The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, has a complicated history. At first it was categorically rejected, then they got used to it, and now it is impossible to imagine the capital of France without this amazing building.
Location
The famous symbol of Paris, which gives the city a look familiar to the whole world, is located on the Champ de Mars, a former military parade ground, which has been turned into a beautiful park. It is divided into alleys, decorated with small ponds and flower beds. Opposite the tower is the Jena Bridge. The delicate openwork construction is visible from many points in Paris, though Eiffel did not originally plan for it. The tower was supposed to fulfill one function - to become an unusual entrance to the World's Fair.
Approval of the project and assignment of the structure
The history of the Eiffel Tower began at the end of the 19th century. In 1889, the World Exhibition was to be held in the capital of France. This event was of great importance for the country. It was dedicated to the centenary of the storming of the Bastille and was supposed to last for 6 months.
One of the objectives of the exhibition is to demonstrate technical innovations, so the creators of the pavilions competed, whose project would be morereflect the future. The entrance to the exhibition was supposed to be an arch. The architects were given the task to prepare a project for a structure that would demonstrate the technical strength of the country and the achievements of engineering.
A proposal to participate in the competition from the Paris administration came to all the engineering and design bureaus of the city, including Gustave Eiffel. He did not have ready-made solutions, and he decided to look for something suitable in projects that were shelved. It was there that he found a sketch of the tower, created by Maurice Queshlen, his employee. With the help of Emile Nouguier, the design of the building was finalized and submitted to the competition by Eiffel. The prudent engineer first received a patent for it together with the creators of the project, and then bought it from Keshlen and Nougier. Thus, the exclusive ownership of the tower blueprints passed to Gustave Eiffel.
A lot of interesting and controversial projects were proposed for the competition, and the history of the Eiffel Tower might never have begun. The engineer made changes to the design to make it more decorative, and from the four remaining applicants at the end of the competition, the commission chose him.
Eiffel Tower - year of commencement of construction and stages of construction
The construction of the giant structure began on January 28, 1887. It lasted for two years, two months and five days. At that time it was an unprecedented speed. Everything was explained by the highest accuracy of the drawings, in which the size of more than 18 thousand structural details was scrupulously accurately indicated. ExceptIn order to speed up the pace of work as much as possible, Eiffel used prefabricated parts of the tower. Two and a half million rivets were used to connect all the details of the structure. Rivet holes were already drilled in pre-prepared parts, and most of them were installed, which greatly speeded up assembly.
Eiffel provided that none of the pre-prepared beams and other parts of the structure weighed more than 3 tons - so it was easier to lift them with cranes. When the height of the tower outgrew the size of the lifting devices, mobile cranes specially designed by the architect came to the rescue, which moved along the rails created for future elevators.
The most difficult thing for Gustave Eiffel was not work at the very top, at a 300-meter height, but the construction of the first platform of the tower. Sand-filled metal cylinders supported the weight of four inclined supports. Gradually releasing sand, they could be set in the correct position. When this was done, the first platform was installed strictly horizontally.
The cost of the tower was almost 8 million francs. The construction costs were recouped within the duration of the exhibition (6 months).
Weight and size of structure
How high was the Eiffel Tower at first? It was 300 meters and was much more amazing in its size. Statue of Liberty (93 meters including granite pedestal).
And how many meters tall is the Eiffel Tower now? After installing a new antenna, it became 24 meters higher. The total weight of the tower is 10 thousand tons. With each painting, the weight of the building increases by another 60 tons.
The fate of the tower after the exhibition and the attitude of the Parisians towards it
According to the agreement concluded with the Eiffel, the tower was to be dismantled 20 years after the construction. Its success was resounding - during the exhibition, more than two million people wanted to look at the ingenious building, which had no equal in the world. During the year, it was possible to recoup most of the construction costs. But the admiration of the visitors of the exhibition was not shared by the creative intelligentsia of Paris. The Eiffel Tower (France did not know a more controversial opinion about any other structure) caused outrage and irritation among artists and writers. They considered it ugly, like a factory chimney, and feared that it would destroy the unique character of Paris, which has been developing for centuries.
The history of the Eiffel Tower could have ended with its dismantling, if not for the era of radio. Radio antennas were installed on the building, and the building acquired significant strategic value. The demolition of the tower was now out of the question. In 1906, a radio station was placed in the Eiffel Tower, and in 1957 a television antenna appeared on its top.
Description of the Eiffel Tower and reasons for its design features
The bottom floor of the structure is a pyramid. She isformed by four inclined supports. The first square (65 meters across) platform of the tower rests on them. The supports are connected by arched openwork vaults. Above on four pillars lies the second platform. The next four columns of the tower begin to intertwine and join into a huge column. It contains the third platform. Above it are a lighthouse and a small platform a little over a meter across.
A restaurant was located on the first site, as conceived by the architect. On the second floor there was another restaurant and containers of machine oil for servicing the elevators. The third site was given over to laboratories (astronomical and meteorological).
Eiffel was criticized for the unusual shape of the tower. In fact, the brilliant engineer and architect was well aware that for such a tall structure, the main danger is a strong wind. The design and shape of the tower are designed to withstand high wind loads.
Eiffel Tower: interesting facts about the famous symbol of Paris
Adolf Hitler during the occupation of France by German troops visited Paris and expressed a desire to climb the Eiffel Tower. But right before his arrival, the elevator drive was seriously damaged, and it was not possible to repair it in military conditions. The German leader was never able to climb the tower. After the liberation of the French capital, the elevator started working a few hours later.
The architect of the Eiffel Tower was very concerned about safety issues, since the work was carried out at a very high altitude. In the entire history of construction, not a single worker has died - this isa real achievement for those years.
The Eiffel Tower is also associated with unpleasant events - in 2009 she was awarded the third place in popularity among suicides.
It will take a year and a half of work and 60 tons of paint to repaint the tower.
The tower consumes as much electricity per day as a small village of 100 houses.
The famous symbol of Paris has its own patented color - "brown eiffel". It is as close as possible to the real bronze hue of the structures of the structure.
There are more than 300 copies of the famous tower in the world. Several of them are located in Russia: in Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Voronezh and Irkutsk.
Eiffel Tower in culture
The famous building has repeatedly become the object of interest of artists, poets, writers and directors.
The history of the Eiffel Tower is recorded in documentary sources, and its possible future has been shown more than once in apocalyptic films. One of the most interesting films is the documentary The Future of the Planet: Life After Humans. It shows that without maintenance, the Eiffel Tower will not be able to withstand its main enemies for a long time: rust and wind. In about 150-300 years, its upper part at the level of the third platform will collapse and fall.
But most often the Eiffel Tower can be seen on the canvases of artists. Jean Beraud, known for his genre paintings depicting everyday life in Paris, created the painting "Near the Eiffel Tower", in which a Parisian with surpriselooks at the huge building. Marc Chagall devoted a lot of works to the creation of Eiffel.
Conclusion
One of the most recognizable buildings in the world is the Eiffel Tower. France is rightly proud of this amazing symbol of Paris. The view from the top of the tower over the city is amazing.
You can admire it any day - the brilliant creation of Gustave Eiffel is open to visitors on weekends.
