Throughout history there have been several cultures and civilizations that have left us more than just their customs. The number of monuments, buildings and sculptures in the world are impressive and also beautiful. They allow past to be part of the present. These places are very famous and popular for their unique and striking constructions, making many people go visit them. These are some pictures that show us how impressive these monuments are. Hope you like them!
Moái
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This monolithic stone statue can only be found on Easter Island or Rapa Nui, in the region of Valparaíso, Chile. Most of these monuments were carved in tufa of the Rano Raraku volcanic cone, where 400 morai can be found. The meaning of the moáis is still uncertain, and there are several theories surrounding these statues. The most common one is that the statues were carved by the Polynesian inhabitants of the island, between the ninth and sixteenth centuries, as representations of deceased ancestors, so that they projected their mana (supernatural power) on their descendants.
Great Buddha of Leshan
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This statue carved in stone, is the tallest Buddha statue in the world. It was built during the Tang dynasty. It is located near the Min Jiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers, in Sichuan province, China. The carving, which is 71 meters high, represents a Maitreya Buddha with his hands resting on his knees.
Stonehenge
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It is a cromlech type megalithic monument, late Neolithic, located near Amesbury, in the county of Wiltshire, England, about fifteen kilometers north of Salisbury. Stonehenge is formed by large blocks of metamorphic rocks distributed in four concentric circles. The exterior, thirty meters in diameter, consists of large rectangular sandstone stones that were originally crowned with lintels.
Colossi of Memnon
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These two gigantic stone statues located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, in Egypt, are the representation of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The statues are sculpted in large blocks of quartzite. The original function of the colossi was to preside over the first entrance of the three existing pylons in the funerary complex of Amenhotep III.
Christ the Redeemer
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Also known as Cristo de Corcovado, it is a huge 30.1 meter statue with the 8 meter pedestal of Jesús de Nazaret with open arms showing the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. It is located at 710 meters above sea level in the Tijuca National Park, at the top of the Corcovado hill. The idea of a religious monument in Rio de Janeiro was born in 1859, with the Catholic presbyter Pedro María Boss and the Princess Isabel of Brazil. However, the idea did not materialize during the Empire of Brazil. It was resumed in 1921, when the Independence centenary of Brazil approached.
Kamakura’s Buda
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This statue represents the Amida Buddha, which is located in the Kōtoku-in Temple, in the city of Kamakura in the Kanagawa region of Japan. This imposing religious monument also bears witness to human persistence in the face of the adversities of local nature over the centuries.
Atlantes de Tula
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These monolithic monuments, located in the archaeological zone of Tula, State of Hidalgo, are representations of Toltec warriors, adorned with a butterfly breastplate, a flint knife and a curved weapon, characteristic of this culture. The semi-human structures are characterized by their large size and the ability of the Toltecs to carve them.
Mount Nemrut
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Mount Nemrut is a 2,150 m high mountain in southeastern Turkey, known for statues belonging to a 1st century BC tomb. C. that is in the top. It is believed that these were ordered to be built by King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene for his burial mound. You can find two lions, two eagles and different Armenian, Greek and Persian gods.
Delos Lions
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Located on one of the most sacred islands of Greece, the terrace of the lions is a sculptural set of marble lions dedicated to Apollo by the inhabitants of the island of Naxos from the 7th century BC. C. They were initially 16, but there are only 5 complete and 3 that have just parts of it left. To the west, in the direction of the harbor, of Skardana Bay, two temples preserved the lions.
Statue of Liberty
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It is one of the most famous monuments in New York, the United States and around the world. It is located on Liberty Island south of Manhattan Island, next to the mouth of the Hudson River and near Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to the Americans in 1886 to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence of the United States as well as a sign of friendship between the two nations.
Great Sphinx
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The Great Sphinx of Giza is a monumental sculpture found on the west bank of the Nile River, in the city of Giza, some twenty kilometers southwest of downtown Cairo. Egyptologists estimate that it was sculpted c. century XXVI a. C. It has a height of about twenty meters. Just imagine, just the face measures more than five meters. The head could represent the pharaoh Khafre as its body has the shape of a lion.
Angel of Independence
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Located on Paseo de la Reforma, in Mexico City, this monument, known as El Ángel, was built to commemorate the centennial of Mexican independence. This statue is one of the most emblematic and considered as a cultural icon in Mexico. Made as an honorary column topped with a statue of the Winged Victory holding a laurel wreath and a broken chain of three links, this column is raised in turn on a stepped pedestal completed by different statues and allegorical inscriptions to the independence of the country.
Statue of the Motherland
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Commonly known as Rodina-Mat is a monumental statue found in Kiev, Ukraine. It was built in commemoration of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. This monument is the personification of the Mother Russia that exhorts to battle against the enemy and has a height of 85 meters.
El David
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El David is a white marble sculpture of 5.17 meters high and 5572 kilograms of mass, made by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1501 and 1504 on behalf of the Opera del Duomo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. El David is one of the Renaissance masterpieces, according to most historians, and one of the most famous sculptures in the world. It is currently exhibited at the Accademia Gallery in Florence.
Colossal head
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These great monuments belong to the ancient Olmec civilization, who made one of the largest and oldest enigmas and constructions of Mesoamerica, giant heads carved 3,000 years ago. The colossal Olmec heads were sculpted from large basalt stones extracted from the Sierra de los Tuxtlas of Veracruz. These were transported over long distances, although the method used for transport is unclear.
The Thinker
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The work was originally called 'The poet' and with it, the author pretended to stage Dante in front of the gates of hell. However, beyond what wanted to represent, the work became a symbol of philosophy. Several copies have been made but the original can be seen in the Rodin Museum in Paris.
Discoveries monument
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Built in 1960 on the banks of the river in Belém, Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, this statue commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, protagonist of the Age of Discovery. It is 52 meters high and consists of a celebration of the sailors, real patrons and everyone who participated in the historic event mentioned above. Inside the monument there is an auditorium and an elevator that goes to the sixth floor, plus a staircase that goes up all the way, from where you can see a beautiful panorama of Belém and the river.
THE DISCOBOL
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The Discóbolo is the denomination of a famous Greek sculpture realized by Mirón de Eleuteras around 455 a. C. Represent an athlete in an instant before the release of the disc. One of his Roman copies is in the British Museum in London, because as with many of the most important Greek sculptures, the original work, probably made in bronze, has not been preserved.
Terracotta warriors
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The Terracotta Warriors are a set of more than 8,000 figures of warriors and life-size terracotta horses, which were buried near the self-proclaimed first emperor of China of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, in 210-209 BC. C. They are inside the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Burying these statues, it was believed that the emperor would still have troops under his command. The terracotta army was buried in battle formation in three trenches, one kilometer and a half east of the emperor's tomb, which in turn is 33 km east of Xi'an.
The Moses
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The imposing Moses of Michelangelo is undoubtedly one of the most famous sculptures in the world. It is a Renaissance sculpture made in white marble in 1509 to be the central axis of the tomb of Pope Julius II, in the small church of San Pedro in Víncoli, in Rome.
