Statue of Liberty

It was designed by a young French sculptor, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who was striving to build a statue like the great Colossus that once stood at the Greek island Rhodos. The statue's face was modeled after his mother's and the story goes that the body was modeled after a prostitute. The steel framework was made by Gustave Eiffel, who also built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Statue of Liberty was constructed in France and sent to the USA in 214 pieces. The biggest and most embarrassing problem was the construction of the pedestal, which had to be paid for by the Americans themselves. The statue's torch was displayed in Madison Square park for six years in an attempt to spark interest and attract funds. But it was only after publisher Joseph Pulitzer published the names of those who donated money for the project that the funds started flowing in. Eventually, the statue was erected 10 years late, in 1886.

The Statue of Liberty is 46,5 meter (151ft) high and together with the pedestal it reaches 93 meter (305ft). It used to be possible to take the staircase inside the statue and walk all the way up the 354 steps to the head from where you have a nice view on New York City, but for security reasons it was not allowed anymore for some time after sept 11. Currently only time-limited tickets are available for those wanting to enter the monument itself. For more info on how to get tickets to the Liberty Island, take a look at this website.