1. Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
Christ the Redeemer is one of the
most recognized and famous religious statue in Rio de Janeiro. It becomes one
of the 7 modern wonders of the world with the shape of Jesus Christ which
become famous tourist attraction in the countries. It is 30 metres (98 ft) tall. This
piece of wonderful artwork is located at the top of Morro do Corcovado or the
Corcovado Hill in Brazil. It is the symbol of Brazilian Christianity.
The geographical boundary of Rio
de Janeiro can be seen in terms of the interaction between mountain and sea,
which is lies in the narrow strip between Guanabara Bay and Atlantic Ocean. We
can see the forested mountain landscape as a big part all over the city.
Moreover, the dramatic landscape of people in Rio de Janeiro has delivered
inspiration in terms of art, literature, poetry and music because there are
numerous theaters, museum and galleries. So, we can see the creative fusion
between nature and future in Rio.
It obviously can see that
religion and social interaction of people in Rio is the conditions that inspire
the artist to make this popular statue. The idea of this large statue was first
introduced by the Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss in mid-1850s, but at that
time there was a financial problems which cancel the project. Nevertheless, in
1922, there were a group of religious people (Catholic community) who support
it and make it approved. It had been built for 9 years; Heitor da Silva Costa
was the engineer who designed the statue and let Paul Landowski sculpted it. I believe
that they use this place to be the actual location because Rio is consists of
sea and big mountain. It would be good to put the enormous Jesus statue on the
top of the hill. It is the better view of sightseeing and can make as the
symbol.
People in that areas use Christ
the Redeemer as something that can restraint their mind and their believe in
Christianity. In Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, the majority of local
citizens in the exact area are Catholic as according to the Brazilian
Institute of Geography and Statistics. The amount of people who are
Catholic is 3,229,192 which is
51% of all citizens.
In
terms of migration or immigrant in Rio, most immigrants in Rio are Portuguese
as the city workers and trader in early 20th century which makes the
national language in Rio is Portuguese.
2. Christ the King (Poland)
Christ the King, a gigantic
statue of Jesus in Świebodzin, Poland raises at 33 metres tall with a 3 metres
golden crown. The statue itself was built on a 16.5 metre of stones and rubble.
The height of the statue symbolises the beliefs that Jesus died at the age of
33 years old. This 400 tons statue was claimed to be the tallest statue of
Jesus in the world, but only if you include the factors of 3m crown and 16.5m
mound. The statue is located about 70 Km away from the border of Germany, close to the polish motorway and expressway. There were many designers involved in the completion of the statues. Various parts of this enormous figure were designed by different individuals. Christ the King was completed in November 2010 by a priest named Sylwester
Zawadzki.
Father Zawadzki believed and felt
that he was called by Jesus to build the statue. He was inspired to fulfill
Jesus’ will and even though there were many casualties along the ways father
Zawadzki never had any doubts and always have kept his faith. After the statue
was completed father Zawadzki stated that this was the proudest and the
highlight of his work as a priest. The statue has now become the sign of faith of the entire land of this small town, Świebodzin.
The small town of Świebodzin also gained many benefits from the completion of Christ the King statue. The statue alone had set this small town of 22,000 people on the map for tourists. It had become a town for tourists to come and visit to see the great Christ the King statue. It had raised the awareness of many people around the world. With the large number of visitors coming to see the statue every year and increasing, father Zawadzki said that they have plans to accommodate these tourists in the future by improving the surrounding facilities for them.
3. Guan-Yin (China)
Nanshan Kwan-yin or Guan-yin,
the forth-tallest status in the world is located in south coast of China island
in the province Hainan near the Nanshan temple of Sanya. The status is the
world tallest Guan-yin status. The entire status was made with alloy and the
surface of the alloy is covered with special material known as “C Fluorin”. The
status weight 2600 tons and is able to resist typhoon and erosion. Moreover, this
status itself is considered to be the oriental world or spirit, peace, wisdom
and mercy.
Guan-yin status has three
aspects; one side facing the land and the other two sides facing the ocean.
From the front side we can see Guan-yin holding sutra, which symbolize wisdom.
From the right side we can see Guan-yin holding prayer beads symbolizing
compassion. On the left hand side view we can see Guan-yin holding lotus
flower, meaning peace. Therefore, the three sides of the status represented
Guan-yin purity and perfect penetration. The construction of Nanshan Kwan-yin
took place in 1999. It took 6 years long
years to complete the status. The opening ceremony was held on April 24, 2005.
108 monks from mainland, Taiwan, Macao and Hong Kong came to the ceremony.
Sanya
Nanshan Buddhism CulturalTourism Zone is one of the largest tourist attraction in
China. Its exact location is 40 km to the west of Sanya City. Nanhan Buddhiam
Culture Park is a window of China’s traditional Buddhism culture. The main
attraction in this zone is the three sided statue,Buddhist temples and the
incredible sea view and landscapes.
4. Mother Mary (Balgaria)
The monument of the Holy Mother of God locates in Haskovo,
Bulgaria. The statue was built dedicated and to convey the respect, love and
gratitude of the people to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The monument was reviled
in 2003, and has entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest
statue of Virgin Mary in 2005. The Virgin Mary has long been a traditional patroness
(patron saint) of Haskovo. The feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God on
September celebrates Mary’s birth, has been considered as one of the most
important and religious holidays of Haskovo.
The monument locates
on the Yamacha Hill on which the statue stands a great view over the city. It
was built in front of the Bulgarian National Revival-time Church of the Holy
Mother of God, constructed in 1837, which was the first cathedral built in
Haskovo. The position in which Mary stands, allows to be seen from anywhere of
the city, day or night. The monument is 32.8 meters tall, and is made of
polymer concrete weighing approximately 120 tons.
Petyo Alexandrov, Nikola Stovanov, and their team built the Statue. The construction of the Monument of Holy Mother of God was proposed by the Mayor of Haskovo, Georgi Ivanov, and was embraced and supported with the donations from the citizens, whom over 80% are Orthodox Christians.
5. Jesus Christ (Syria)
Giant Statue of Jesus Christ is
located on a mountaintop near the city of Saidnaya. The statue is near the Monastery of the Cherubim. The height
is about 40 feet tall (taller than famous Christ the Redeemer) and the base is
65 feet tall with arms outstretched.
This project started since 2005
by Al-Ghadban which inspired by Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer
statue. The statue was actually ready in 2012, the a flame in Syria causing the
project delay. The project, called "I Have Come to Save the World",
run by the London-based St. Paul and St. George Foundation, directed by
Al-Ghadban.
The giant statue of Christ was
put up in the midst of civil war. The reason why they set up in such a danger
setback is because they want Jesus to save them from danger and Jesus would do
this, said byorganizer Samir al_Ghadban. “The ensemble with the blessing Christ
in its center, seen from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, is designed to
bring peace, mutual understanding, and hope for common salvation to a region engulfed
in the flames of war,” The monument was installed on October 14, when some
Christian churches celebrate the feast of the Intercession of the Theotokos,
and on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Can be seen from Lebanon,
Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.
