000s, tourists were allowed to climb to the top of the statue, where an observation deck was equipped.
However, in 2003, there was a case of a visitor falling, as a result of which entry inside was limited. Regular inspections of the technical condition suggest that the safety margin of the Motherland monument is more than 150 years old.
You can see the technical characteristics of the statue in the table:
The statue “Motherland” emphasizes the high moral spirit of the Russian people, the creator of the great historical event that refracted the course of the Great Patriotic War. The battles for Volgograd (Stalingrad) revealed a soldier’s unrequited love for his homeland, regardless of nationality and civil status.
Article format: Lozinsky Oleg
Video about the statue Motherland
The history of the creation of the Motherland statue in Volgograd:
