The Eiffel was not designed by the Eiffel at all: extraordinary facts about the symbol of Paris

The Eiffel Tower, so named after the name of its creator, is a symbol of Paris and all of France. Without it, it is impossible to imagine a single tourist postcard with the image of Paris, and every year the sightseeing is visited by several million people. But it turns out that its author was not Gustave Eiffel at all, but as soon as the tower was built, the Parisians immediately hated it. So, here are some amazing facts about the Eiffel Tower.

Purchased Authorship

When Gustave Eiffel's engineering bureau received an offer from the Paris administration to participate in an architectural competition, Eiffel himself could not come up with anything original. Parsing the work of his employees, he came across a sketch of a high-rise tower made by Maurice Köschlen. It was he who was taken in the end as a basis.

Later, another employee of the Eiffel Engineering Bureau, Emil Nugier, took part in finalizing the project. When a construction patent was obtained in 1884, it contained three surnames. Subsequently, Gustave Eiffel bought the exclusive right from his colleagues and went down in history as the creator of the Eiffel Tower. After the competition was won, the architect Stefan Sovestr was engaged in finalizing the design of the tower and giving it more elegant forms.

She should have been dismantled in 20 years

The famous tower with a height of more than 300 meters was built for the World Exhibition, which was held in Paris in 1889. The tower served as an entrance arch to the exhibition area, where many pavilions and expositions were located.

At the same time, it was planned that the construction will be temporary and after 20 years it will be dismantled. Can you imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower?

Hate Parisians

Today the Eiffel Tower is the pride of Paris, and at the end of the 19th century, when it was just built, the Parisians called this creation nothing more than an "iron monster." The high society of French society, representatives of the creative intelligentsia and many citizens opposed its construction, and after the construction was completed they called for the speedy dismantling of the "useless and monstrous" construction. The Parisians even sent a petition to the municipality of the city, in which they expressed their deepest contempt and displeasure with the tower. Among them were Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant and Alexander Dumas the son, according to whom, with their views, the tower destroyed the beautiful atmosphere of Paris.

Almost paid off in a few months

The cost of building a grandiose structure amounted to 7.8 million francs. Part of this amount was allocated by the Paris administration, part included Gustave Eiffel’s personal savings, the rest was provided by banks. ¾ This amount paid off in half a year, already during the exhibition: the construction was incredibly popular with the public. It was this fact that saved the tower from subsequent dismantling. Due to the fact that it brought tremendous income to the city budget and enjoyed incredible popularity among tourists, they refused the demolition project. And the hatred of the Parisians gradually came to naught.

At the very top was Eiffel’s apartment

Interestingly, almost at the very top (at an altitude of 285 meters), Eiffel designed an apartment for himself. Except for the stunning view from its windows, this apartment was no different from the dwellings of wealthy Parisians of that time. Today, the atmosphere of the late 19th century was restored in this apartment and a museum was built.

So often do not visit any other tower

The number of visitors to the Eiffel Tower is simply amazing: more than 230 million people have visited this building since its opening. So, for example, in 2006 a peculiar record was recorded, which amounted to more than 6 million tourists. Although, if you think about it, this is not surprising. After all, all tours and excursions in Paris include a visit to the Eiffel Tower, and even independent travelers will not pass by this architectural monument.

The most photographed monument of architecture

The Eiffel Tower is recognized as the most photographed landmark in the world. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it can be seen from many points in Paris and it necessarily falls into the camera lens? In any case, every traveler who visited Paris must have taken a shot against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.

Century Lifts

Interestingly, in the supports of the Eiffel Tower there are still two Fives-Lille elevators, which were installed back in 1899. They are in perfect order, only the hydraulic pumps that drive the elevator car were replaced with electric motors over time.

Watch the video: Eiffel Tower Facts You Did Not Know. 1MinuteDoc (April 2024).