Statue of Liberty is a gift from the French people for the people of the United States. Monument represents the Roman goddess of freedom, which emerges from the broken chains, literally pulls away from any kind of slavery holding a lantern, symbolizing the will of joining heaven and earth together, and its flame (even though its glow is very poor) is supposed to light the world and the plaque with the inscription „July 4, 1776, the Independence Day of America”.
The erection of a statue was supposed to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and an alliance of France and America during the War of Independence of the United States. Initially, the Statue of Liberty was named Liberty Enlightens the World. It had three creators, the chief architect was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. Steel structure was made by Gustav Eiffel (it is a realistic representative of neoclassicism), and concrete base by Richard Morris Hunt.
The actual form of the goddess was brought in parts by sea from France. Construction began in 1884 on a small island Freedom in the waters of the Hudson River near New York City, and the grand opening was held on October 28, 1886. The statue weighs 229 tons and the plaque itself over the 30tons. Its height from the ground to the highest point is 93 meters, the figure is 46.5 meters and is built of steel and copper, and its greenish color is thanks to the corrosion of copper coating. Inside, there are three spiral staircase, two of them leading to the crown of the statue and are available to the public. Th third staircase goes to a flare, but is not available to tourists. Both stairs lead to the peak and have 168 steps.
The crown, where the vantage point is placed has 25 windows, and there are 7-rays on the crown which are symbols of each of the continents on Earth. From the base to the summit lead as many as 354 steps. Figure in waist has 11 feet of circumference , its head is over 5 meters in length and has width of more than 3 meters. The hand, which rises the lighthouse is 13 meters long.
The French planned the construction of the monument since 1875, when the nation launched a collection of funds for this purpose, nad also organized competitions for the project. Americans were required to build the statue pedestals. One of the members of the team dealing with the preparation was very young then, future U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt. The first element of the Statue of Liberty was its head shown at an exhibition in Paris in 1878. The whole figure was made in 1884. It was given to the U.S. ambassador in France Morton on the July 4.
Americans despite prevailing crisis in their country, rather quickly dealt with the construction of the pedestal. The French government had to finance the transport of the statue to the American continent. The opening was very solemn, there was a sea parade and fireworks display, which took place a few days after October 28, as previously the weather did not allow it. Initially, the Statue of Liberty was a symbol of the alliance between the two nations, and later took on other big meanings. For the people who came as immigrants to the U.S., it was and is a symbol of new life, because it the statue can be seen when entering the sea port in New York. For longer-rooted inhabitants, it is a symbol of love of freedom, justice, and the abolition of slavery.
In 1924, the Statue of Liberty became a symbol of the American state, national monument, and in was 1984 pulled on the list of world heritage site of UNESCO. it was allowed to visit it from the beginning, but climbing the lighthouse for more than 100 years has not been possible, and after the attacks on September 11 observation deck was closed for eight years.