Christ the Redeemer
The Statue of Christ the Redeemer is a jewel of Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . The 39.6 metres (130 feet) tall statue , weighs 700 tons and is located at the peak of the 700-m (2296-foot) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. By looking at this statue following lines comes to mind:
Jesus is my God, Jesus is my Spouse, Jesus is my Life, Jesus is my only Love, Jesus is my All in All; Jesus is my Everything - By Mother Teresa
The landmark statue is a symbol of Christianity. The Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation placed Christ the Redeemer in the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World
The idea for building a large statue atop Corcovado came up in the mid 1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. The idea being building the large statue is to express Love of Jesus for all. But Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea. She completely dismissed the proposal in 1889, when Brazil became a Republic, with laws mandating the separation of church and state.
The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro made the second proposal for a iconic statue on the mountain . The original design of statue of Christ the Redeemer Brazil was done by a Brazilian, named Heitor da Silva Costa with the help of French sculptor Paul Landowski.
An event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") helped to attract donations to balance the huge cost of the project.
The monument was opened on October 12, 1931. The cost of the monument was $250,000. In October 2006, on the statue had its 75th anniversary.
