The symbol of the brilliant French capital, the Eiffel Tower, has come a long way in people’s hearts. It was not always so popular, and Paris did not immediately begin to associate people with this architectural masterpiece of the Eiffel.
This building was not experiencing the best of times, but after many decades, it has become so ingrained that it has become one of the most visited places in the world.
Facts about the Eiffel Tower.
• The lattice design allows the tower to successfully withstand even strong winds. During the hurricane, when the wind speed reached 180 km / h, only a 12-centimeter deviation of its top from the vertical was recorded.
• Architect Eiffel decided to build his tower in Paris after the Spanish authorities refused to give him permission to build, finding the project inappropriate and also too expensive to implement.
• Despite the above fact, as it turned out, the Spaniards miscalculated – in the first 10 months after opening to visitors, the Eiffel Tower brought so much money that fully recouped the cost of its construction.
• The total mass of all the paint with which the Eiffel Tower is painted is about 57 tons.
• To persuade the Paris authorities to give him permission and sponsor his project, the Eiffel promised to complete the tower by the time of the exhibition, for which, in fact, the Eiffel Tower was built. More precisely, he did not just promise but vouched for his condition that the tower would be ready on time. And he succeeded!
• During his life, the Eiffel Tower managed to try on many different colors, from dark brown, almost chocolate, to bright yellow.
• When German troops occupied France during World War II, the Parisians damaged the elevator of the Eiffel Tower so that enemies could not climb to the observation deck.
• Retreating, Adolf Hitler ordered the destruction of the Eiffel Tower. Fortunately, a high-ranking German officer instructed to do so ignored the order and saved the symbol of Paris.
• Tourists climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower by elevator. However, there are also stairs to the observation deck, but it has as many as 1710 degrees, so not everyone can overcome such a rise.
• For almost 41 years, from 1889 to 1930, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building on our planet.
It is completely repainted every 7 years.
• The usual color of the Eiffel Tower has long been approved as permanent, and can not be changed. It was obtained by mixing three different browns.
• Complete repainting of the tower costs the city authorities about 4 million euros.
The value of the Eiffel Tower, according to the Paris government, is about 435 million euros.
• About 400 people at different times committed suicide by jumping down from the observation deck of the tower. To prevent similar cases in the future, special fences were installed.
• The height of the Eiffel Tower reaches 324 meters.
Due to the lattice structure, it weighs very little, tens of times less than other large buildings, only about 10,100 tons, of which about 2,800 tons account for the foundation.
• The total area of the entire Eiffel Tower, including all its elements, is about a quarter of a million square meters.
• Parisians did not immediately fall in love with her. Many believed that the tower spoils the view of Paris, and demanded its demolition. Even the famous French writer Guy de Maupassant spoke in support of demolition.
• Entrance tickets to the Eiffel Tower are printed on paper, and the daily consumption of paper is about 2 tons.
• Assembled from many elements, the tower consists of 18038 individual parts.
• About 2,500,000 rivets were used to fasten them all together.
• It was originally planned that the Eiffel Tower, built for the World’s Fair, would be dismantled in 20 years.
• At the time of construction, its height was exactly 300 meters, but it changed after the installation of a 24-meter antenna.
• Eiffel himself called his creation a “300-meter tower”. The world-famous name took root later.
• The Eiffel Tower is the most photographed landmark in the world.
• On average, about 5-6 million tourists climb the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower every year.
