Christ the Redeemer Statue – one of the 7 Wonders of the World
Planning bucket list trips is one of our focus areas, and there are certain ‘checkmarks’ that excite me on my bucket list, like visiting all of the Seven Wonders of the World, so one of those inspires this week’s article…
Christ the Redeemer Statue – one of the 7 Wonders of the World
Human ingenuity and commitment never cease to amaze us, and Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer, is a prime example of that. Christ the Redeemer is the largest Art Deco design ever built, an incredible statue built to restore religious faith and hope, built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What makes it stand out is the fact that it sits at the peak of Mount Corcovado – from the base of the statue gives an extraordinary view of Rio de Janeiro, and the statue is visible from anywhere in Rio.
Why is Christ the Redeemer Statue considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the world?
The Christ the Redeemer statue stands as the largest Art Deco design ever constructed in world history. Depicting Jesus with outstretched arms, it symbolizes a gesture of welcome and peace.
The statue is 98 feet tall, and it’s built on top of a 28 foot pedestal. Its arms stretch 92 foot – 2/3 of the Statue of Liberty’s height. Christ the Redeemer weighs 700 tons, and it was built at 2,310-foot summit of Mount Corcovado, in the Tijuca National Park.
The statue’s construction started in 1922 and it was finished in 1931. The first person that suggested its construction was Pedro Maria Boss, a Vincentian priest that talked about a Christian monument in the 1850s, but the project did not move forward. In 1921, it was the archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro that ended up proposing the landmark, and it was accepted.
Heitor da Silva Costa, a local engineer, designed the statue after a competition to select a designer. He worked closely with Carlos Oswald, who was also a local artist. They were accompanied in this venture by multiple technicians and engineers from all over the world.
Christ the Redeemer is made out of soapstone and reinforced concrete. The combination of these materials was heavily studied and tested before actively starting construction. However, working with these materials at such a scale and at that height is what ended up making the construction process a 9-year long project.
In 2006, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, was consecrated at the base of the statue to commemorate its 75th anniversary.
The aesthetics of this landmark are incredible, and despite being close to 100 years old, the statue shows very few signs of damage. It’s a testament to preservation, religion, and engineering.
