Colmar, Alsace, France
Birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi
|
|
Statue of Freedom Colmar, Alsace, France Birthplace of Auguste Bartholdi |
|
The world's largest replica of the Statue of Liberty, 12 meters high, was unveiled 4 July 2004 in Colmar, Alsace, France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Colmar is the birthplace of Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. The new statue was installed on a roundabout in a commercial zone where it welcomes visitors at the northern entrance to the picturesque Alsatian city, prefecture of Haut-Rhin. The 2004 sculpture was officially inaugurated on American Independence Day, July 4th, in the presence of Bernadette Chirac, the wife of president Jacques Chirac, the Secretary General of the European Council, the French Minister for Foreign Trade; Christopher Davis, consul general of the United States in Strasbourg, and American professional singer Jessye Norman. Mrs. Chirac withdrew the American flag which covered the plaque installed in front of the work by sculptor Guillaume Roche. According to Mr. Roche, his work is the largest copy of the Statue of the Liberty, built in 1886 in New York harbor by Bartholdi with the aid of Gustave Eiffel. The original statue towers more than 90 meters above New York Harbor - the statue itself standing 46.05 meters (151 feet, one inch) tall on a 47-meter pedestal. France gave the statue to the United States as a symbol of the friendship that started during the American Revolution. A small replica stands in Paris on an island near the Grenelle bridge in the Seine, near the Eiffel Tower. To create the new statue, Roche used one of Bartholdi's original models, which is kept at the museum in Colmar dedicated to his work. He built a statue 10 times the size of the 128-centimeter model. Roche then cut it into 42 pieces, moulded them in plaster and reproduced them in the polyester resin. Roche's Lady Liberty is designed to resist the shock of being hit by a truck, and also to resist the ill effects of pollution and decay due to the anti-graffiti substance with which it is coated. Colmar Statue Statistics: 12 meters high; 10 meters circumference 2 tons steel, 6 tons plaster. 2 tons resin. 1000 folds in her dress 12,000 man-hours, 9 months construction time Cost: EUR 300,000 (USD 370,000) . |
Lady Liberty's Little Sister Officially Unveiled About.com Colmar Travelogue by Galen Frysinger Statue of Liberty Party Honors Creator by RedNova |
Musée Bartholdi