Christ the Redeemer is a famous statue of Jesus Christ located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a symbol of the city and Brazil, and is reached by a small railway and over 200 steps. Brazil has a strong Catholic history, and the statue was built in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio. It stands 120 feet tall and is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone. It is a popular tourist attraction and has near-iconic status.
Christ the Redeemer is a famous statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Almost everyone who has seen a panoramic photograph of Rio has seen this statue, for it towers over the city, almost as if it were on guard duty. The statue has become the symbol of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil in the eyes of many people; in movies and TV shows set in this famous Brazilian city, for example, static shots often include Christ the Redeemer so the audience knows the action is taking place in Rio de Janeiro.
The statue is located on Corcovado Mountain, located in the middle of Tijuca Forest National Park. To reach it, people take a small railway up the mountain and then climb over 200 steps to Christ the Redeemer. The site also hosts a chapel where people can pray and attend religious services, and weddings are sometimes held as well.
Brazil has a long history of Christian devotion, dating back to the 16th century when it was colonized by the Roman Catholic Portuguese. Today Brazil is one of the most Catholic countries on Earth, in a continent already very Catholic, and Christ the Redeemer is a remarkable symbol of how seriously Catholicism is taken in Brazil.
Ideas for a religious statue on Corcovado mountain were floated as early as the 1800s, but it wasn’t until 1921 that a serious effort emerged, spearheaded by the Catholic Circle of Rio. The group held fundraisers to build a statue and commissioned several designs to choose from, deciding to build the statue in France where the designer could use skilled sculptors.
The core of the statue is in reinforced concrete and the sculpture is covered in soapstone. It stands 120 feet (38 meters) tall and was completed in 1921. This statue has been included in the list of the “New Seven Wonders of the World,” which includes sites such as the Colosseum and the Taj Mahal.
This statue is very popular with visitors to Rio, many of whom try to make the effort to go and see the statue up close, as well as admire it from afar. Citizens of the city also enjoy visiting Christ the Redeemer, and like many famous religious statues, it has near-iconic status; some people believe the statue is largely invulnerable to natural disasters, for example.
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