The Statue of Liberty is probably the most famous statues all over the world. It is located on a small island in New York Harbor. The statue presents a woman with the torch holding up. The tourists are free to go inside it. Inside the torch may stand about twelve people in the same time, but many more may stand in different part of the whole statue. It is estimated that the statue weighs over 225 tons and it is about 301 feet high.
The Statue of Liberty was erected in 1886. And it was a kind of gift given to the United States from the French. In the past between these two nations existed the special relationship. In 1776 thanks to the French help the American colonies gained the independence from England. The French nation wanted to give the American people a special gift to celebrate its 100th birthday.
Laboulaye was a famous Frenchman who was fond of the United States. Once he invited his prominent friends to the party to talk about the gift for the American nation. Among his guests was the famous French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. He presented the idea of a statue of liberty and declared to design the project.
Many French people contributed the project. They gave a lot of money for the statue. Americans designers projected and erected the base for the statue and then the statue stood on. Then the American people collected the whole sum of money to build the pedestal. However, the French engineer Alexandre Eiffel, who was well-known for designing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, pointed out that the statue would be too heavy to stand the statue on it.
The statue stands until these days and it greets the immigrants who come to the United States. The first thing they saw while entering New York is the Statue of Liberty. It is the symbol of the land of freedom.
