A symbol of peace and freedom.
“Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World” stands on the foundations of a fort built in 1811. The statue, 93m/305ft-high including the foundation and base, is a world-famous symbol for the USA. The monumental statue, presented to the USA on its 100th anniversary by France, was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904, from Colmar) and was originally intended for the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. It was inaugurated on 28 October 1886 in the presence of US president Grover Cleveland, F. A. Bartholdi and F. de Lesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal. The statue consists of steel scaffolding covered with 300 copper plates (Gustave Eiffel), is 46m/50.3yd high to the point of the torch in the raised right arm, which is illuminated after dark, and weighs 225 tons. The goddess of liberty, crowned with a radiant diadem, stands on the broken chains of slavery and holds the Declaration of Independence in her left hand with the historic date “July 4,1776” inscribed upon it. The massive star-shaped base was built according to plans by Richard M. Hunt. The construction materials could only be financed after a private fund drive. From the planning of the statue to its unveiling in New York, 20 years passed.
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